2 To Timothy, a true son to me because you believe.Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I want you to stay in Ephesus. I asked you to do that when I went into Macedonia. Some people there in Ephesus are teaching false things. Stay there so that you can command them to stop.
4 Tell them not to spend their time on stories that are not true and on long lists of names in family histories. These things only bring arguments; they do not help God’s work. God’s work is done by faith.
5 The purpose of this command is for people to have love. To have this love they must have a pure heart, they must do what they know is right, and they must have true faith.
6 Some people have wandered away from these things. They talk about things that are worth nothing.
7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about. They do not even understand what they say they are sure about.
8 We know that the law is good if a man uses it right.