2 Timothy 2:14-4:8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
III. Instructions Concerning False Teaching
Warning Against Useless Disputes. 14 [a]Remind people of these things and charge them before God[b] to stop disputing about words. This serves no useful purpose since it harms those who listen.(A) 15 Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God, a workman who causes no disgrace, imparting the word of truth without deviation.(B) 16 Avoid profane, idle talk, for such people will become more and more godless,(C) 17 and their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,(D) 18 who have deviated from the truth by saying that [the] resurrection has already taken place and are upsetting the faith of some.(E) 19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands, bearing this inscription, “The Lord knows those who are his”; and, “Let everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord avoid evil.”(F)
20 In a large household there are vessels not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for lofty and others for humble use. 21 If anyone cleanses himself of these things, he will be a vessel for lofty use, dedicated, beneficial to the master of the house, ready for every good work.(G) 22 So turn from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord[c] with purity of heart.(H) 23 Avoid foolish and ignorant debates, for you know that they breed quarrels.(I) 24 A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant,(J) 25 correcting opponents with kindness. It may be that God will grant them repentance that leads to knowledge of the truth,(K) 26 [d]and that they may return to their senses out of the devil’s snare,(L) where they are entrapped by him, for his will.
Chapter 3
The Dangers of the Last Days.[e] 1 But understand this: there will be terrifying times in the last days.(M) 2 People will be self-centered and lovers of money, proud, haughty, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, irreligious,(N) 3 callous, implacable, slanderous, licentious, brutal, hating what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 as they make a pretense of religion but deny its power. Reject them.(O) 6 For some of these slip into homes and make captives of women weighed down by sins, led by various desires,(P) 7 always trying to learn but never able to reach a knowledge of the truth.(Q) 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so they also oppose the truth—people of depraved mind, unqualified in the faith.(R) 9 But they will not make further progress, for their foolishness will be plain to all, as it was with those two.
Paul’s Example and Teaching.[f] 10 You have followed my teaching, way of life, purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, persecutions that I endured. Yet from all these things the Lord delivered me.(S) 12 In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.(T) 13 But wicked people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. 14 But you, remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it,(U) 15 and that from infancy you have known [the] sacred scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.(V) 16 [g]All scripture(W) is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness,[h] 17 so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.(X)
Chapter 4
Solemn Charge.[i] 1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power:(Y) 2 proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.(Z) 3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity,[j] will accumulate teachers(AA) 4 and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths.(AB) 5 But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry.
Reward for Fidelity. 6 [k](AC)For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 [l]I have competed well; I have finished the race;(AD) I have kept the faith. 8 [m]From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day,(AE) and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.
Footnotes
- 2:14–19 For those who dispute about mere words (cf. 2 Tm 2:23–24) and indulge in irreligious talk to the detriment of their listeners (2 Tm 2:16–19), see notes on 1 Tm 1:3–7; 6:20–21. Hymenaeus and Philetus (2 Tm 2:17), while accepting the Christian’s mystical death and resurrection in Christ through baptism, claimed that baptized Christians are already risen with Christ in this life and thus that there is no future bodily resurrection or eternal glory to come. The first quotation in 2 Tm 2:19 is from Nm 16:5; the other quotation is from some unidentified Jewish or Christian writing.
- 2:14 Before God: many ancient manuscripts read “before the Lord.”
- 2:22 Those who call on the Lord: those who believe in Christ and worship him as Lord, i.e., Christians (Acts 9:14–16, 20–21; Rom 10:12–13; cf. 2 Tm 2:19, literally, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord”).
- 2:26 Some interpreters would render this passage, “Thus they may come to their senses and, forced to do his (i.e., God’s) will, may escape the devil’s trap.” This interpretation of the Greek is possible, but the one accepted in the text seems more likely.
- 3:1–9 The moral depravity and false teaching that will be rampant in the last days are already at work (2 Tm 3:1–5). The frivolous and superficial, too, devoid of the true spirit of religion, will be easy victims of those who pervert them by falsifying the truth (2 Tm 3:6–8), just as Jannes and Jambres, Pharaoh’s magicians of Egypt (Ex 7:11–12, 22), discredited the truth in Moses’ time. Exodus does not name the magicians, but the two names are widely found in much later Jewish, Christian, and even pagan writings. Their origins are legendary.
- 3:10–17 Paul’s example for Timothy includes persecution, a frequent emphasis in the Pastorals. Timothy is to be steadfast to what he has been taught and to scripture. The scriptures are the source of wisdom, i.e., of belief in and loving fulfillment of God’s word revealed in Christ, through whom salvation is given.
- 3:16–17 Useful for teaching…every good work: because as God’s word the scriptures share his divine authority. It is exercised through those who are ministers of the word.
- 3:16 All scripture is inspired by God: this could possibly also be translated, “All scripture inspired by God is useful for….” In this classic reference to inspiration, God is its principal author, with the writer as the human collaborator. Thus the scriptures are the word of God in human language. See also 2 Pt 1:20–21.
- 4:1–5 The gravity of the obligation incumbent on Timothy to preach the word can be gauged from the solemn adjuration: in the presence of God, and of Christ coming as universal judge, and by his appearance and his kingly power (2 Tm 4:1). Patience, courage, constancy, and endurance are required despite the opposition, hostility, indifference, and defection of many to whom the truth has been preached (2 Tm 4:2–5).
- 4:3 Insatiable curiosity: literally, “with itching ears.”
- 4:6 The apostle recognizes his death through martyrdom to be imminent. He regards it as an act of worship in which his blood will be poured out in sacrifice; cf. Ex 29:38–40; Phil 2:17.
- 4:7 At the close of his life Paul could testify to the accomplishment of what Christ himself foretold concerning him at the time of his conversion, “I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name” (Acts 9:16).
- 4:8 When the world is judged at the parousia, all who have eagerly looked for the Lord’s appearing and have sought to live according to his teachings will be rewarded. The crown is a reference to the laurel wreath placed on the heads of victorious athletes and conquerors in war; cf. 2 Tm 2:5; 1 Cor 9:25.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.