^1:1From Paul,¹ an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to further the promise² of life in Christ Jesus, ^1:2to Timothy, my dear child. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord!

Thanksgiving and Charge to Timothy

^1:3I am thankful to God, whom I have served with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,³ when I remember you in my prayers as I do constantly night and day.⁴^1:4As I remember your tears, I long to see you,⁵ so that I may be filled with joy. ^1:5I recall⁶ your sincere faith⁷ that was alive first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am sure⁸ is in you.

^1:6Because of this I remind you to rekindle God’s gift that you possess⁹ through the laying on of my hands. ^1:7For God did not give us a Spirit¹⁰ of fear but of power and love and self-control. ^1:8So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord¹¹ or of me, a prisoner for his sake, but by¹² God’s power accept your share of suffering¹³ for the gospel. ^1:9He is the one who saved us¹⁴ and called us with a holy calling, not based on¹⁵ our works but on his own purpose and grace, granted to us in Christ Jesus before time began,¹⁶^1:10but now made visible through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus. He¹⁷ has broken the power of death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel! ^1:11For this gospel¹⁸ I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher.¹⁹^1:12Because of this, in fact, I suffer as I do.²⁰ But I am not ashamed, because I know the one in whom my faith is set²¹ and I am convinced that he is able to protect what has been entrusted to me²² until that day.²³^1:13Hold to the standard²⁴ of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.²⁵^1:14Protect that good thing²⁶ entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

^1:15You know that everyone in the province of Asia²⁷ deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. ^1:16May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my imprisonment.²⁸^1:17But when he arrived in Rome,²⁹ he eagerly searched for me and found me. ^1:18May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!³⁰ And you know very well all the ways he served me in Ephesus.³¹

Serving Faithfully Despite Hardship

^2:1So you, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ^2:2And entrust what you heard me say¹ in the presence of many others as witnesses² to faithful people³ who will be competent⁴ to teach others as well. ^2:3Take your share of suffering⁵ as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ^2:4No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please⁶ the one who recruited him. ^2:5Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he will not be crowned as the winner⁷ unless he competes according to the rules.⁸^2:6The farmer who works hard ought to have the first share of the crops. ^2:7Think about what I am saying and⁹ the Lord will give you understanding of all this.¹⁰

^2:8Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David;¹¹ such is my gospel,¹²^2:9for which I suffer hardship to the point of imprisonment¹³ as a criminal, but God’s message¹⁴ is not imprisoned!¹⁵^2:10So I endure all things for the sake of those chosen by God,¹⁶ that they too may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus and its eternal glory.¹⁷^2:11This saying¹⁸ is trustworthy:¹⁹

If we died with him, we will also live with him.

^2:12If we endure, we will also reign with him.²⁰

If we deny²¹ him,²² he will also deny us.

^2:13If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since he cannot deny himself.²³

Dealing with False Teachers

^2:14Remind people²⁴ of these things and solemnly charge them²⁵ before the Lord²⁶ not to wrangle over words. This is of no benefit; it just brings ruin on those who listen.²⁷^2:15Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately.²⁸^2:16But avoid profane chatter,²⁹ because those occupied with it will stray further and further into ungodliness,³⁰^2:17and their message will spread its infection³¹ like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are in this group.³²^2:18They have strayed from the truth³³ by saying that the resurrection has already occurred, and they are undermining some people’s faith. ^2:19However, God’s solid foundation remains standing, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,”³⁴ and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord³⁵ must turn away from evil.”

^2:20Now in a wealthy home³⁶ there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also ones made of wood and of clay, and some are for honorable use, but others for ignoble use.³⁷^2:21So if someone cleanses himself of such behavior,³⁸ he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart, useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. ^2:22But keep away from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, in company with others³⁹ who call on the Lord from a pure heart.⁴⁰^2:23But reject foolish and ignorant⁴¹ controversies, because you know they breed infighting.⁴²^2:24And the Lord’s slave⁴³ must not engage in heated disputes⁴⁴ but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, ^2:25correcting⁴⁵ opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth⁴⁶^2:26and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive⁴⁷ to do his will.⁴⁸

