1 Timothy 1:20

THE MESSAGE

I, Paul, am an apostle on special assignment for Christ, our living hope. Under God our Savior's command, I'm writing this to you, Timothy, my son in the faith. All the best from our God and Christ be yours! On my way to the province of Macedonia, I advised you to stay in Ephesus. Well, I haven't changed my mind. Stay right there on top of things so that the teaching stays on track. Apparently some people have been introducing fantasy stories and fanciful family trees that digress into silliness instead of pulling the people back into the center, deepening faith and obedience. The whole point of what we're urging is simply love—love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God. Those who fail to keep to this point soon wander off into cul-de-sacs of gossip. They set themselves up as experts on religious issues, but haven't the remotest idea of what they're holding forth with such imposing eloquence. It's true that moral guidance and counsel need to be given, but the way you say it and to whom you say it are as important as what you say. It's obvious, isn't it, that the law code isn't primarily for people who live responsibly, but for the irresponsible, who defy all authority, riding roughshod over God, life, sex, truth, whatever! They are contemptuous of this great Message I've been put in charge of by this great God. I'm so grateful to Christ Jesus for making me adequate to do this work. He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry. The only credentials I brought to it were invective and witch hunts and arrogance. But I was treated mercifully because I didn't know what I was doing—didn't know Who I was doing it against! Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus. Here's a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I'm proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever. Deep honor and bright glory to the King of All Time— One God, Immortal, Invisible, ever and always. Oh, yes! I'm passing this work on to you, my son Timothy. The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this. All those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle, keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we're in. There are some, you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes have made a thorough mess of their faith. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two of them. I let them wander off to Satan to be taught a lesson or two about not blaspheming.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

King James Version (1611)
Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander, whome I haue deliuered vnto Satan, that they may learne not to blaspheme.

King James Version
Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

English Standard Version
among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

New American Standard Bible
Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.

New Century Version
Hymenaeus and Alexander have done that, and I have given them to Satan so they will learn not to speak against God.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.

Legacy Standard Bible
Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.

Berean Standard Bible
Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

Contemporary English Version
Two of them are Hymenaeus and Alexander. I have given these men over to the power of Satan, so they will learn not to oppose God.

Complete Jewish Bible
among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander. I have turned them over to the Adversary, so that they will learn not to insult God.

Darby Translation
of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan, that they may be taught by discipline not to blaspheme.

Easy-to-Read Version
Hymenaeus and Alexander are men like that. I have given them to Satan so that they will learn not to speak against God.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Of whom is Hymeneus, and Alexander, whom I haue deliuered vnto Satan, that they might learne not to blaspheme.

George Lamsa Translation
Namely Hy-me-n''us and Al-ex-an-der, whom I have delivered to Satan, to be disciplined so that they may no longer blaspheme.

Good News Translation
Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have punished by handing them over to the power of Satan; this will teach them to stop their blasphemy.

Lexham English Bible
among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, in order that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

Literal Translation
of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan, that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

Amplified Bible
Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be disciplined and taught not to blaspheme.

American Standard Version
of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered unto Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.

Bible in Basic English
Such are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have given up to Satan, so that they may say no more evil words against God.

Hebrew Names Version
of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered to Hasatan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.

International Standard Version
These include Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan so that they may learn not to blaspheme.Acts 13:45; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Timothy 2:14,17;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
as Hymeneos and Alexandros, whom I have delivered to Satana, that they may not blaspheme.

Murdock Translation
like Hymeneus and Alexander, whom I have delivered up to Satan, that they may learn not to be blasphemers.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander, whom I haue delyuered vnto Satan, that they maye learne not to blaspheme.

English Revised Version
of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered unto Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.

World English Bible
of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Among which are Hymeneus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Weymouth's New Testament
Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Of whiche is Ymeneus and Alisaundre, which Y bitook to Sathanas, that thei lerne `to not blasfeme.

Update Bible Version
of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.

Webster's Bible Translation
Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander; whom I have delivered to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

New English Translation
Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

New King James Version
of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

New Living Translation
Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.

New Life Bible
This happened to Hymenaeus and Alexander. I gave them over to Satan to teach them not to speak against God.

New Revised Standard
among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may be taught by discipline not to be defaming.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander, whom I have delivered up to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Revised Standard Version
among them Hymenae'us and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Of whose nombre is Himeneus and Alexander which I have delivered vnto Satan yt they myght be taught not to blaspheme

Young's Literal Translation
of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I did deliver to the Adversary, that they might be instructed not to speak evil.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
of whose nombre is Hymeneos and Alexander, whom I haue delyuered vnto Sathan, that they might be taught, nomore to blaspheme.

