Excerpt from Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles: First and Second Timothy and Titus; And the Epistle to Philemon IN preparing these notes on the Pastoral Epistles and the Epistle to Philemon, I have made the version of King James the basis, in accordance with the general plan of this work, but have also consulted throughout the Revised Version. While all the later Greek textshave been carefully examined, I have found my own judgment best satisfied with that of Westcott and Hort; and this for the most part has been followed. On passages where the reading is still in doubt, I have given a detailed statement of the critical materials for forming a judgment only on the more important for, While it is sometimes of interest to the general student to know what is the reading in the more celebrated ancient manuscripts, it remains true that only a trained specialist is really competent to form a valuable judgment in textual criticism. In the commentary each paragraph is prefaced by an out line of the thought. And the notes are often accompanied by a full translation or para phrase of the verse or passage under consideration, designed to indicate the writer's view of the exact meaning. I have throughout supplemented my own interpreta tion by citing the interpretations of commentators, both ancient and modern, whose proved ability, scholarship, and Spiritual insight have given permanent value to their views. This has been done freely, on the supposition that this work will come into the hands of many to whom the writings of these commentators are not accessible, and who would be glad to have access to their views, especially on the more difficult passages. When a topic has required a special and extended dis cussion, I have placed that discussion in the body of the commentary, and not at the end as an excursus. Closely related as these epistles are to subjects relating to the constitution of the Christian Church and the character and work of the Chris tian ministry, I should have been glad of more room for special discussion, but the limits assigned me forbade an extended treatment. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.