1 Timothy Contemporary English Version (CEV)
chapter 1
1From Paul.
God our Savior and Christ Jesus commanded me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, who gives us hope.
2Timothy, because of our faith, you are like a son to me. I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ
will be kind and merciful to you. May they bless you with peace!
Warning against False Teaching
3When I was leaving for Macedonia, I asked you to stay on in Ephesus and warn certain people there to stop
spreading their false teachings. 4You needed to warn them to stop wasting their time on senseless stories
and endless lists of ancestors. Such things only cause arguments. They don't help anyone to do God's work
that can only be done by faith.
5You must teach people to have genuine love, as well as a good conscience and true faith. 6There are some
who have given up these for nothing but empty talk. 7They want to be teachers of the Law of Moses. But
they don't know what they are talking about, even though they think they do.
8We know that the Law is good, if it is used in the right way. 9We also understand that it wasn't given to
control people who please God, but to control lawbreakers, criminals, godless people, and sinners. It is for
wicked and evil people, and for murderers, who would even kill their own parents. 10The Law was written for
people who are sexual perverts or who live as homosexuals or are kidnappers or liars or won't tell the truth in
court. It is for anything else that opposes the correct teaching 11of the good news that the glorious and
wonderful God has given me.
Being Thankful for God's Kindness
12I thank Christ Jesus our Lord. He has given me the strength for my work because he knew that he could
trust me. 13I used to say terrible and insulting things about him, and I was cruel. But he had mercy on me
because I didn't know what I was doing, and I had not yet put my faith in him. 14Christ Jesus our Lord was
very kind to me. He has greatly blessed my life with faith and love just like his own.
15"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." This saying is true, and it can be trusted. I was the
worst sinner of all! 16But since I was worse than anyone else, God had mercy on me and let me be an
example of the endless patience of Christ Jesus. He did this so that others would put their faith in Christ and
have eternal life. 17I pray that honor and glory will always be given to the only God, who lives forever and is
the invisible and eternal King! Amen.
18Timothy, my son, the instructions I am giving you are based on what some prophets once said about you.
If you follow these instructions, you will fight like a good soldier. 19You will be faithful and have a clear
conscience. Some people have made a mess of their faith because they didn't listen to their consciences.
20Two of them are Hymenaeus and Alexander. I have given these men over to the power of Satan, so they
will learn not to oppose God.
chapter 2
How To Pray
1First of all, I ask you to pray for everyone. Ask God to help and bless them all, and tell God how thankful you
are for each of them. 2Pray for kings and others in power, so that we may live quiet and peaceful lives as we
worship and honor God. 3This kind of prayer is good, and it pleases God our Savior. 4God wants everyone to
be saved and to know the whole truth, which is,
5There is only one God,
and Christ Jesus
is the only one
who can bring us
to God.
Jesus was truly human,
and he gave himself
to rescue all of us.
6God showed us this
at the right time.
7This is why God chose me to be a preacher and an apostle of the good news. I am telling the truth. I am not
lying. God sent me to teach the Gentiles about faith and truth.
8I want everyone everywhere to lift innocent hands toward heaven and pray, without being angry or arguing
with each other.
9I would like for women to wear modest and sensible clothes. They should not have fancy hairdos, or wear
expensive clothes, or put on jewelry made of gold or pearls. 10Women who claim to love God should do helpful
things for others, 11and they should learn by being quiet and paying attention. 12They should be silent and
not be allowed to teach or to tell men what to do. 13After all, Adam was created before Eve, 14and the man
Adam wasn't the one who was fooled. It was the woman Eve who was completely fooled and sinned. 15But
women will be saved by having children, if they stay faithful, loving, holy, and modest.
chapter 3
Church Officials
1It is true that anyone who desires to be a church official wants to be something worthwhile. 2That's why
officials must have a good reputation and be faithful in marriage. They must be self-controlled, sensible,
well-behaved, friendly to strangers, and able to teach. 3They must not be heavy drinkers or troublemakers.
