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Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

A reading plan that walks through the entire New Testament in 24 weeks of daily readings.

Duration: 168 days

2 Timothy 1-2

Chapter 1

Salutation^[a]

Address. ¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, whose promise of life is fulfilled in Christ Jesus, ²to Timothy, my beloved child: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thanksgiving and Prayer. ³I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clean conscience as did my ancestors—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. ⁴As I recall your tears,^[b] I long to see you again so that my joy may be complete. ⁵I also remember your sincere faith, a faith that first came to life in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and that I am convinced also dwells in you.^[c]

The Endurance of a Man of God^[d]

Revive the Gift of God. For this reason, I remind you to stir up the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands.^[e] ⁷For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but rather a spirit of power and of love and of wisdom. ⁸Therefore, you should never be ashamed of bearing witness to our Lord, nor of me because I am imprisoned for his sake. Rather, you should utilize the strength that comes from God to share in my hardships for the sake of the gospel.

⁹God saved us and called us to a life of holiness, not because of our works but according to his own purpose and the grace that has been bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.^[f] ¹⁰That grace has now been revealed by the appearance^[g] of our Savior Jesus Christ. He has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ¹¹for which I have been appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.^[h]

¹²Guard the Treasure Entrusted to Us. That is the reason why I am undergoing my present sufferings. However, I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have placed my trust, and I am confident that he is able to guard until that Day^[i] what he has entrusted to me. ¹³Follow the pattern of sound teaching that you heard from me, with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴With the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, guard the treasure that has been entrusted to us.

¹⁵Comfort Those in Suffering. As you are well aware, everyone in Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.^[j] ¹⁶May the Lord be merciful to the household of Onesiphorus,^[k] because he has often been a comfort to me in my troubles, and he has never been ashamed of my chains. ¹⁷When he arrived in Rome, he concentrated on searching for me until he found me. ¹⁸May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord^[l] on that Day. He also helped me in many ways at Ephesus, as you are well aware.

The Exemplars of a Man of God^[m]

Chapter 2

Accept Your Share of Sufferings.^[n] ¹As for you, my child, take strength from the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ²And the things you learned from me in the presence of many witnesses you must pass on to trustworthy people who will be capable of teaching others.

³Together with me, bear your share of sufferings like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴A soldier does not become involved in everyday affairs, for his task is to obey his commanding officer. ⁵In a similar vein, no athlete can receive the winner’s crown unless he has competed according to the rules. ⁶Again, the farmer who does the hard work should have the first claim on the crops. ⁷Think about what I am saying, for the Lord will help you to understand it perfectly.

Remember That Jesus Christ Is Risen.^[o] ⁸Remember the gospel that I preach: Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, was raised from the dead. ⁹It is because of this that I have endured great suffering, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. ¹⁰Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹¹This saying can be trusted:

If we have died with him,
    we shall also live with him.
¹²If we endure,
    we shall also reign with him.
If we deny him,
    he will also deny us.
¹³If we are unfaithful,
    he will remain faithful,
    for he cannot deny himself.

¹⁴A True Servant of the Lord.^[p] Remind people of these things, and warn them before God^[q] that they must stop arguing over words. This does no good and only causes harm to those who are listening. ¹⁵Make every effort to present yourself before God as one who is worthy of his approval, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, but who imparts the word of truth without any alteration.

¹⁶Avoid idle and worldly chatter, for those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly, ¹⁷and their teaching will spread like a plague. Included among these are Hymenaeus^[r] and Philetus, ¹⁸who have gone astray from the truth. They claim that the resurrection has already taken place, and they damage the faith of some. ¹⁹However, the foundation that God has sealed^[s] remains firm, and it bears this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his own,” and “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

²⁰In every large house, there are utensils not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay—some for noble purposes and some for ordinary purposes. ²¹If someone avoids these things I have mentioned, he will be regarded as a vessel of special value, dedicated and useful for the master of the house, and ready to perform any good work.

²²Turn away from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord^[t] with a pure heart. ²³Avoid foolish and stupid speculations, for you are well aware that they only result in quarrels.

²⁴A servant of the Lord should not engage in quarrels but should be kind to everyone. He should be a good teacher and patient, ²⁵correcting with gentleness those who oppose him. For God may grant them repentance so that they may come to recognize the truth ²⁶and regain their senses, enabling them to escape the snare of the devil who had held them captive and subjected them to his will.

