HONORING MASTERS

6 All who are under the yoke as slaves should regard their own mastersG as worthy of all respect, so that God’s nameac and his teaching will not be blasphemed. 2 Let those who have believing masters not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but serve them even better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved.H,ad

FALSE DOCTRINE AND HUMAN GREED

Teach and encourage these things. 3 If anyone teaches false doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lordae Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness,af 4 he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in disputes and arguments over words.ag From these come envy,ah quarreling,ai slander,aj evil suspicions, 5 and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain.I,ak 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.al 7 For we brought nothing into the world, andJ we can take nothing out.am 8 If we have food and clothing,K we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a rootA of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faitha and pierced themselves with many griefs.

FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

11 But you, man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,b endurance,c and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fightd of the faith. Take hold of eternal lifee to which you were called and about which you have made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all,f and of Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate,g I charge you 14 to keep this command without fault or failure until the appearingh of our Lordi Jesus Christ. 15 God will bring this about in his own time.j He is the blessed and onlyk Sovereign, the King of kings,l and the Lord of lords,m 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light,n whom no one has seen or can see,o to him be honor and eternal power.p Amen.q

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE RICH

17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogantr or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God,B who richly provides us with all thingss to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works,t to be generous and willing to share,u 19 storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age,v so that they may take hold of what is truly life.

GUARD THE HERITAGE

20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you,w avoidingx irreverent and empty speech and contradictions from what is falsely called knowledge.y 21 By professing it, somez people have departed from the faith.aa

Grace be with you all.

2 TIMOTHY

GREETING

1 Paul,a an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will,b for the sake of the promise of lifec in Christ Jesus:

2 To Timothy, my dearly loved son.

Grace, mercy, and peaced from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

THANKSGIVING

3 I thank God, whom I serve with a clear consciencee as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day.f 4 Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I recall your sincere faithg that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Euniceh and now, I am convinced, is in you also.

6 Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands.i 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear,j but one of power,A,k love,l and sound judgment.

NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL

8 So don’t be ashamedm of the testimony about our Lord,n or of me his prisoner.o Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the powerp of God. 9 He has saved us and called us with a holy calling,q not according to our works,r but according to his own purposes and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. 10 This has now been made evident through the appearingt of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished deathu and has brought lifev and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 For this gospel I was appointedw a herald, apostle, and teacher,B 12 and that is why I sufferx these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to meC,y until that day.z

BE LOYAL TO THE FAITH

13 Hold on to the pattern of sound teachingaa that you have heard from me,ab in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us. 15 You know that all those in the province of Asiaac have deserted me,ad including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercyae to the household of Onesiphorus,af because he often refreshed meag and was not ashamed of my chains.ah 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome,ai he diligently searched for me and found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he obtain mercyaj from him on that day. You know very well how much he ministered at Ephesus.ak

BE STRONG IN GRACE

2 You, therefore, my son, be strong in the graceal that is in Christ Jesus. 2 What you have heard from meam in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithfulan menD who will be able to teach others also.

3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.ao 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer. 5 Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer ought to be the first to get a share of the crops.ap 7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the deadaq and descended from David, according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer to the point of being bound like a criminal. But the word of God is not bound. 10 This is why I endurear all things for the elect:as so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.at 11 This saying is trustworthy:au

For if we died with him,av

we will also live with him;

12 if we endure, we will also reignaw with him;

if we deny him, he will also deny us;

13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful,

for he cannot deny himself.

AN APPROVED WORKER

14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before GodA not to fight about words.a This is useless and leads to the ruin of those who listen. 15 Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.b 16 Avoid irreverent and empty speech, since those who engage in it will produce even more godlessness,c 17 and their teaching will spread like gangrene. Hymenaeusd and Philetus are among them. 18 They have departed from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place,e and are ruining the faith of some.f 19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, bearing this inscription:g The Lord knows those who are his,B,h and let everyone who calls on the namei ofC the Lord turn away from wickedness.j

20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels,k but also those of wood and clay; some for honorableD use and some for dishonorable.E,l 21 So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable,F he will be a specialG instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.m

22 Fleen from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace,o along with those who call on the Lordp from a pure heart. 23 But reject foolish and ignorant disputes, because you know that they breed quarrels. 24 The Lord’sq servant must not quarrel,r but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach,H and patient, 25 instructing his opponents with gentleness.s Perhaps God will grant them repentancet leading them to the knowledge of the truth. 26 Then they may come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil,u who has taken them captive to do his will.v

DIFFICULT TIMES AHEAD

3 But know this: Hard times will come in the last days.w 2 For people will be lovers of self,x lovers of money,y boastful, proud,z demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,aa 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers,ab without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good,ac 4 traitors,ad reckless,ae conceited,af lovers of pleasureag rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power.ah Avoid these people.ai

6 For among them are those who worm their way into households and deceive gullible women overwhelmed by sins and led astray by a variety of passions,aj 7 always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.ak 8 Just as Jannes and Jambresal resisted Moses,am so these also resist the truth. They are men who are corrupt in mindan and worthlessao in regard to the faith. 9 But they will not make further progress, for their foolishness will be clear to all, as was the foolishness of Jannes and Jambres.

STRUGGLES IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

10 But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose,ap faith, patience, love,aq and endurance, 11 along with the persecutions and sufferingsar that came to me in Antioch,as Iconium,at and Lystra.au What persecutions I endured—and yet the Lord rescued me from them all. 12 In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.av 13 Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceivingaw and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you,ax 15 and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures,ay which are able to give you wisdom for salvationaz through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by GodI,ba and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.bb

FULFILL YOUR MINISTRY

4 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judgebc the living and the dead,bd and because of his appearing and his kingdom:be 2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. 3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine,bf but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. 4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.a 5 But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,b fulfill your ministry.

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering,c and the time for my departure is close. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 There is reserved for me the crownd of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,e will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.A,f

FINAL INSTRUCTIONS

9 Make every effort to come to me soon,g 10 because Demash has deserted me,i since he loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica.j Crescens has gone to Galatia,k Titusl to Dalmatia. 11 Only Lukem is with me. Bring Markn with you, for he is useful to me in the ministry. 12 I have sent Tychicuso to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak I left in Troasp with Carpus, as well as the scrolls, especially the parchments. 14 Alexanderq the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his works. 15 Watch outr for him yourself because he strongly opposed our words.

16 At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me.s May it not be counted against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.t To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

BENEDICTION

19 Greet Prisca and Aquila,u and the household of Onesiphorus.v 20 Erastusw has remained at Corinth; I left Trophimusx sick at Miletus.y 21 Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.

22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.

TITUS