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The New Testament › 2 Timothy

2 Timothy 1

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life in Christ Jesus, 2to Timothy, my beloved child: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3I thank God, whom I serve as my ancestors did, with a pure conscience, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. 4Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced that it dwells in you too. 6For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and love and self-control.

8So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me, his prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the good news, relying on the power of God, 9who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our deeds but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10but has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who abolished death and brought life and imperishability to light through the good news. 11For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12For this reason I also suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have trusted, and I am convinced that he is able to guard my deposit until that day. 13Hold to the pattern of healthy words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

15You know that all those in Asia turned away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain. 17Instead, when he came to Rome, he searched diligently for me and found me. 18May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. And you know very well how much he served in Ephesus.

Translation notes 7

1:3 — “As my ancestors did.” The Greek connects Paul's service with his ancestors. It affirms continuity without saying that his ancestors already held every belief expressed in this letter.

1:6–7 — “Rekindle”; “spirit.” Rekindle preserves the fire image; the instruction does not say that the gift had gone out. “Spirit” can describe the disposition God gives or refer to the Holy Spirit as the source of power, love, and self-control. The lowercase spelling leaves that question open. “Cowardice” concerns lack of courage, not every experience of fear.

1:8–10 — Suffering, grace, and death. “Relying on” makes the relation to God's power explicit. “Before the ages began” renders a phrase about times before the ages. “Abolished death” retains the strong claim; the letter does not thereby say that people no longer die. “Imperishability” is freedom from decay, here associated with life beyond death.

1:11 — “A teacher.” Some Greek witnesses add “of the Gentiles.” This draft follows the shorter Greek base.

1:12–14 — “Deposit.” This is something entrusted for safekeeping. “My deposit” can mean what Paul has entrusted to God, such as his life, or what God has entrusted to Paul, such as the good news. Verse 14 concerns what Timothy must guard. “That day” points to the coming day of judgment; the same expression returns in 1:18 and 4:8.

1:13 — “Healthy words.” Often “sound teaching.” The health image returns in 4:3 and contrasts with the spreading gangrene of 2:17.

1:15–18 — Asia and Onesiphorus. Asia is the Roman province in western Asia Minor. The sweeping “all” is retained without specifying everyone it includes. The prayer for Onesiphorus and the reference to his household do not explicitly say whether he was alive or dead.