Chapter 6

¹All who are under the yoke of slavery must treat their masters with the greatest respect, so that the name of God and our teaching may not be abused. ²Those who have Christian masters must not think lightly of them because they are brothers; they must serve them all the more faithfully, because those who benefit by it are believers and hence dear to them.

These are the things you must teach and preach. ³Anyone who teaches different views and does not agree with the wholesome instruction which comes from our Lord Jesus Christ, and with religious teaching ⁴is a conceited, ignorant person, with a morbid craving for speculations and arguments which result only in envy, quarreling, abuse, base suspicions, ⁵and mutual irritation between people of depraved minds, who are lost to the truth and think of religion only as a means of gain. ⁶And religion with contentment is a great means of gain. ⁷For we bring nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸If we have food and clothing we will be satisfied. ⁹But men who want to get rich fall into temptations and snares and many foolish, harmful cravings, that plunge people into destruction and ruin. ¹⁰For love of money is the root of all the evils, and in their eagerness to get rich, some men wander away from the faith and pierce themselves to the heart with many a pang.

¹¹But you, man of God, must fly from these things. Strive for uprightness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ¹²Enter the great contest of faith! Take hold of eternal life, to which God called you, when before many witnesses you made the great profession of faith. ¹³Before God who maintains all life, and before Christ Jesus who in testifying before Pontius Pilate made his great profession, I charge you ¹⁴to keep his command stainless and irreproachable until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵which will be brought about in his own time by the blessed, only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

¹⁷Charge the rich of this world not to be arrogant, nor to set their hopes on such an uncertain thing as riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸Charge them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, open-handed and generous, ¹⁹storing up a valuable treasure for themselves for the future, so as to grasp the life that is life indeed.

²⁰Timothy, guard what has been intrusted to you. Keep away from the worldly, empty phrases and contradictions of what they falsely call knowledge, ²¹through professing which some people have made a failure of the faith. God bless you all.