Passage

1 Timothy 1.12-17

Book: 1 Timothy · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

10. for fornicators, for abusers of themselves with men, for menstealers, for liars, for false swearers, and if there be any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine; 11. according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

12. I thank him that enabled me, even Christ Jesus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful, appointing me to his service; 13. though I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: howbeit I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief; 14. and the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15. Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief: 16. howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life. 17. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

This charge I commit unto thee, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which led the way to thee, that by them thou mayest war the good warfare; 19. holding faith and a good conscience; which some having thrust from them made shipwreck concerning the faith: (1 Timothy 1:10-19, ASV)

WEB

10. for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine; 11. according to the Good News of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

12. And I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service; 13. although I was before a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14. The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15. The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16. However, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might display all his patience, for an example of those who were going to believe in him for eternal life. 17. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

This instruction I commit to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which led the way to you, that by them you may wage the good warfare; 19. holding faith and a good conscience; which some having thrust away made a shipwreck concerning the faith; (1 Timothy 1:10-19, WEB)

KJV

10. For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 11. According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

12. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13. Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 17. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; 19. Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: (1 Timothy 1:10-19, KJV)

YLT

10. whoremongers, sodomites, men-stealers, liars, perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that to sound doctrine is adverse, 11. according to the good news of the glory of the blessed God, with which I was entrusted.

12. And I give thanks to him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, that he did reckon me stedfast, having put [me] to the ministration, 13. who before was speaking evil, and persecuting, and insulting, but I found kindness, because, being ignorant, I did [it] in unbelief, 14. and exceedingly abound did the grace of our Lord, with faith and love that [is] in Christ Jesus: 15. stedfast [is] the word, and of all acceptation worthy, that Christ Jesus came to the world to save sinners, first of whom I am; 16. but because of this I found kindness, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering, for a pattern of those about to believe on him to life age-during: 17. and to the King of the ages, the incorruptible, invisible, only wise God, [is] honour and glory, to the ages of the ages! Amen.

This charge I commit to thee, child Timotheus, according to the prophesies that went before upon thee, that thou mayest war in them the good warfare, 19. having faith and a good conscience, which certain having thrust away, concerning the faith did make shipwreck, (1 Timothy 1:10-19, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Paul, who names himself in the opening line (1:1) and writes in the first person throughout. Authorship of the three Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus) is disputed. Many critical scholars hold that a later follower wrote them in Paul's name, pointing to differences of vocabulary and style from the undisputed letters and to a more settled church order. Others defend Paul's authorship, among them Luke Timothy Johnson (Anchor Bible, 2001), William Mounce (Word Biblical Commentary, 2000) and Philip Towner (NICNT, 2006), citing the letter's personal details and its acceptance in the second-century church.
Audience: Timothy, Paul's "true child in faith" (1:2), whom Paul had urged to stay on at Ephesus to stop certain men from teaching "a different doctrine" (1:3). Timothy came from Lystra, the son of a believing Jewish mother and a Greek father, and had travelled with Paul since the second missionary journey (Acts 16:1-3). The letter is addressed to him, but its directions on prayer, worship, overseers, deacons and widows are meant to order the church at Ephesus as a whole (3:14-15).
Location: not stated. Paul says he left Timothy at Ephesus "when I was going into Macedonia" (1:3) and hopes to rejoin him soon (3:14; 4:13), so Macedonia is the usual suggestion for where the letter was written.
Time period: on Pauline authorship, usually c. AD 62-65, after Paul's release from the Roman imprisonment that ends Acts, since the journey in 1:3 is hard to fit into the Acts narrative. Scholars who regard the letter as pseudonymous usually place it late in the first century or early in the second. The reading below does not depend on the choice.
Literary context: Paul's testimony, set between the charge against the false teachers (1:3-11) and its renewal (1:18-20). It illustrates from his own life "the gospel of the glory of the blessed God" just mentioned (1:11), and ends in a doxology (1:17).

Theological reading

"Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief:" (1 Timothy 1:15, ASV)

Thanks for an appointment. Paul thanks Christ, who "enabled me" and "counted me faithful, appointing me to his service" (1:12). The enabling and the appointment come from Christ, given to a man whose record disqualified him: "a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious" (1:13; compare Acts 9:1-2; Galatians 1:13).

Ignorance and mercy. "I did it ignorantly in unbelief" (1:13) does not excuse Paul; it explains why mercy was possible. The law distinguished sins done unwittingly from sins done "with a high hand" (Numbers 15:27-31). Paul places his persecution in the first category and still calls himself chief of sinners.

The faithful saying. "Faithful is the saying" introduces the first of five such sayings in the Pastoral Epistles (1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:11; Titus 3:8). This one compresses the gospel: Christ Jesus came into the world, the language used of the Son's coming from the Father (John 3:17; 12:46), to save sinners. See 1 Timothy 1.15.

A pattern for later believers. Mercy shown to the worst offender is an "ensample" (hypotypōsis, an outline or pattern) for all who would afterward believe (1:16). If Christ's patience reached Paul, it can reach anyone. The section closes in worship of "the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God" (1:17).

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

G0166 - aionios, aionios, Strong's G0166
G0165 - aion, aion, Strong's G0165
G4982 - sozo, sozo, Strong's G4982
G0026 - agape, agape, Strong's G0026
G2222 - zoe, zoe, Strong's G2222
G1510 - eimi, eimi, Strong's G1510

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

100 Verses of Compassion and God's Goodness, via 1 Timothy 1.15
Degrees of Punishment, via 1 Timothy 1.15
No Longer Sinners, via 1 Timothy 1.15

People:

Moses the Black, via 1 Timothy 1.15

Lexicon:

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.