Mace New Testament (1729)
Hymeneus and Alexander are of that number, whom I have deliver'd to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Simplified Cowboy Version
Hymenaeus and Alexander are great examples of this. I threw them out of the crew for talking bad about the Boss. Now they ride for Satan's brand—the forked tail. I hope a minute in his crew will change their hearts.

Contextual Overview

²⁰ I, Paul, am an apostle on special assignment for Christ, our living hope. Under God our Savior's command, I'm writing this to you, Timothy, my son in the faith. All the best from our God and Christ be yours! On my way to the province of Macedonia, I advised you to stay in Ephesus. Well, I haven't changed my mind. Stay right there on top of things so that the teaching stays on track. Apparently some people have been introducing fantasy stories and fanciful family trees that digress into silliness instead of pulling the people back into the center, deepening faith and obedience. The whole point of what we're urging is simply love—love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God. Those who fail to keep to this point soon wander off into cul-de-sacs of gossip. They set themselves up as experts on religious issues, but haven't the remotest idea of what they're holding forth with such imposing eloquence. It's true that moral guidance and counsel need to be given, but the way you say it and to whom you say it are as important as what you say. It's obvious, isn't it, that the law code isn't primarily for people who live responsibly, but for the irresponsible, who defy all authority, riding roughshod over God, life, sex, truth, whatever! They are contemptuous of this great Message I've been put in charge of by this great God. I'm so grateful to Christ Jesus for making me adequate to do this work. He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry. The only credentials I brought to it were invective and witch hunts and arrogance. But I was treated mercifully because I didn't know what I was doing—didn't know Who I was doing it against! Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus. Here's a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I'm proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever. Deep honor and bright glory to the King of All Time— One God, Immortal, Invisible, ever and always. Oh, yes! I'm passing this work on to you, my son Timothy. The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this. All those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle, keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we're in. There are some, you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes have made a thorough mess of their faith. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two of them. I let them wander off to Satan to be taught a lesson or two about not blaspheming.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Hymenaeus: 2 Timothy 2:17

Alexander: Acts 19:33, 2 Timothy 2:14, 2 Timothy 4:14, 2 Timothy 4:15

I have: Matthew 18:17, 1 Corinthians 5:4, 1 Corinthians 5:5, 2 Corinthians 10:6, 2 Corinthians 13:10

that: 1 Corinthians 11:32, 2 Thessalonians 3:15, Revelation 3:19

blaspheme: Acts 13:45, 2 Timothy 3:2, Revelation 13:1, Revelation 13:5, Revelation 13:6

Reciprocal: Leviticus 13:3 - pronounce Leviticus 14:41 - into an unclean place Ezekiel 31:11 - delivered John 20:23 - General Acts 20:30 - of your 2 Corinthians 1:12 - our rejoicing 2 Corinthians 1:23 - that 2 Corinthians 2:17 - which 2 Corinthians 13:8 - General Galatians 1:8 - though Galatians 5:10 - bear Colossians 3:8 - blasphemy 1 Timothy 5:20 - that others 2 Timothy 2:26 - at Titus 3:11 - is subverted

Cross-References

Genesis 1:14
God spoke: "Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven's sky! Separate Day from Night. Mark seasons and days and years, Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth." And there it was.

Genesis 1:24
God spoke: "Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind: cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds." And there it was: wild animals of every kind, Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug. God saw that it was good.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander,.... The former of these is mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:17 and that part of faith he made shipwreck of, or erred in, was the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, whereby the faith of some nominal believers was overthrown; and this was attended with the putting away of a good conscience, he seemingly before had; for his profane and vain babblings increased to more ungodliness: the latter seems to be the same with Alexander the coppersmith, who did the apostle much evil, 2 Timothy 4:14 and it may be is the same with him who was at Ephesus when the apostle was, there, Acts 19:33 and where he might be now with Hymenaeus, with whom he might agree in his erroneous opinions, and therefore are particularly mentioned, Ephesus being the place where Timothy now was. It seems by their names that they were both Greeks; Alexander is a known name among the Greeks, since the times of Alexander the great, and even became common among the Jews;

Acts 19:33- :, and Hymenaeus was a name among the Grecians, from Hymen, the Heathen god of marriage: one of this name is mentioned among those said to be raised from the dead by Aesculapius q; there was also a bishop of Jerusalem of this name r.

