1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, ²to Timothy, my dear child. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Timothy’s Spiritual Heritage

³I am thankful^a to God, whom I have served with a clear conscience as my ancestors did^b, when I remember you constantly^c in my prayers night and day, ⁴longing to see you as I^* remember your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, ⁵remembering the^d sincere faith in you, which lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced that is in you also, ⁶for which reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and love and self-discipline.

Exhortation to Share Paul’s Suffering

⁸Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor me his prisoner, but suffer along with me for the gospel, according to the power of God, ⁹who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace that was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began^e, ¹⁰but has now been disclosed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ,^f who has abolished death and brought to light life and immortality through the gospel, ¹¹for which I was appointed a proclaimer and an apostle and a teacher, ¹²for which reason also I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know in whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted until that day. ¹³Hold fast to the pattern of sound words which you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

¹⁵You know this, that all those in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he refreshed me many times, and was not ashamed of my imprisonment, ¹⁷but when he^* was in Rome, he diligently sought me and found me. ¹⁸May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord in that day! And how much he served me in Ephesus you know very well.

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Footnotes

aLiterally “I have thankfulness”
bLiterally “from ancestors”
cLiterally “I have remembrance concerning you constantly”
*Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“remember”) which is understood as temporal
dLiterally “receiving a remembrance of the”
eLiterally “before times eternal”
fSome manuscripts have “our Savior Christ Jesus”
*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was”) which is understood as temporal