¹⁸ This charge ^(A)I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with ^(B)the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may ^(C)wage the good warfare,

^14 (A)Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you ^(B)by prophecy when the council of elders ^(C)laid their hands on you.

²⁰ O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. ^(A)Avoid the ^(B)irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,”

Preach the Word

4 ^(A)I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, ^(B)who is to judge the living and the dead, and by ^(C)his appearing and his kingdom: ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; ^(D)reprove, rebuke, and ^(E)exhort, with complete patience and teaching. ^3 (F)For the time is coming when people will not endure ^(G)sound^[a] teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

2 You then, ^(A)my child, ^(B)be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and ^(C)what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses ^(D)entrust to faithful men,^{[a] (E)}who will be able to teach others also. ^3 (F)Share in suffering as ^(G)a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier ^(H)gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ^5 (I)An athlete is not ^(J)crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

²² But you know Timothy's^{[a] (A)}proven worth, how ^(B)as a son^[b] with a father ^(C)he has served with me in the gospel.

¹² For ^(A)we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against ^(B)the rulers, against the authorities, against ^(C)the cosmic powers over ^(D)this present darkness, against ^(E)the spiritual forces of evil ^(F)in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore ^(G)take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in ^(H)the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, ^(I)having fastened on the belt of truth, and ^(J)having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, ^(K)as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up ^(L)the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all ^(M)the flaming darts of ^(N)the evil one; ¹⁷ and take ^(O)the helmet of salvation, and ^(P)the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying ^(Q)at all times ^(R)in the Spirit, ^(S)with all prayer and supplication. To that end, ^(T)keep alert with all perseverance, making ^(U)supplication for all the saints,

^7 (A)I have fought the good fight, ^(B)I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

^12 (A)Fight the good fight of the faith. ^(B)Take hold of the eternal life ^(C)to which you were called and about which you made ^(D)the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ^13 (E)I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, ^(F)who in his testimony before^[a] Pontius Pilate made ^(G)the good confession, ¹⁴ to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until ^(H)the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,