1 Timothy 6
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 6
Slaves.[a] 1 All those who are under the yoke of slavery must regard their masters as worthy of complete respect, so that the name of God and our teaching may not be brought into disrepute. 2 Those whose masters are believers must not despise them because they are brethren. On the contrary, they should serve them more, since those who receive the benefits of their services are believers and beloved brethren.
Final Charge[b]
False Teaching about Wealth. These are the things you should teach and recommend. 3 Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the wholesome instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the godly teaching 4 is a conceited person who understands nothing and who has an unhealthy enthusiasm to engage in arguments and to dispute the meaning of words. From these come envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, 5 and unending disputes among people whose minds are corrupted and who are deprived of truth, supposing that godliness is a means of gain.
6 Godliness produces great gain, but only to those who are content. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out. 8 If we have food and clothing, let us be content with these.
9 However, those who want riches fall into temptations and are trapped into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 The love of money is the root of all evils, and in their desire for it some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many serious wounds.[c]
11 Fight the Good Fight. But as for you, man of God,[d] you must shun all this. Rather, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, fortitude, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your noble confession[e] of faith in the presence of many witnesses.
13 In the sight of God, who gave life to all things, and before Jesus Christ, who himself made that noble confession of faith in his testimony before Pontius Pilate, I charge you 14 to obey the commands of God without fault or failure until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will make manifest at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only ruler of all, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. 16 He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has seen him or is able to do so. To him be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
17 Right Use of Riches.[f] Instruct those who are rich in this world’s goods that they should not be proud, nor should they trust in the uncertainty of riches but rather in God who richly provides us with everything we need for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to do good and to be rich in good works, to be generous in giving and ready to share. 19 In this way, they will acquire the treasure of a good foundation for the future so that they will be able to grasp the life that is true life.
Conclusion[g]
20 Admonition to Timothy. My brother Timothy, guard carefully what has been entrusted to you.[h] Avoid the profane chatter and the contradictions of what is wrongly considered to be knowledge. 21 By professing it some people have strayed far from the faith.
Farewell. Grace be with all of you.[i]
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 6:1 Paul speaks on more than one occasion of the lot of slaves (see 1 Cor 7:21-24; Gal 3:28; Eph 6:5-9; Col 3:22-25; Tit 2:9-10; Philem 10-17; 1 Pet 2:18-20). What he speaks of here is not about the social institution of the time but about fidelity and relationships within a de facto institution.
- 1 Timothy 6:2 The final instruction to Timothy concerns combating false teaching about wealth, fighting the good fight of the faith, and amassing true riches in place of earthly wealth. In order to understand the kind of disastrous teaching we are dealing with here, it suffices to examine the portrait of a false teacher. He is a man who gives in to every snare, chasing after reputation, emotional satisfaction, and money without paying any real attention to the faith. The true teacher, on the other hand, knows how to embrace suffering and live according to the truth. He is a man who professes the faith and fights for it while totally enveloped by the mystery of Christ that is evoked in the beautiful final hymn in 1 Tim 6:14-16.
- 1 Timothy 6:10 Money in itself is neither good nor bad. It is the love of money that is evil, and indeed the root of all types of evil. Therefore, it is not wrong for believers to be well off—so long as they do not take pride in their riches but use them “to do good.”
- 1 Timothy 6:11 Man of God: a well-known title that had been applied to Moses and the Prophets in the Old Testament (see Deut 33:1; 1 Sam 2:27). It highlights the spiritual power possessed by leaders of the Church.
- 1 Timothy 6:12 Confession: perhaps the profession of faith that Timothy made when consecrated to the ministry.
- 1 Timothy 6:17 This passage calls for Christians to cast off the quest for riches that permeated their society and to change their attitude toward them.
- 1 Timothy 6:20 Once again one of the major themes of the Letter is highlighted in this Conclusion: guard the deposit of faith that has been entrusted to you.
- 1 Timothy 6:20 What has been entrusted to you: literally, “the deposit,” that is, sacred doctrine, the authentic Gospel (see 1 Tim 1:10-11; 2 Tim 1:13-14). Wrongly considered to be knowledge: the ensemble of doctrines that were taught by heretics and that on many points foreshadowed the Gnosticism of the second century.
- 1 Timothy 6:21 All of you: the plural indicates that this Letter was intended to be read to the whole community.
