Add parallel Print Page Options

Chapter 1

Salutation[a]

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

Thanksgiving and Prayer. I 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. As I recall your tears,[b] I long to see you again so that my joy may be complete. I 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]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 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. 2 Timothy 1:4 Your tears: those shed by Timothy when Paul was leaving Ephesus (see 1 Tim 1:3).
  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.