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12 Let no one regard you with contempt because of your youth, but serve as an example to the believers in your speech and conduct, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

13 Until I arrive, devote yourself to reading,[a] to exhortation, and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift that was bestowed upon you when, as a result of prophecy, the elders laid their hands on you.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Timothy 4:13 Reading: i.e., the public reading of Scripture.
  2. 1 Timothy 4:14 Laid their hands on you: an action that had various meanings in the Old Testament, among which was the transmission of authority (e.g., from Moses to Joshua: see Num 27:18-23; Deut 34:9). In the New Testament it symbolizes (1) the bestowal of blessings and benediction (see Mt 19:13, 15; Lk 24:50); (2) the restoration of health (see Mt 9:18; Acts 9:12, 17); (3) the imparting of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 8:17, 19; 19:6); and (4) the gifts and rights of an office (as in this verse and in Acts 6:6; 13:3; 2 Tim 1:6).