Timothy-2 Chapters

1 | ¹From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, for the sake of his promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus, ²to my dear son Timothy.

May grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

God did not give us a spirit of bashfulness

³I give thanks to God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly, day and night, in my prayers. ⁴I recall your tears and long to see you that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, ⁵like the faith of your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, which I am sure you have inherited.

•  ⁶For this reason, I invite you to fan into a flame the gift of God you received by laying on my hands. ⁷For God did not confer on us a spirit of fearfulness, but of strength, love, and good judgment. ⁸Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the contrary, do your share in laboring for the gospel with the strength of God. ⁹He saved us and called us—a calling which proceeds from his holiness. This depended not on our merits but on his generosity and initiative. This calling, given to us in Christ Jesus before time began ¹⁰has just been manifested by the glorious appearance of Christ Jesus, our Lord, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light in his gospel. ¹¹Of this message, I was made herald, apostle, and teacher.

¹²For its sake, I now suffer this trial, but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he can take care of all I have entrusted to him until that day.

¹³Follow the pattern of the sound doctrine, which you have heard from me concerning faith and love in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴Keep this precious deposit with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

¹⁵You must know that those from Asia have turned away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶May the Lord show his mercy to the household of Onesiphorus because he often comforted me and was not ashamed when he found out that I was in prison. ¹⁷On the contrary, he showed courage, searched for me, and found me. ¹⁸May the Lord grant that he find mercy on that day. You know better than I all the services he rendered in Ephesus.

Labor Like a Good Soldier of Christ

2 | •  ¹You, my son, be strong with the grace you have in Christ Jesus. ²Entrust to reliable people everything you have learned from me in the presence of many witnesses that they may instruct others.

³Labor like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No soldier gets involved in civilian trade; the soldier aims to please his commanding officer. ⁵No athlete is crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶And again, the farmer who tills the land is the first to enjoy the fruits of the harvest. ⁷Think over what I am telling you; the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸Remember Christ Jesus, risen from the dead, Jesus, son of David, as preached in my gospel. ⁹For this gospel, I labor and even wear chains like an evildoer, but the word of God is not chained. ¹⁰And so, I bear everything for the sake of the chosen people, that they too may obtain the salvation given to us, in Christ Jesus, and share eternal glory. ¹¹This statement is true:

If we have died with him, we shall also live with him;

¹²If we endure with him, we shall reign with him;

If we deny him, he will also deny us;

¹³If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

Do Not Fight Over Words

•  ¹⁴Remind your people of these things, and urge them in the presence of God, not to fight over words, which does no good but only ruins those who listen. ¹⁵Be for God, an active and proven minister, a blameless worker, correctly handling the word of truth. ¹⁶Do not take part in useless conversations alien to the faith. This leads to a greater impiety. ¹⁷Such teaching spreads like gangrene: I think of Hymeneus and Philetus. ¹⁸They strayed from the truth, holding that the resurrection has already taken place; and with this, they upset the faith of some. ¹⁹But the solid foundations laid by God are not shaken; on them, it is written: The Lord knows those who are his, and: Let him who confesses the name of the Lord turn away from evil.

²⁰In a large house, we find vessels of gold and silver, as well as wood and clay. Some are reserved for special uses, others for ordinary ones. ²¹All who cleanse themselves of what I speak of will become a noble vessel, useful to the Lord, prepared for any holy purpose.

²²So shun the passions of youth and seek righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call upon the Lord with a pure heart. ²³Avoid stupid and senseless discussions since such are the causes of misunderstanding. ²⁴God’s servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to all, always teaching, and patient with those who do not understand, ²⁵and gently correcting opponents; perhaps God may grant them to repent and discover the truth, ²⁶withdrawing them from the snare of the devil who held them captive to his own will.

3 | •  ¹Be sure there will be difficult times in the last days. ²People will become selfish, lovers of money, boastful, conceited, gossiping, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, impious. ³They will be unable to love and to forgive; they will be slanderers, without self-control, cruel, enemies of good, ⁴traitors, shameless, full of pride, more in love with pleasure than with God. ⁵They will keep the appearance of piety while rejecting its demands. Keep away from such people.

⁶Of the same kind are those who enter houses and captivate weak women full of sins, swayed by all kinds of passion, ⁷who are always learning but never grasping the knowledge of the truth. ⁸These people of corrupt mind and false faith oppose the truth, just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. ⁹Yet, they may not go very far, for their folly will be clear to all, as in the case of those two.

¹⁰You, instead, have closely followed my teaching, way of life, projects, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹persecutions, and sufferings. You know what happened to me at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. How many trials I had to bear! Yet, the Lord rescued me from them all. ¹²All who want to serve God, in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted; ¹³while evil persons and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁴As for you, continue with what you have learned and what has been entrusted to you, knowing from whom you received it. ¹⁵Besides, you have known the Scriptures from childhood; they will give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, refuting error, correcting, and training in the Christian life. ¹⁷Through Scripture, the man of God is made expert and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Preach the Word

4 | •  ¹In the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by the hope I have of his coming and his kingdom, I urge you ²to preach the word in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking, or advising, always with patience, and providing instruction. ³For the time is coming when people will no longer endure sound doctrine, but, following their passions, they will surround themselves with teachers to please their itching ears. ⁴And they will abandon the truth to hear fables. ⁵So be prudent, do not mind your labor, give yourself to your work as an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry.

⁶As for me, I am already poured out as a libation, and the moment of my departure has come. ⁷I have fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. ⁸Now, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness with which the Lord, the just judge, will reward me on that day, and not only me but all those who have longed for his glorious coming.

Final Greetings

⁹Do your best to come to me quickly. ¹⁰You must know that Demas has deserted me for the love of this world: he returned to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Ti­tus to Dalmatia. ¹¹Only Luke remains with me. Get Mark and bring him with you; he is a valuable helper in my work. ¹²I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

¹³Bring with you the cloak I left at Troas, Carpos’ house, and the scrolls, especially the parchments. ¹⁴Alexander, the metalworker, has caused me great harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. ¹⁵Distrust him, for he has been very much opposed to our preaching.

¹⁶At my first hearing in court, no one supported me; all deserted me. May the Lord not hold it against them. ¹⁷But the Lord was at my side, giving me the strength to proclaim the word fully and let all the pagans hear it. So, I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸The Lord will save me from all evil, bringing me to his heavenly kingdom. Glory to him forever and ever. Amen!

¹⁹Greetings to Prisca and Aquila and the family of Onesiphorus. ²⁰Erastus remained in Corinth. I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.

²¹Try to come here before the winter. Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters send you greetings. ²²The Lord be with your spirit.

May grace be with you all.