The section begins with Timothy being addressed directly with the term man of God, a term that was often used for prophets in the Old Testament (for example, 1 Sam 2.27), characterizing the prophet as one who belongs to God and who represents God. If it is used in this technical sense here, it would signal the role of Timothy as a prophet in addition to his other functions. It is possible, although less likely, that this is used not in a technical but in a general way as an appropriate address for any Christian worker or for any member of the church, for that matter. Other ways of expressing this initial phrase are “As for you, Timothy, you represent God,” or simply “Timothy, you are God’s representative (or, person).”
The first instruction to Timothy contains both negative and positive aspects. Negatively Timothy is urged to shun all this. Shun translates the present imperative of the verb “to flee,” which for some indicates that there is continuing action involved; it is not enough to flee from these things once, but to flee from them constantly, that is, over and over again. Both shun and “flee” are figurative language; what it really means is not to get involved in any way, to “avoid” (Good News Translation), to refrain from practicing. All this (Good News Translation “all these things”) refers to the evil practices and attitudes mentioned in the previous paragraph, particularly the preoccupation with material wealth, and in some languages one must translate “refrain from doing all these evil things.”
Positively Timothy is urged to aim at certain virtues. Aim at is literally “to pursue” (so New Revised Standard Version), to “strive for” (Good News Translation), “Try your best to” (Contemporary English Version). What follows are six virtues that are included in various lists of virtues in the New Testament. These six virtues can be viewed either as three pairs (righteousness-godliness, faith-love, steadfastness-gentleness) or as two groups of three, with the first three directed toward God, and the last three directed toward other people. In some languages it will be helpful to begin a new sentence here; for example, “On the contrary, you must set your heart to gain…” or “On the contrary, let your heart aim for….”
Righteousness does not refer primarily to the act of God in restoring people to a right relationship with God, but to the kind of life and conduct that God expects and requires of those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ; hence uprightness, “integrity” (Phillips), “faithful” (Contemporary English Version).
Godliness is translated elsewhere in the letter as “religion”; here it refers primarily to Christian piety, that is, to a way of life that is acceptable to God and in accord with the precepts of the Christian faith.
Faith is not the initial act of trusting in God or in Christ but is a result of that initial act of trust. It can mean “faithfulness” (Phillips; so also New English Bible “fidelity”) that is directed to God; it can also mean moving from one degree of faith to another; hence, to trust Christ more and more.
Love here focuses on the horizontal rather than the vertical dimension, that is, it is directed primarily toward other people rather than to God.
Steadfastness (Good News Translation “endurance”) is the same word that is sometimes translated “patience,” but the focus here is the ability to hold on, to persevere in the faith, not to give up, but to be always full of hope even though all the signs tend to indicate otherwise. This virtue is particularly important when there are various trials and temptations faced by the Christian community. So in certain languages it will be necessary to translate steadfastness as “the ability to endure,” or even idiomatically, for example, as “have a heart (or, liver) that endures” or “have a big heart.”
Finally, gentleness has two components of meaning; it can mean “meekness” or “humility”; but it can also mean gentleness, that is, the quality of not being harsh or cruel in dealing with others, or positively treating others in a kind and considerate manner. The word occurs only here in the New Testament, although words from the same root are used elsewhere (for example, see “meek” in Matt 5.5 and “gentle” in 11.29). A basic component of the meaning of this word is “discipline,” referring to the disciplined training for a particular task or responsibility. In many languages it will be necessary to express these virtues with verbal expressions.
An alternative translation model is the following:
• But as for you, Timothy, you are God’s representative (or, person). So you must refrain from doing all these evil things. On the contrary, you should set your heart on doing what God requires of you, living a life that is acceptable to him, trusting in Christ more and more, loving other people, always being full of hope (or, never giving up), and being gentle with other people.
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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