New American Bible
2002 11 11
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Chapter 4
1
1 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the
last times some will turn away from the faith by paying attention to deceitful
spirits and demonic instructions
2
through the hypocrisy of liars with branded
consciences.
3
They forbid marriage and require abstinence
from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who
believe and know the truth.
4
For everything created by God is good, and
nothing is to be rejected when received with thanksgiving,
5
for it is made holy by the invocation of God in
prayer. 2
6
3 If you will give these instructions to the
brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words
of the faith and of the sound teaching you have followed.
7
Avoid profane and silly myths. Train yourself
for devotion,
8
for, while physical training is of limited
value, devotion is valuable in every respect, since it holds a promise of life
both for the present and for the future.
9
This saying is trustworthy and deserves full
acceptance.
10
For this we toil and struggle, 4
because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the savior of all,
especially of those who believe.
11
5 Command and teach these things.
12
Let no one have contempt for your youth, 6
but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and
purity.
13
Until I arrive, attend to the reading, 7
exhortation, and teaching.
14
Do not neglect the gift you have, which was
conferred on you through the prophetic word 8 with the imposition
of hands of the presbyterate.
15
Be diligent in these matters, be absorbed in
them, so that your progress may be evident to everyone.
16
Attend to yourself and to your teaching;
persevere in both tasks, for by doing so you will save both yourself and those
who listen to you.
1 [1-5] Doctrinal deviations from the
true Christian message within the church have been prophesied, though the
origin of the prophecy is not specified (⇒ 1 Tim
4:1-2); cf ⇒ Acts 20:29-30. The letter
warns against a false asceticism that prohibits marriage and regards certain
foods as forbidden, though they are part of God's good creation
(⇒ 1 Tim 4:3).
2 [5] The invocation of God in
prayer: literally, "the word of God and petition." The use of
"word of God" without an article in Greek suggests that it refers to
the name of God being invoked in blessing rather than to the "word of
God" proclaimed to the community.
3 [6-10] Timothy is urged to be
faithful, both in his teaching and in his own life, as he looks only to God for
salvation.
4 [10] Struggle: other manuscripts
and patristic witnesses read "suffer reproach."
5 [11-16] Timothy is urged to preach
and teach with confidence, relying on the gifts and the mission that God has
bestowed on him.
6 [12] Youth: some commentators find
this reference a sign of pseudepigraphy. Timothy had joined Paul as a
missionary already in A.D. 49, some fifteen years before the earliest supposed
date of composition.
7 [13] Reading: the Greek word refers
to private or public reading. Here, it probably designates the public reading
of scripture in the Christian assembly.
8 [14] Prophetic word: this may mean
the utterance of a Christian prophet designating the candidate or a prayer of
blessing accompanying the rite. Imposition of hands: this gesture was used in
the Old Testament to signify the transmission of authority from Moses to Joshua
(⇒ Numbers 27:18-23; ⇒ Deut 34:9).
The early Christian community used it as a symbol of installation into an
office: the Seven (⇒ Acts 6:6) and Paul and Barnabas
(⇒ Acts 13:3). Of the presbyterate: this would mean
that each member of the college of presbyters imposed hands and appears to
contradict ⇒ 2 Tim 1:6, in which Paul says that he
imposed hands on Timothy. This latter text, however, does not exclude
participation by others in the rite. Some prefer to translate "for the
presbyterate," and thus understand it to designate the office into which
Timothy was installed rather than the agents who installed him.
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