Whom I have delivered to Satan; not by excommunication, which is the act of a church, and not of a single person; but by an apostolical power he had of delivering the bodies of men into the hands of Satan, by him to be tortured and afflicted, in order to bring them to a sense of their sins, and as a chastisement and correction for them, and a token of God's displeasure at them; Acts 19:33- :.

That they may learn not to blaspheme; or "that being chastised", corrected, or disciplined, "they might not blaspheme", as they had before done; either by words, contradicting, reviling, and scoffing at the doctrine of the resurrection; or by their unbecoming lives and conversations, giving themselves great liberty in sinning, supposing there was no truth in that doctrine; whereby they not only blasphemed the Christian religion themselves, but caused it to be evil spoken of by others.

q Apollodorus de Orig. Deor. l. 3. p. 172. r Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 7. c. 14. 30.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander - Hymeneus is nowhere else mentioned in the New Testament, except in 2 Timothy 2:17, where he is mentioned in connection with Philetus as a very dangerous man. An Alexander is mentioned in Acts 19:33, which some have supposed to be the same as the one referred to here. It is not certain, however, that the same person is intended; see the notes on that verse. In 2 Timothy 4:14, Alexander the coppersmith is mentioned as one who had done the apostle “much evil,” and there can be little doubt that he is the same person who is referred to here. One of the doctrines which Hymeneus held was, that the “resurrection was past already” 2 Timothy 2:18; but what doctrine Alexander held is unknown, It is not improbable, as he is mentioned here in connection with Hymeneus, that he maintained the same opinion, and in addition to that he appears to have been guilty of some personal injury to the apostle. Both also were guilty of blasphemy.

Whom I have delivered unto Satan - On the meaning of this expression, see the notes on 1 Corinthians 5:5.

That they may learn not to blaspheme - It cannot be supposed that Satan would undertake to teach them not to blaspheme, or that Paul put them under him as an instructor on that subject. The instructions of Satan tend rather to teach his followers to blaspheme, and none in his school fail to be apt scholars. The meaning here is, that Paul excommunicated them, and not improbably brought upon them, by giving them over to Satan, some physical maladies, that they might be reformed; compare notes on 1 Corinthians 5:5. It is not entirely clear what is meant by blaspheme in this place; compare notes on 1 Timothy 1:13. It cannot be supposed that they were open and bold blasphemers, for such could not have maintained a place in the church, but rather that they held doctrines which the apostle regarded as amounting to blasphemy; that is, doctrines which were in fact a reproach on the divine character. There are many doctrines held by people which are in fact a reflection on the divine character, and which amount to the same thing as blasphemy. A blasphemer openly expresses views of the divine character which are a reproach to God; an errorist expresses the same thing in another way - by teaching as true about God that which represents him in a false light, and, to suppose which, in fact, is a reproach. The spirit with which this is done in the two cases may be different; the thing itself may be the same. Let us be careful that we hold no views about God which are reproachful to him, and which, though we do not express it in words, may lead us to blaspheme him in our hearts.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Timothy 1:20. Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander — Who had the faith but thrust it away; who had a good conscience through believing, but made shipwreck of it. Hence we find that all this was not only possible, but did actually take place, though some have endeavoured to maintain the contrary; who, confounding eternity with a state of probation, have supposed that if a man once enter into the grace of God in this life, he must necessarily continue in it to all eternity. Thousands of texts and thousands of facts refute this doctrine.

Delivered unto Satan — For the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. See what is noted on 1 Corinthians 5:5; what this sort of punishment was no man now living knows. There is nothing of the kind referred to in the Jewish writings. It seems to have been something done by mere apostolical authority, under the direction of the Spirit of God.

Hymeneus, it appears, denied the resurrection, see 2 Timothy 2:17-18; but whether this Alexander be the same with Alexander the coppersmith, 2 Timothy 4:14, or the Alexander, Acts 19:33, cannot be determined. Probably, he was the same with the coppersmith. Whether they were brought back to the acknowledgment of the truth does not appear. From what is said in the second epistle the case seems extremely doubtful. Let him who most assuredly standeth, take heed lest he fall.

He that is self-confident is already half fallen. He who professes to believe that God will absolutely keep him from falling finally, and neglects watching unto prayer, is not in a safer state. He who lives by the moment, walks in the light, and maintains his communion with God, is in no danger of apostasy.