Read in Logos

Footnotes

1 Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
2 Grk “for the promise …” or possibly “in accordance with the promise …”
3 Grk “from my ancestors.”
4 Or “as I do constantly. By night and day I long to see you …”
5 Grk “longing to see you, remembering your tears” (as a continuation of the preceding clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
6 Grk “recalling” (as a continuation of the preceding clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
7 Grk “the sincere faith in you.”
8 Or “convinced.”
9 Grk “that is in you.”
10 Or “a spirit,” denoting the human personality under the Spirit’s influence as in 1 Cor 4:21; Gal 6:1; 1 Pet 3:4. But the reference to the Holy Spirit at the end of this section (1:14) makes it likely that it begins this way also, so that the Holy Spirit is the referent.
11 Grk “the testimony of our Lord.”
12 Or “according to.”
13 Grk “suffer hardship together,” implying “join with me in suffering.”
14 More literally, “who saved us,” as a description of God in v. 8. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
15 Or “according to,” or “by.”
16 Grk “before eternal times.”
17 Grk “having broken … and having brought …” (describing Christ). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here (and at the beginning of v. 11) in the translation.
18 Grk “for which.”
19 Most (א2 C D F G Ψ 1739 1881 𝔐 latt sy co) have ἐθνῶν (ethnōn, “of the Gentiles”) after “teacher.” The shorter reading has poorer external credentials (א* A I 1175 ), but is preferred because ἐθνῶν probably represents a gloss added by copyists familiar with 1 Tim 2:7. There is no easy explanation for the omission of the word if it were original here.
20 Grk “suffer these things.”
21 Or “in whom I have believed.”
22 What has been entrusted to me (Grk “my entrustment,” meaning either (1) “what I have entrusted to him” [his life, destiny, etc.] or (2) “what he has entrusted to me” [the truth of the gospel]). The parallel with v. 14 and use of similar words in the pastorals (1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 2:2) argue for the latter sense.
23 That day is a reference to the day when Paul would stand before Christ to give account for his service (cf. 2 Tim 1:18; 1 Cor 3:13; 2 Cor 5:9–10).
24 Or “pattern.”
25 Grk “in faith and love in Christ Jesus.” With the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This describes the manner in which Timothy must hold to the standard (similar to Paul’s call for him to give attention to his life and his teaching in 1 Tim 4:11–16).
26 That good thing (Grk “the good deposit”) refers to the truth of the gospel committed to Timothy (cf. 1 Tim 6:20).
27 Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
28 Grk “my chain.”
29 For location see .
30 That day is a reference to the day when Onesiphorus (v. 16) stands before Christ to give account for his service (cf. v. 12; 1 Cor 3:13; 2 Cor 5:9–10).
31 Grk “all the ways he served in Ephesus.” For location see ; ; ; .
1 Grk “what you heard from me” (cf. 1:13).
2 Grk “through many witnesses.” The “through” is used here to show attendant circumstances: “accompanied by,” “in the presence of.”
3 Grk “faithful men”; but here ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) is generic, referring to both men and women.
4 Or “able” (see Paul’s use of this word in regard to ministry in 2 Cor 2:16; 3:5–6).
5 Grk “suffer hardship together,” implying “join with me and others in suffering” (cf. 1:8).
6 Grk “that he may please.”
7 Grk “will not be crowned,” speaking of the wreath awarded to the victor.
8 According to the rules (Grk “lawfully, by law”) referring to the rules of competition. In the ancient world these included requirements for training as well as rules for the competition itself.
9 The Greek word here usually means “for,” but is used in this verse for a milder continuation of thought.
10 Grk “in all things.”
11 Grk “of David’s seed” (an idiom for physical descent).
12 Grk “according to my gospel.”
13 Or “chains,” “bonds.”
14 Or “word.”
15 Or “chained,” “bound.”
16 Grk “the elect.”
17 Grk “with eternal glory.”
18 This saying (Grk “the saying”) refers to the following citation. See 1 Tim 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; Titus 3:8 for other occurrences of this phrase.
19 The following passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [], ). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.
20 Grk “died together … will live together … will reign together,” without “him” stated explicitly. But “him” is implied by the parallel ideas in Rom 6:8; 8:17 and by the reference to Christ in vv. 12b–13.
