1I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus, just as God our Savior commanded. Christ Jesus also commanded it. We have put our hope in him.
2Timothy, I am sending you this letter. You are my true son in the faith.
May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy and peace.
Paul Warns Timothy to Oppose False Teachers
3Timothy, stay there in Ephesus. That is what I told you to do when I went into Macedonia. I want you to command certain people not to teach things that aren’t true. 4And command them not to spend their time on stories that are made up. They must not waste time on family histories that never end. These things only lead to fights about ideas. They don’t help God’s work move forward. His work is done by faith. 5Love is the purpose of my command. Love comes from a pure heart. It comes from a good sense of what is right and wrong. It comes from faith that is honest and true. 6Some have turned from these teachings. They would rather talk about things that have no meaning. 7They want to be teachers of the law. And they are very sure about that law. But they don’t know what they are talking about.
8We know that the law is good if it is used properly. 9We also know that the law isn’t made for godly people. It is made for those who break the law. It is for those who refuse to obey. It is for ungodly and sinful people. It is for those who aren’t holy and who don’t believe. It is for those who kill their fathers or mothers. It is for murderers. 10It is for those who commit sexual sins. It is for those who commit homosexual acts. It is for people who buy and sell slaves. It is for liars. It is for people who tell lies in court. It is for those who are a witness to things that aren’t true. And it is for anything else that is the opposite of true teaching. 11True teaching agrees with the good news about the glory of the blessed God. He trusted me with that good news.
The Lord Pours Out His Grace on Paul
12I am thankful to Christ Jesus our Lord. He has given me strength. I thank him that he considered me faithful. I thank him for appointing me to serve him. 13I used to speak evil things against Jesus. I tried to hurt his followers. I really pushed them around. But God showed me mercy anyway. I did those things without knowing any better. I wasn’t a believer. 14Our Lord poured out more and more of his grace on me. Along with it came faith and love from Christ Jesus.
15Here is a saying that you can trust. It should be accepted completely. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst sinner of all. 16But for that very reason, God showed me mercy. And I am the worst of sinners. He showed me mercy so that Christ Jesus could show that he is very patient. I was an example for those who would come to believe in him. Then they would receive eternal life. 17The eternal King will never die. He can’t be seen. He is the only God. Give him honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Paul Commands Timothy
18My son Timothy, I am giving you this command. It is in keeping with the prophecies once made about you. By remembering them, you can fight the battle well. 19Then you will hold on to faith. You will hold on to a good sense of what is right and wrong. Some have not accepted this knowledge of right and wrong. So they have destroyed their faith. They are like a ship that has sunk. 20Hymenaeus and Alexander are among them. I have handed them over to Satan. That will teach them not to speak evil things against God.
1我保羅奉我們救主上帝和賜我們盼望的基督耶穌的命令，作基督耶穌的使徒， 2寫信給因信主而作我真兒子的提摩太。
願父上帝和我們的主基督耶穌的恩典、憐憫和平安臨到你！
謹防異端邪說
3我去馬其頓的時候，曾經勸你繼續留在以弗所，好命令那幾個人不要傳講異端邪說， 4也不要沉迷於虛構的神話和冗長的家譜，因為這些事只會引起無用的猜測和辯論，無法幫助人憑信心認識上帝的救贖計劃。 5制止這些人的目的是為了愛，這愛來自於清潔的心、無虧的良心和真實無偽的信心。 6可惜有些人卻偏離這些，轉向空洞的談論。 7他們想做律法教師，卻不明白自己所談論所主張的。
8我們知道，只要用得合宜，律法本是好的。 9因為律法並不是為義人設的，而是為了對付那些目無法紀、大逆不道、不敬畏上帝、犯罪作惡、不聖潔、貪戀世俗、謀殺父母、行兇害命、 10淫亂、同性戀、拐賣人口、說謊、起假誓的人，以及其他違反正道的人。 11這正道來自當受稱頌的上帝託付我傳揚的榮耀福音。
感謝上帝的憐憫
12我感謝賜我力量的主基督耶穌，因為祂視我忠心可靠，派我事奉祂。 13儘管我從前是個褻瀆上帝、迫害和侮辱信徒的人，但我仍然蒙了憐憫，因為那時我無知，還沒有信耶穌。 14主賜給我豐富的恩典，使我在基督耶穌裡有信心和愛心。
15有句話千真萬確、完全可信，就是「基督耶穌降世，為要拯救罪人。」在罪人中我是個罪魁， 16但我依然蒙了憐憫，因為耶穌基督要在我這個罪魁身上彰顯祂無限的忍耐，使我做那些要信靠祂並得到永生之人的榜樣。
17願尊貴、榮耀歸給那位不朽的、肉眼不能見的萬世君王——獨一無二的上帝，直到永遠。阿們！
18我兒提摩太啊，我依照從前有關你的預言，把這命令託付給你，好使你藉此打美好的仗。 19你要持守信心和無虧的良心。有些人喪掉良心，結果他們的信仰就像船觸了礁， 20其中有許米乃和亞歷山大。我已經把他們交給撒旦，使他們受些教訓，不敢再說褻瀆的話。
