1 Timothy 4:7 (DRB)

Passage

But avoid foolish and old wives fables: and exercise thyself unto godliness.

Nearby Context

1 Timothy 4:5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 4:6 These things proposing to the brethren, thou shalt be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished up in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which thou hast attained unto.

1 Timothy 4:7 But avoid foolish and old wives fables: and exercise thyself unto godliness.

1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise is profitable to little: but godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

1 Timothy 4:9 A faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "avoid", "foolish", "wives", "fables", "exercise", "thyself", and "godliness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "avoid" and "foolish", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "These things proposing to the brethren thou..." into verse 8's "For bodily exercise is profitable to little...", so "avoid" and "foolish" belong inside that flow. In 1 Timothy context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "avoid" and "foolish" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.