Instead, they must be kind and gentle and not love money. 4Church officials must be in control of their own
families, and they must see that their children are obedient and always respectful. 5If they don't know how to
control their own families, how can they look after God's people?
6They must not be new followers of the Lord. If they are, they might become proud and be doomed along
with the devil. 7Finally, they must be well-respected by people who are not followers. Then they won't be
trapped and disgraced by the devil.
Church Officers
8Church officers should be serious. They must not be liars, heavy drinkers, or greedy for money. 9And they
must have a clear conscience and hold firmly to what God has shown us about our faith. 10They must first
prove themselves. Then if no one has anything against them, they can serve as officers. 11Women must also
be serious. They must not gossip or be heavy drinkers, and they must be faithful in everything they do.
12Church officers must be faithful in marriage. They must be in full control of their children and everyone else
in their home. 13Those who serve well as officers will earn a good reputation and will be highly respected for
their faith in Christ Jesus.
The Mystery of Our Religion
14I hope to visit you soon. But I am writing these instructions, 15so that if I am delayed, you will know how
everyone who belongs to God's family ought to behave. After all, the church of the living God is the strong
foundation of truth.
16Here is the great mystery of our religion:
Christ came as a human. The Spirit proved
that he pleased God,
and he was seen by angels.
Christ was preached
to the nations.
People in this world
put their faith in him,
and he was taken up to glory.
chapter 4
People Will Turn from Their Faith
1God's Spirit clearly says that in the last days many people will turn from their faith. They will be fooled by
evil spirits and by teachings that come from demons. 2They will also be fooled by the false claims of liars
whose consciences have lost all feeling. These liars 3will forbid people to marry or to eat certain foods. But
God created these foods to be eaten with thankful hearts by his followers who know the truth. 4Everything
God created is good. And if you give thanks, you may eat anything. 5What God has said and your prayer will
make it fit to eat.
Paul's Advice to Timothy
6If you teach these things to other followers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus. You will show that
you have grown up on the teachings about our faith and on the good instructions you have obeyed. 7Don't
have anything to do with worthless, senseless stories. Work hard to be truly religious. 8-9As the saying goes,
"Exercise is good
for your body,
but religion helps you
in every way.
It promises life
now and forever."
These words are worthwhile and should not be forgotten. 10We have put our hope in the living God, who is
the Savior of everyone, but especially of those who have faith. That's why we work and struggle so hard.
11Teach these things and tell everyone to do what you say. 12Don't let anyone make fun of you, just
because you are young. Set an example for other followers by what you say and do, as well as by your love,
faith, and purity.
13Until I arrive, be sure to keep on reading the Scriptures in worship, and don't stop preaching and teaching.
14Use the gift you were given when the prophets spoke and the group of church leaders blessed you by
placing their hands on you. 15Remember these things and think about them, so everyone can see how well
you are doing. 16Be careful about the way you live and about what you teach. Keep on doing this, and you
will save not only yourself, but the people who hear you.
chapter 5
How To Act toward Others
1Don't correct an older man. Encourage him, as you would your own father. Treat younger men as you would
your own brother, 2and treat older women as you would your own mother. Show the same respect to younger
women that you would to your sister.
3Take care of any widow who is really in need. 4But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should
learn to serve God by taking care of her, as she once took care of them. This is what God wants them to do.
5A widow who is really in need is one who doesn't have any relatives. She has faith in God, and she keeps
praying to him night and day, asking for his help.
6A widow who thinks only about having a good time is already dead, even though she is still alive.
7Tell all of this to everyone, so they will do the right thing. 8People who don't take care of their relatives, and
especially their own families, have given up their faith. They are worse than someone who doesn't have faith
in the Lord.
9For a widow to be put on the list of widows, she must be at least sixty years old, and she must have been
faithful in marriage. 10She must also be well-known for doing all sorts of good things, such as raising children,
giving food to strangers, welcoming God's people into her home, helping people in need, and always making
herself useful. 11Don't put young widows on the list. They may later have a strong desire to get married.
