The Holy Bible – Knox Translation
The First Epistle of the Blessed Apostle Paul to Timothy
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Chapter 1
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1 2 3 4 5 6
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Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the appointment of God our Saviour, and of Jesus Christ who is our hope,
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to Timothy, my own son in the faith; Grace be thine, and mercy, and peace, from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
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as thou fulfillest the charge I gave thee, when I passed on into Macedonia, to stay behind at Ephesus. There were some who needed to be warned against teaching strange doctrines,
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against occupying their minds with legends and interminable pedigrees, which breed controversy, instead of building up God’s house, as the faith does.
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The end at which our warning aims is charity, based on purity of heart, on a good conscience and a sincere faith.
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There are some who have missed this mark, branching off into vain speculations;
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who now claim to be expounding the law, without understanding the meaning of their own words, or the subject on which they pronounce so positively.
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The law? It is an excellent thing, where it is applied legitimately;
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but it must be remembered that the law is not meant for those who live innocent lives. It is meant for the lawless and the refractory; for the godless and the sinner, the unholy and the profane; for those who lay violent hands on father or mother, for murderers,
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for those who commit fornication or sin against nature, the slave-dealer, the liar, the perjurer. All this and much else is the very opposite of the sound doctrine
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contained in the gospel I have been entrusted with, that tells us of the blessed God and his glory.
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How I thank our Lord Christ Jesus, the source of all my strength, for shewing confidence in me by appointing me his minister,
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me, a blasphemer till then, a persecutor, a man of violence, author of outrage, and yet he had mercy on me, because I was acting in the ignorance of unbelief.
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The grace of the Lord came upon me in a full tide of faith and love, the love that is in Christ Jesus.
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How true is that saying, and what a welcome it deserves, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I was the worst of all,
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and yet I was pardoned, so that in me first of all Christ Jesus might give the extreme example of his patience; I was to be the pattern of all those who will ever believe in him, to win eternal life.
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Honour and glory through endless ages to the king of all the ages, the immortal, the invisible, who alone is God, Amen.
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This charge, then, I give into thy hands, my son Timothy, remembering how prophecy singled thee out, long ago. Serve, as it bade thee, in this honourable warfare,
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with faith and a good conscience to aid thee. Some, through refusing this duty, have made shipwreck of the faith;
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among them, Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have made over to Satan, till they are cured of their blasphemy.