21 Or “renounce,” “disown,” “repudiate.” It is important to note that the object of Christ’s denial is “us.” The text does not contain an implied object complement (“he will deny us [x]”), which would mean that Christ was withholding something from us (for example, “The owner denied his pets water”), since the verb ἀρνέομαι (arneomai) is not one of the category of verbs that normally occurs in these constructions (see ).
22 Grk “if we renounce,” but the “him” is implied by the parallel clauses.
23 If we are unfaithful … he cannot deny himself. This could be (1) a word of warning (The Lord will exact punishment; he cannot deny his holiness) or (2) a word of hope (Because of who he is, he remains faithful to us despite our lapses). The latter is more likely, since Paul consistently cites God’s faithfulness as a reassurance, not as a warning (cf. especially Rom 3:3; also 1 Cor 1:9; 10:13; 2 Cor 1:18; 1 Thess 5:24; 2 Thess 3:3).
24 Grk “remind of these things,” implying “them” or “people” as the object.
25 Grk “solemnly charging.” The participle διαμαρτυρόμενος (diamarturomenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
26 Most witnesses (A D Ψ 048 1739 1881 𝔐 sy) have κυρίου (kuriou, “Lord”) instead of θεοῦ (theou, “God”) here, while a few have Χριστοῦ (Christou, “Christ”; 206 {429 1758}). θεοῦ, however, is well supported by א C F G I 614 629 630 1175 . Internally, the Pastorals never elsewhere use the expression ἐνώπιον κυρίου (enōpion kuriou, “before the Lord”), but consistently use ἐνώπιον θεοῦ (“before God”; cf. 1 Tim 2:3; 5:4, 21; 6:13; 2 Tim 4:1). But this fact could be argued both ways: The author’s style may be in view, or scribes may have adjusted the wording to conform it to the Pastorals’ universal expression. Further, only twice in the NT (Jas 4:10 [v.l. θεοῦ]; Rev 11:4 [v.l. θεοῦ]) is the expression ἐνώπιον κυρίου found. That such an expression is not found in the corpus Paulinum seems to be sufficient impetus for scribes to change the wording here. Thus, although the external evidence is somewhat on the side of θεοῦ, the internal evidence is on the side of κυρίου. A decision is difficult, but κυρίου is the preferred reading.
27 Grk “[it is] beneficial for nothing, for the ruin of those who listen.”
28 Accurately is a figure of speech that literally means something like “cutting a straight road.” In regard to the message of truth, it means “correctly handling” or “imparting it without deviation.”
29 Profane chatter was apparently a characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus (cf. 1 Tim 1:3–4; 4:7; 6:20).
30 Grk “they [who engage in it] will progress even more in ungodliness.”
31 Or “eat away.”
32 Grk “of whom are Hymenaeus and Philetus.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, this last clause has been made a new sentence in the translation.
33 Grk “have deviated concerning the truth.”
34 A quotation from Num 16:5.
35 Grk “names the name of the Lord.”
36 Grk “a great house.”
37 Grk “for dishonor,” probably referring to vessels used for refuse or excrement.
38 Grk “from these,” alluding to the errors and deeds of the false teachers described in vv. 14–19.
39 Grk “and peace, with those.”
40 In company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart alludes to the value of the community of believers for the development of Christian virtues.
41 Or “uninstructed,” “silly.”
42 Or “fights,” although this could suggest weapons and blows, whereas in the present context this is not the primary focus. Although “quarrel” is frequently used here (, , ) it may be understood to refer to a relatively minor disagreement.
43 Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. notes that “ ‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times … in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” ( ). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force. Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”
44 Grk “must not fight” or “must not quarrel.” The Greek verb is related to the noun translated “infighting” in v. 23.
45 Correcting is the word for “child-training” or “discipline.” It is often positive (training, educating) but here denotes the negative side (correcting, disciplining).
46 Grk “repentance unto knowledge of the truth.”
47 Grk “having been captured by him.”
48 Grk “for that one’s will,” referring to the devil, but with a different pronoun than in the previous phrase “by him.” Some have construed “for his will” with the earlier verb and referred the pronoun to God: “come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap (though they have been captured by him) in order to do His will.” In Classical Greek the shift in pronouns would suggest this, but in Koine Greek this change is not significant. The more natural sense is a reference to the devil’s will.