The fyrst epistle of S. Paul vnto Timotheus.The Prologe vp

the fyrst epistle of S. Paule to Timothe.
This pistle wryteth S. Paule to be an ensample vnto all bisshops / what they shuld teache / & how they shuld gouerne the congregacion of Christ in all degrees /
A
that it shuld be no nede to gouerne Christes flocke with the doctrine of their aw good meaninges.
In the fyrst Chapter / he commaundeth that the bysshope shall maynteme the ryght fayth & loue / and resist false preachers which make the lawe & workes equall with Christ and his Gospell. And he maketh a shorte conclusion of all Christen learninge / wherto the lawe serueth
& what the ende therof is / also what the gospell is / & setteth him selfe for a c

fortable ensample vnto all synners & troubled consciences.
In the seconde he commaundeth to praye for all degrees / and chargeth that the wemen shall not preache ner were costlye apparell / but tobe obedyent vnto the men.
In the thyrde he descrybeth what maner persons the bysshope or preste and their wyues shuld be / and also the deacones and their wyues: and commendeth it / if anye man desyer to be a bysshope after that maner.
In the fourth he prophisieth and sheweth before of the false bysshopes and spirituall offycers that shuld aryse amonge the christ
people / and be / do and preache cleane contrary to the fore descrybed ensample / and shuld departe from the fayth in Christ and forbyd to mary & to eate certen meates / teachynge to put trust therin / bothe of iustifienge and forgeuenes of synnes and also of deseruinge of eternall lyfe.
In the fyueth he teacheth how a bysshope shuld vse him selfe towarde younge and olde & concernynge widowes what is to be done / and which shuld be founde of the commen cost: and teacheth also how men shuld honoure the verteous bysshopes and prestes / and how to rebuke the euell.
In the sixte he exhorteth the Bisshope to cleaue to the gospell of Christ and true doctrine / and to auoyde vayne questions and superfluous disputynges which gender stryfe and quenche the truthe / and by which also the false prophetes get them auctorite and seke to satisfie their insaciable couetousnes.
The fyrst epistle of S. Paul vnto Timotheus.The fyrst Chapter.
[Untitled Possibly Huge Image] Paul an Apostle of Iesus Christ / by the c
maundement of God oure savioure /
A
1.A & Lorde Iesus Christ / which is oure hope.
2.AVnto Timothe his naturall sonne in the fayth.
Grace / mercy and peace from God oure father & Lorde Iesus Christ oure Lorde.
As I besought the to abyde styll in Ephesus when I departed into Macedonia / even so do / that thou c
maunde some that they teache no nother wise: nether geve hede to fables & genealogies which are endlesse / & brede doutes more then godly edyfyinge which is by fayth: for þe ende of the c
maundem
t is 3.A love that c
meth of a pure herte & of a good conscience / & of fayth vnfayned: fr
the which thinges some have erred / & have turned vnto vayne iangelinge / because they wolde be doctours the scripture / and yet vnderstonde not what they speake / nether wherof they affirme.
B
4.B
We knowe þ
t the lawe is good / yf a man vse it lawfully / vnderstondinge this / how þ
t the lawe is not geven vnto a righteous man / bu vnto the vnrighteous & disobedi

t / to the vngodly & to synners / to vnholy and vnclean / to murtherers of fathers & murtherers of
mothers / to manslears and whormongers: to them that defile them selves with mankynde: to menstealers: to lyars and to periured / & so forth yf ther be eny other thinge that is c

trary to holsome doctrine / accordinge to the gospell of the glory of the blessed God / which gospell is committed vnto me.
C
And I thanke Christ Iesus oure Lorde which hath made me stronge: for he counted me true / & put me in office / when before I was a blasphemar / & a persecuter / & a tyra

t. But I obtayned mercy / because I dyd it ignora

tly thorow vnbelefe. Neverthelater the grace of oure Lorde was more aboundaunt with fayth and love which is in Christ Iesu.
5.C
This is a true sayinge & by all meanes worthy to be receaved / that Christ Iesus came into the world to save synners / of whom I am chefe. Notwithstondinge for this cause was mercy gev
vnto me that Iesus Christ shuld fyrst shewe on me all longe pacience / vnto the ensample of them which shall in tyme 6.C to come beleve on him vnto eternall lyfe.
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So then vnto god / kynge everlastinge / immortall / invisible / and wyse only / be honoure and prayse for ever and ever Amen.
This commaundement commit I vnto the sonne Timotheus / accordynge to the prophisies which in tyme past were prophisied of the / þt thou in them shuldest fyght a good fyght / havinge fayth & good consci
ce which some have put awaye fr
them / & as c
cerninge fayth have made shipwracke. Of whose
nombre is Himeneus and Alexander which
7.D I have delivered vnto Satan / þ
t they myght be taught not to blaspheme
The .ii. Chapter.