Then they will turn away from Christ 12and become guilty of breaking their promise to him. 13Besides, they
will become lazy and get into the habit of going from house to house. Next, they will start gossiping and
become busybodies, talking about things that are none of their business.
14I would prefer that young widows get married, have children, and look after their families. Then the enemy
won't have any reason to say insulting things about us. 15Look what's already happened to some of the
young widows! They have turned away to follow Satan.
16If a woman who is a follower has any widows in her family, she should help them. This will keep the church
from having that burden, and then the church can help widows who are really in need.
Church Leaders
17Church leaders who do their job well deserve to be paid twice as much, especially if they work hard at
preaching and teaching. 18It is just as the Scriptures say, "Don't muzzle an ox when you are using it to grind
grain." You also know the saying, "Workers are worth their pay." 19Don't listen to any charge against a
church leader, unless at least two or three people bring the same charges. 20But if any of the leaders should
keep on sinning, they must be corrected in front of the whole group, as a warning to everyone else.
21In the presence of God and Christ Jesus and their chosen angels, I order you to follow my instructions! Be
fair with everyone, and don't have any favorites.
22Don't be too quick to accept people into the service of the Lord by placing your hands on them. Don't sin
because others do, but stay close to God.
23Stop drinking only water. Take a little wine to help your stomach trouble and the other illnesses you always
have.
24Some people get caught in their sins right away, even before the time of judgment. But other people's sins
don't show up until later. 25It is the same with good deeds. Some are easily seen, but none of them can be
hidden.
chapter 6
1If you are a slave, you should respect and honor your owner. This will keep people from saying bad things
about God and about our teaching. 2If any of you slaves have owners who are followers, you should show
them respect. After all, they are also followers of Christ, and he loves them. So you should serve and help
them the best you can.
These are the things you must teach and tell the people to do.
False Teaching and True Wealth
3Anyone who teaches something different disagrees with the correct and godly teaching of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 4Those people who disagree are proud of themselves, but they don't really know a thing. Their minds
are sick, and they like to argue over words. They cause jealousy, disagreements, unkind words, evil
suspicions, 5and nasty quarrels. They have wicked minds and have missed out on the truth.
These people think religion is supposed to make you rich. 6And religion does make your life rich, by making you
content with what you have. 7We didn't bring anything into this world, and we won't take anything with us
when we leave. 8So we should be satisfied just to have food and clothes. 9People who want to be rich fall
into all sorts of temptations and traps. They are caught by foolish and harmful desires that drag them down
and destroy them. 10The love of money causes all kinds of trouble. Some people want money so much that
they have given up their faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.
Fighting a Good Fight for the Faith
11Timothy, you belong to God, so keep away from all these evil things. Try your best to please God and to be
like him. Be faithful, loving, dependable, and gentle. 12Fight a good fight for the faith and claim eternal life.
God offered it to you when you clearly told about your faith, while so many people listened. 13Now I ask you
to make a promise. Make it in the presence of God, who gives life to all, and in the presence of Jesus Christ,
who openly told Pontius Pilate about his faith. 14Promise to obey completely and fully all that you have been
told until our Lord Jesus Christ returns.
15The glorious God
is the only Ruler,
the King of kings
and Lord of lords.
At the time that God
has already decided,
he will send Jesus Christ
back again.
16Only God lives forever!
And he lives in light
that no one can come near.
No human has ever seen God
or ever can see him.
God will be honored,
and his power
will last forever. Amen.
17Warn the rich people of this world not to be proud or to trust in wealth that is easily lost. Tell them to have
faith in God, who is rich and blesses us with everything we need to enjoy life. 18Instruct them to do as many
good deeds as they can and to help everyone. Remind the rich to be generous and share what they have.
19This will lay a solid foundation for the future, so that they will know what true life is like.
20Timothy, guard what God has placed in your care! Don't pay any attention to that godless and stupid talk
that sounds smart but really isn't. 21Some people have even lost their faith by believing this talk.
I pray that the Lord will be kind to all of you!