¹⁸ This charge I commit to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight,^(A)

¹⁴ Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.^(A)

4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you:^{(A) 2} proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage with the utmost patience in teaching.^{(B) 3} For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound teaching, but, having their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires^(C)

Personal Instructions and Benediction

²⁰ Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge;^(A)

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

2 You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.^{(A) 3} Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier’s aim is to please the enlisting officer. ⁵ And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules.^(B)

³ Indeed, we live as humans^[a] but do not wage war according to human standards,^{[b] 4} for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human,^[c] but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments^(A)

¹² Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made^[a] the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.^{(A) 13} In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you^{(B) 14} to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,^(C)

²² But Timothy’s^[a] worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.^(A)

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

¹¹ that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I was entrusted.

Gratitude for Mercy

¹² I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful and appointed me to his service,^(A)