New Testament Plan

¹Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it was also with you;

²and that we will be rescued from troublesome and evil people; for not all have the faith.

³But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

⁴We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing, and will do, what we command.

⁵May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the perseverance of Christ.

⁶Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother or sister who leads a disorderly life and not one in accordance with the tradition which you received from us.

⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined way among you,

⁸nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you;

⁹not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a role model for you, so that you would follow our example.

¹⁰For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.

¹¹For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.

¹²Now we command and exhort such persons in the Lord Jesus Christ to work peacefully and eat their own bread.

¹³But as for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary of doing good.

¹⁴If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person so as not to associate with him, so that he will be put to shame.

¹⁵And yet do not regard that person as an enemy, but admonish that one as a brother or sister.

¹⁶Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!

¹⁷I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write.

¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,

²To Timothy, my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³Just as I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, to remain on at Ephesus so that you would instruct certain people not to teach strange doctrines,

⁴nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to useless speculation rather than advance the plan of God, which is by faith, so I urge you now.

⁵But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere faith.

⁶Some people have strayed from these things and have turned aside to fruitless discussion,

⁷wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

⁸But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

⁹realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and worldly, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,

¹⁰for the sexually immoral, homosexuals, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,

¹¹according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

¹²I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,

¹³even though I was previously a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;

¹⁴and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost.

¹⁶Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

¹⁷Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁸This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight,

¹⁹keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

²⁰Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.

¹First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people,

²for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

³This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

⁴who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁵For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,

⁶who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.

⁷For this I was appointed as a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger and dispute.

⁹Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive apparel,

¹⁰but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.

¹¹A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness.

¹²But I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.

¹³For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.

¹⁴And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a wrongdoer.

¹⁵But women will be preserved through childbirth—if they continue in faith, love, and sanctity, with moderation.