A
I exhorte therfore / that above all thynges / prayers / supplicacions intercessions / and gevynge of thankes behad for all men: for kynges / and for all that are in auctorite / that we maye live a quyet and a peasable life / in all godlines and honestie. For that is good and accepted in the sight of god oure savioure / which
8.A will have all men saved / and to come vnto the knowledge of þ
e trueth.
B
For ther is one god / & one (mediator) bitwene god & man / which is þ
e man Christ Iesus which gave him silfe a raunsome for all men / that it shuld be testified at his tyme / wherevnto I am ordayned a preacher and an apostle: I tell the trueth in Christ and lye not / beynge the teacher of the gentyls in fayth and veritie.
9.BI wyll therfore that the men praye every where / liftynge vp pure hondes without wrath / or dowtinge. 10.BLykwyse also the wemen that they araye them selves in comlye aparell with shamfastnes & discrete behaveour /
C
not with broyded heare / other golde / or pearles / or costly araye: but with suche as bec

meth wemen that professe the worshippynge of God thorow good workes.
11.CLet the woman learne in silence with all subieccion. I suffre not a woman to teache / nether to have auctoricie over a man: but forto be in silence. For Adam was fyrst formed / and then Eve. Also Adam
was not deceaved / but the woman was deceaved / and was in transgression. Notwithstondynge thorow bearinge of chyldr

they shalbe saved / so they continue in fayth / love and holynes with discrecion.
The .iii. Chapter.
A
This is a true sayinge. Yf a m

covet þ
e office of a bysshope /
12.A he desyreth a good worke. Ye and a bisshope must be fautlesse / the husband of one wyfe / sober / discrete / honestly aparelled / harberous / apt to teache / not dronk

/ no fighter / not gev

to filthy lucre: but gentle / abhorrynge fightynge / abhorrynge coveteousnes / and one that rueleth his awne housse honestly / havynge chyldren vnder obedience / with all honeste. For yf a man cannot rule his owne housse / how shall he care for the congregacion of God. He maye not be a yonge skoler /
B
lest he swell and faule into the iudgement of the evyll speaker. He must also be well reported of amonge them which are with out forth / lest he fall into rebuke and snare of the evyll speaker.
13.BLykwyse must the deacons be honest / not double tonged / not gev
vnto moche drynkinge / nether vnto filthy lucre: but havynge the mistery of the fayth in pure consci
ce. And let them fyrst be proved / and then let them minister / yf they be founde fautlesse.
C
Even so must their wynes be honest / not evyll speakers:
14.C but sober and faythfull in all thinges. Let the deacons be the husbandes of one wyfe / and suche as rule their chyldren
well / and their awne housholdes. For they that minister well / get them selves good degre and greate libertie in the fayth / which is in Christ Iesu.
These thinges write I vnto the / trustinge to come shortly vnto the:
D
but and yf I tarie longe / þ
t then thou mayst yet have knowledge how thou oughtest to behave thy silfe in the housse of God / which is the congregacion of the livinge God / the pillar and grounde of trueth. And with out naye great is that mistery of godlines: God was shewed in the flesshe / was iustified in the sprete / was sene of angels / was preached vnto the gentyls / was beleved on in erth and receaved vp in glory.
The .iiii. Chapter.
The sprete speaketh evydently that in the latter tymes some shall departe 15. from the fayth /
A
and shall geve hede vnto spretes of erroure / and dyvelysshe doctrine of them which speake falce thorow ypocrisye / and have their consciences marked with an hote yron /
16.A forbyddinge to mary / and commaundinge to abstayne from meates which God hath created to be receaved with gevynge thankes / of them which beleve and knowe þ
e trueth. For all the creatures of God are good and nothynge to be refused / yf it be receaved with thankes gevynge. For it is sanctyfyed by the worde of God and prayer.
B
Yf thou shalt put the brethren in remembraunce of these thynges / thou shalt be a good minister of Iesu Christ / which hast
bene norisshed vp in the wordes of the fayth and good doctryne /
17.B which doctryne thou hast continually followed.
C
But cast awaye vngostly and olde wyves fables.
Exercyse thy silfe vnto godlines. For bodely exercise proffiteth lyttll: But godlines is good vnto all thynges / as a thynge which hath promyses of the lyfe that is now / and of the lyfe to come. This is a sure sayinge and of all parties worthy to be receaved. For therfore we laboure and suffre rebuke / because we beleve in the livynge god / which is the savioure of all men: but specially of those that beleve. Suche thynges commaunde and teache. Let no man despyse thy youth: but be vnto them that beleve / an insample / in worde in conversacion / in love / in sprete / in fayth and in purenes.
D
Till I come / geve attendaunce to redynge / to exhortacion and to doctryne. Despyse not the gyfte that is in þ
e / which was geven the thorow prophesye and with layinge on of þ
e hondes of an elder. These thynges exercyse / and geve thy silfe vnto them / that it maye be sene how thou profetest in all thinges. Take hede vnto thy silfe and vnto learnynge /
18.D and continue therin. For if thou shalt so do / thou shalt save thy silfe & them that heare the.
The .v. Chapter.
A
Rebuke not an elder: but exhorte him as a father / and the yonger m

