"This charge I commit unto thee, my own child Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that by them thou mayest war the good warfare; holding faith and a good conscience; which some having thrust from them made shipwreck concerning the faith: of whom is Hymenæus and Alexander; whom I delivered unto Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme."--1 TIM. i. 18-20. In this section St. Paul returns from the subject of the false teachers against whom Timothy has to contend (vv. 3-11), and the contrast to their teaching exhibited by the Gospel in the Apostle's own case (vv. 12-17), to the main purpose of the letter, viz., the instructions to be given to Timothy for the due performance of his difficult duties as overseer of the Church of Ephesus. The section contains two subjects of special interest, each of which requires consideration;--the prophecies respecting Timothy and the punishment of Hymenæus and Alexander. 1. "This charge I commit unto thee, my child Timothy, _according to the prophecies which went before on thee_." As the margin of the R.V. points out, this last phrase might also be read "according to the prophecies which _led the way to thee_," for the Greek may mean either. The question is, whether St. Paul is referring to certain prophecies which "led the way to" Timothy, _i.e._, which designated him as specially suited for the ministry, and led to his ordination by St. Paul and the presbyters; or whether he is referring to certain prophecies which were uttered _over_ Timothy (ἐπὶ σέ) either at the time of his conversion or of his admission to the ministry. Both the A.V. and the R.V. give the preference to the latter rendering, which (without excluding such a view) does not commit us to the opinion that St. Paul was in any sense led to Timothy by these prophecies, a thought which is not clearly intimated in the original. All that we are certain of is, that long before the writing of this letter prophecies of which Timothy was the object were uttered over him, and that they were of such a nature as to be an incentive and support to him in his ministry.