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II. Exhortations to Timothy

The Gifts Timothy Has Received. For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God[a] that you have through the imposition of my hands.(A) For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.(B) So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,[b] nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.(C)

[c]He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,(D) 10 but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,(E) 11 [d]for which I was appointed preacher and apostle(F) and teacher. 12 [e]On this account I am suffering these things; but I am not ashamed,(G) for I know him in whom I have believed and am confident that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day. 13 Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.(H) 14 Guard this rich trust with the help of the holy Spirit that dwells within us.(I)

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Footnotes

  1. 1:6 The gift of God: the grace resulting from the conferral of an ecclesiastical office. The imposition of my hands: see note on 1 Tm 4:14.
  2. 1:8 Do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord: i.e., of preaching and suffering for the sake of the gospel.
  3. 1:9–10 Redemption from sin and the call to holiness of life are not won by personal deeds but are freely and graciously bestowed according to God’s eternal plan; cf. Eph 1:4.
  4. 1:11 Teacher: the overwhelming majority of manuscripts and Fathers read “teacher of the nations,” undoubtedly a harmonization with 1 Tm 2:7.
  5. 1:12 He is able to guard…until that day: the intervening words can also be translated “what I have entrusted to him” (i.e., the fruit of his ministry) as well as “what has been entrusted to me” (i.e., the faith). The same difficult term occurs in 2 Tm 1:14, where it is modified by the adjective “rich” and used without a possessive.