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Greetings from Paul

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus.

I am writing to Timothy, my dear son.

May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.

Encouragement to Be Faithful

Timothy, I thank God for you—the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again.

I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. 10 And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. 11 And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.

12 That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him[a] until the day of his return.

13 Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. 14 Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.

15 As you know, everyone from the province of Asia has deserted me—even Phygelus and Hermogenes.

16 May the Lord show special kindness to Onesiphorus and all his family because he often visited and encouraged me. He was never ashamed of me because I was in chains. 17 When he came to Rome, he searched everywhere until he found me. 18 May the Lord show him special kindness on the day of Christ’s return. And you know very well how helpful he was in Ephesus.

Footnotes

  1. 1:12 Or what has been entrusted to me.

Salutation

From Paul,[a] an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to further the promise[b] of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear child. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord!

Thanksgiving and Charge to Timothy

I am thankful to God, whom I have served with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,[c] when I remember you in my prayers as I do constantly night and day.[d] As I remember your tears, I long to see you,[e] so that I may be filled with joy. I recall[f] your sincere faith[g] that was alive first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am sure[h] is in you.

Because of this I remind you to rekindle God’s gift that you possess[i] through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a Spirit[j] of fear but of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord[k] or of me, a prisoner for his sake, but by[l] God’s power accept your share of suffering[m] for the gospel. He is the one who saved us[n] and called us with a holy calling, not based on[o] our works but on his own purpose and grace, granted to us in Christ Jesus before time began,[p] 10 but now made visible through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus. He[q] has broken the power of death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel! 11 For this gospel[r] I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher.[s] 12 Because of this, in fact, I suffer as I do.[t] But I am not ashamed, because I know the one in whom my faith is set[u] and I am convinced that he is able to protect what has been entrusted to me[v] until that day.[w] 13 Hold to the standard[x] of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.[y] 14 Protect that good thing[z] entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia[aa] deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my imprisonment.[ab] 17 But when he arrived in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me. 18 May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day![ac] And you know very well all the ways he served me in Ephesus.[ad]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Timothy 1:1 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
  2. 2 Timothy 1:1 tn Grk “for the promise…” or possibly “in accordance with the promise…”
  3. 2 Timothy 1:3 tn Grk “from my ancestors.”
  4. 2 Timothy 1:3 tn Or “as I do constantly. By night and day I long to see you…”
  5. 2 Timothy 1:4 tn Grk “longing to see you, remembering your tears” (as a continuation of the preceding clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  6. 2 Timothy 1:5 tn Grk “recalling” (as a continuation of the preceding clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  7. 2 Timothy 1:5 tn Grk “the sincere faith in you.”
  8. 2 Timothy 1:5 tn Or “convinced.”
  9. 2 Timothy 1:6 tn Grk “that is in you.”
  10. 2 Timothy 1:7 tn Or “a spirit,” denoting the human personality under the Spirit’s influence as in 1 Cor 4:21; Gal 6:1; 1 Pet 3:4. But the reference to the Holy Spirit at the end of this section (1:14) makes it likely that it begins this way also, so that the Holy Spirit is the referent.
  11. 2 Timothy 1:8 tn Grk “the testimony of our Lord.”
  12. 2 Timothy 1:8 tn Or “according to.”
  13. 2 Timothy 1:8 tn Grk “suffer hardship together,” implying “join with me in suffering.”
  14. 2 Timothy 1:9 tn More literally, “who saved us,” as a description of God in v. 8. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  15. 2 Timothy 1:9 tn Or “according to,” or “by.”
  16. 2 Timothy 1:9 tn Grk “before eternal times.”
  17. 2 Timothy 1:10 tn Grk “having broken…and having brought…” (describing Christ). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here (and at the beginning of v. 11) in the translation.
  18. 2 Timothy 1:11 tn Grk “for which.”
  19. 2 Timothy 1:11 tc Most mss (א2 C D F G Ψ 1241 1505 1739 1881 M al latt sy co) have ἐθνῶν (ethnōn, “of the Gentiles”) after “teacher” (διδάσκαλος [didaskalos ]). The shorter reading has poorer external credentials (א* A I 1175), though codex 33 has a reading apparently generated from διδάσκαλος alone (διάκονος (diakonos, “servant”]). The “teacher” without adjunct is preferred both because ἐθνῶν probably represents a gloss added by scribes familiar with 1 Tim 2:7 and because there is no easy explanation for the omission of ἐθνῶν if it were original here.
  20. 2 Timothy 1:12 tn Grk “suffer these things.”
  21. 2 Timothy 1:12 tn Or “in whom I have believed.”
  22. 2 Timothy 1:12 sn What has been entrusted to me (Grk “my entrustment,” meaning either (1) “what I have entrusted to him” [his life, destiny, etc.] or (2) “what he has entrusted to me” [the truth of the gospel]). The parallel with v. 14 and use of similar words in the pastorals (1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 2:2) argue for the latter sense.
  23. 2 Timothy 1:12 sn That day is a reference to the day when Paul would stand before Christ to give account for his service (cf. 2 Tim 1:18; 1 Cor 3:13; 2 Cor 5:9-10).
  24. 2 Timothy 1:13 tn Or “pattern.”
  25. 2 Timothy 1:13 tn Grk “in faith and love in Christ Jesus.”sn With the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This describes the manner in which Timothy must hold to the standard (similar to Paul’s call for him to give attention to his life and his teaching in 1 Tim 4:11-16).
  26. 2 Timothy 1:14 sn That good thing (Grk “the good deposit”) refers to the truth of the gospel committed to Timothy (cf. 1 Tim 6:20).
  27. 2 Timothy 1:15 tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia. The Roman province of Asia made up about one-third of modern Asia Minor and was on the western side of it. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
  28. 2 Timothy 1:16 tn Grk “my chain.”
  29. 2 Timothy 1:18 sn That day is a reference to the day when Onesiphorus (v. 16) stands before Christ to give account for his service (cf. v. 12; 1 Cor 3:13; 2 Cor 5:9-10).
  30. 2 Timothy 1:18 tn Grk “all the ways he served in Ephesus.”