Paul, ^aan apostle of ^bChrist Jesus ^caccording to the commandment of ^dGod our Savior, and of ^eChrist Jesus, who is our ^fhope,

2 To ^aTimothy, ^bmy true ¹son in the faith: ^cGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and ^dChrist Jesus our Lord.

3 Just as I urged you ¹upon my departure for ^aMacedonia, to remain on at ^bEphesus so that you would instruct certain people not to ^cteach strange doctrines, 4 nor to ¹pay attention to ^amyths and endless ^bgenealogies, which give rise to useless ^cspeculation rather than ^dadvance ²the plan of God, which is by faith, so I urge you now. 5 But the goal of our ^1ainstruction is love ^bfrom a pure heart, from a ^cgood conscience, and from a sincere ^dfaith. 6 Some people have strayed from these things and have turned aside to ^afruitless discussion, 7 ^awanting to be ^bteachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

8 But we know that ^athe Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 realizing the fact that ^alaw is not made for a righteous person but for those who are lawless and ^brebellious, for the ^cungodly and sinners, for the unholy and ^dworldly, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the ^1asexually immoral, ^bhomosexuals, ^2cslave traders, ^dliars, ^eperjurers, and whatever else is contrary to ^fsound teaching, 11 according to ^athe glorious gospel of ^bthe blessed God, with which I have been ^centrusted.

12 I thank ^aChrist Jesus our Lord, who has ^bstrengthened me, because He considered me faithful, ^cputting me into service, 13 even though I was previously a blasphemer and a ^apersecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was ^bshown mercy because ^cI acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the ^agrace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the ^bfaith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15 ^aIt is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that ^bChrist Jesus came into the world to ^csave sinners, among whom ^dI am foremost. 16 Yet for this reason I ^afound mercy, so that in me as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might ^bdemonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those ¹who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the ^aKing ¹eternal, ^bimmortal, ^cinvisible, the ^donly God, ^ebe honor and glory ²forever and ever. Amen.

18 This ^acommand I entrust to you, Timothy, ^bmy ¹son, in accordance with the ^cprophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you ^dfight the good fight, 19 keeping ^afaith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to ^1btheir faith. 20 ¹Among these are ^aHymenaeus and ^bAlexander, whom I have ^chanded over to Satan, so that they will be ^dtaught not to blaspheme.