as brethren / the elder wemen as mothers / þ
e yonger as sisters / with all purenes. Honoure
widdowes which are true wyddowes.
19.AYf eny wyddowe have chyldren or neves / let them learne fyrst to rule their awne houses godly / and to recompence their elders. For that is good and acceptable before God. She that is a very wyddowe and frendlesse / putteth her trust in god / and continueth in supplicacion and prayer nyght and daye. But she that liveth in pleasure / is deed even yet alive. And these thynges commaunde / that they maye be without faut / Yf ther be eny that provideth not for his awne / and namly for them of his housholde / the same denyeth the fayth / and is worsse then an infydell.
B
20.BLet no wyddowe be chosen vnder threscore yere olde / and soche a one as was the wyfe of one man / and well reported of in good workes: yf she have noresshed children / yf she have bene liberall to stra

gers / yf she have wesshed the saynctes fete / yf she have ministred vnto them which were in adversite / yf she were continually gev

vnto all maner good workes. The yonger widdowes refuse. For when they have begone to wexe wantone / to the dishonoure of Christ / then will they mary / havynge
21.B damnaci

/ because they have brok

their fyrst fayth. And also they learne to goo from housse to housse ydle / ye not ydle only / but also tryflynge and busybodyes / speakynge thynges which are not comly.
C
I will therfore that þ
e yonger wem

mary and beare childr

/ and gyde the housse / and geve none occasi

to þ
e adversary to speake evill
For many of them are all redy turned bake / and are gone after Satan. And yf eny man or woman that beleveth have widdowes / let th

minister vnto them / & let not the congregacion be charged: that yt maye have sufficient for them that are widdowes in dede.
The elders þt rule wel / are worthy of double honoure / most specially they which laboure in þe worde & in teachinge. For the scripture sayth: Thou shalt not mousell the mouth of the oxe that treadeth out the corne. 22.CAnd the labourer is worthy of his rewarde. Agaynst an elder receave none accusacion: but vnder two or thre witnesses. Them that synne / rebuke openly / that other maye feare.
D
I testifie before god and the lorde Iesus Christ / and the electe angels / that thou observe these thynges with out hasty iudgement / and do nothynge parcially. Laye hondes sod

ly on no man nether be partaker of other m

s synnes: kepe thy silfe pure. Drynke no lenger water / but vse a lytell wyne / for thy stommakes sake and thyne often diseases.
Some mennes synnes are open before honde and goo before vnto iudgement: some mennes synnes folowe after. Lykwyse also good workes are manyfest before honde & they that are other wyse / c
not be hid.
The .vi. Chapter
A
23.ALet as many servauntes as are vnder þ
e yoke / counte their masters worthy of all honour / that the name of god and his doctryne be not evyll spoken of. Se that they which have belevynge masters / despyse them
not because they are brethren: but so moche the rather do service / for as moche as they are belevynge and beloved and partakers of the benefite.
These thynges teache and exhorte. Yf eny man teache other wise / and is not cont
t with þe wholsome wordes of oure lorde Iesu christ / and with the doctryne of godlines / he is pufte vp & knoweth nothynge: but wasteth his braynes aboute questions & stryfe of wordes /
B
wherof sprynge envie / stryfe / raylinges / evyll surmysinges and vayne disputacions of men with corrupte myndes and destitute of the trueth / which thynke that lucre is godlines. From soche seperate thy silfe.
24.BGodlines is great ryches / yf a man be content with that he hath. For we brought nothynge into the worlde / and it is a playne case that we can cary nothynge out.
When we have fode & rayment / let vs therwith be cont
t. They that wilbe ryche / faule into temptaci
and snares / and into many folysshe and noysome lustes / which droune m
in perdicion & destruccion. 25.BFor coveteousnes is the rote of all evyll / which whill some lusted after / they erred fr
the fayth / & tanglyd them selves with many sorowes. But thou which arte the man of god /
C
flye soche thyng[es]
26.CFolowe rightewesnes / godlines / love / pacience and meknes. Fyght þ
e good fyght of fayth. Laye honde on eternall lyfe / where vnto thou arte called / and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
27.CI geve the charge in the sight of God / which quickneth all thing[es] / and before Iesu Christ which vnder P

cius Pilate witnessed a good witnessinge / þ
t thou kepe the c

maundem

t / & be with out spotte and vnrebukeable / vntyll the apperynge of oure lorde Iesus Christ / which aperynge (when the tyme ys come) he shall shewe that is blessed and myghty only / kynge of kynges and lorde of lordes /
28.C which only hath immortalite / and dwelleth in light that no man can attayne / whom never man sawe /
29.C nether can se: vnto whom be honoure and rule everlastynge. Amen.
D
30.D Charge them that are ryche in this worlde / that they be not excedynge wyse / & that they trust not in the vncertayne ryches / but in the livynge god / which geveth vs aboundantly all thynges to enioye them / and that they do good and be ryche in good workes /
31.D and redy to geve and to distribute / layinge vp in store for them selves a good foundaci

agaynst the tyme to come þ
t they maye obteyne eternall lyfe
O Timothe save that which is gev
þe to kepe / & avoyde vngostly vanities of voyces & opposici
s of sci
ce falsly so called / which sci
ce whyll some professed / they have erred as concernynge the fayth. Grace be with the Amen.
Sent from Laodicea / which is the chefest cite of Phrigia Pacaciana.