Christians should pray for all people

2 So then, this is what I want to ask you first. Please pray for all people. Ask God to supply what they need. Ask God to help them. Thank God for what he does for everyone. ² Pray in that way for kings and for all rulers and people who have authority. Pray for God to help them, so that we may live our lives without trouble or danger. Then we can live in a good way that respects God and other people. ³ It is good that we should pray like that. It makes God, our Saviour, happy. ⁴ He wants to save all people. He wants everyone to know his message about what is true.

⁵ There is only one God. There is also only one person who brings God and people together. That person is Christ Jesus, who became a man himself. ⁶ He died as a sacrifice on behalf of all people, to pay the debt of their sins. He died at the proper time for God to show his purpose clearly. ⁷ God chose me as his apostle, to tell this same message to people. I am telling you what is true. I am not telling lies! Yes, he sent me to teach his true message to the Gentiles, so that they would believe in him.

⁸ So then, in every place where you meet together, I want the men to pray. The men who lift up their hands and pray must be those who live good lives. They must not be people who are angry or who quarrel with others.

Christian women should also live in a good way

⁹ I also want the women to dress themselves properly in a way that is right. They should not bring shame on themselves. What makes a woman beautiful? It is not the special way that she prepares her hair. It is not the gold things or jewels that she wears. It is not her expensive clothes. ¹⁰ Christian women should not dress themselves like that. Instead, their lives should show that they do good things. They say that they want to please God, so that is the proper way for them to live.

¹¹ When you meet together, a woman should learn quietly. She must respect the leaders who teach in the church. ¹² I do not let a woman teach men. I do not let a woman have authority over men. Instead, she should listen quietly. ¹³ I say this because God made Adam first.^[a] Then he made Eve. ¹⁴ It was Eve, not Adam, who believed the lies that Satan told her. Because she believed Satan completely, she did what God had said was wrong.^[b]

¹⁵ But even as women give birth to children, God will save them. They must continue to trust God and to love other people. They must live in a way that shows they belong to God. They must think carefully about how they live. Then God will save them.