Footnotes

2 Timothy 1:1 Paul begins his Letter with a salutation that is similar to the one found in 1 Timothy, adding to it the words “whose promise of life is fulfilled in Christ Jesus.” He calls Timothy his “beloved child,” and the actual greeting is the same as that of 1 Timothy, showing that everything we have comes to us from God through Christ. As in most of his Letters (the exceptions are Gal, 1 Tim, and Tit), Paul then follows his salutation with a section thanking God for the recipients of the Letter. He focuses on his relationship with Timothy and his confidence in Timothy’s faith.
2 Timothy 1:4 Your tears: those shed by Timothy when Paul was leaving Ephesus (see 1 Tim 1:3).
2 Timothy 1:5 According to Acts 16:1, Timothy’s mother (Eunice) was a Jewish Christian while his father was a Greek and apparently an unbeliever. Here we learn that his grandmother (Lois) was also a Christian.
2 Timothy 1:6 Paul warns that self-interest and discouragement must not get the best of the apostle’s ardor and determination. Rather, he must rely upon the graces that were given him when he received the ministry and was gripped by the Spirit at his missionary sending forth (see 1 Tim 4:14). He must once again place himself at the service of the Gospel, which is the announcement of the coming of Christ and the salvation that he gives. There is no missionary life without spiritual renewal.
⁶
The last seven verses go on to give examples of men of God who have endured: Paul and Onesiphorus.
2 Timothy 1:6 Laying on of . . . hands: see note on 1 Tim 4:14.
2 Timothy 1:9 Paul insists that redemption from sin and the call to holiness are freely given to human beings in accord with God’s plan (see Eph 1:4).
2 Timothy 1:10 Appearance: the reference here is to the Incarnation.
2 Timothy 1:11 Teacher: most manuscripts read: “teacher of the nations,” which scholars regard as a gloss based on 1 Tim 2:7.
2 Timothy 1:12 That Day: the day of judgment and crowning. What he has entrusted to me: i.e., the deposit of faith (see 1 Tim 6:20). Another possible translation is: “what I have entrusted to him,” i.e., the fruits of his ministry.
2 Timothy 1:15 Paul is deeply disappointed that he has been deserted by Christians from Asia, including two upon whom he was counting—Phygelus and Hermogenes. Some scholars believe that Phygelus was the leader of lapsed Christians in Rome (see Phil 1:15f).
2 Timothy 1:16 Onesiphorus: a helper of Paul—probably during his first Roman imprisonment (see v. 8)—whose household was in Ephesus and who is not mentioned elsewhere (see 2 Tim 4:19).
2 Timothy 1:18 Lord . . . Lord: the first “Lord” doubtless refers to Christ and the second to the Father.
2 Timothy 2:1 The author then goes on to enumerate eight exemplars that a man of God can follow in some way: Paul (vv. 1-2), a soldier (vv. 3-4), an athlete (v. 5), a farmer (vv. 6-7), Jesus (vv. 8-13), a worker (vv. 14-19), a vessel (vv. 20-23), and a servant (vv. 24-26).
2 Timothy 2:1 The apostolate requires a person’s complete commitment. He bears and transmits the message entrusted by God to the Christian community.
2 Timothy 2:8 Another heading for this section would read “Be a memorial of Jesus Christ,” i.e., be a person whose whole being and action recalls the Resurrection of Christ and renders it present to those he meets, while announcing to them that its fullness will take place at the time of the Lord’s return. This is the finest picture one could give of the life of Paul.
Verses 11b-13 are probably from a baptismal hymn; to be baptized meant that one should live out, throughout one’s days, the mystery of Christ’s Death and Resurrection (see Rom 6:8; 1 Cor 15:31; Gal 6:14; Phil 3:10; Col 3:3-5).
2 Timothy 2:14 In the portrait of a true missionary, a certain number of virtues must be present: honesty, respect for and acceptance of everyone, courage in persecution, truthfulness without alteration, and rejection of faddish witticisms. The author once more condemns the errors being propagated in the region of Ephesus; they have the look not of a new religion but of a feverish and babbling emotionalism. The Greek mind had difficulty in accepting the resurrection of the body (see Acts 17:32; 1 Cor 15:22), and some avoid the problem by saying that the resurrection has already taken place at Baptism but that it is solely a case of a spiritual resurrection.
They forget above all that the faith is founded on the word of God, which provides the initiative and that believers have merely to respond. It is the quality of their faith that classifies believers in the Church, not the abundance of their opinions. Yet leaders must be very kind and not condemn any of the members of the community.
2 Timothy 2:14 Before God: many manuscripts read: “before the Lord.”
2 Timothy 2:17 Hymenaeus: see 1 Tim 1:20. His punishment has not helped him.
2 Timothy 2:19 Foundation . . . sealed: the foundations of buildings in antiquity were sealed and adorned with inscriptions. As inscriptions Paul uses Scripture texts that complement one another: Num 16:5 (God cares for those he loves) and Num 16:26; Isa 26:13; 52:11 (these must lead upright lives).
2 Timothy 2:22 Those who call on the Lord: i.e., Christians (see Acts 19:14ff; Rom 10:12f).

New Catholic Bible (NCB)