2 Timothy 2 (NET)

Serving Faithfully Despite Hardship

1 So you, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And entrust what you heard me say1 in the presence of many others as witnesses2 to faithful people3 who will be competent4 to teach others as well. 3 Take your share of suffering5 as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please6 the one who recruited him. 5 Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he will not be crowned as the winner7 unless he competes according to the rules.8 6 The farmer who works hard ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think about what I am saying and9 the Lord will give you understanding of all this.10

8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David;11 such is my gospel,12 9 for which I suffer hardship to the point of imprisonment13 as a criminal, but God’s message14 is not imprisoned!15 10 So I endure all things for the sake of those chosen by God,16 that they too may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus and its eternal glory.17 11 This saying18 is trustworthy:19

If we died with him, we will also live with him.

12 If we endure, we will also reign with him.20

If we deny21 him,22 he will also deny us.

13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since he cannot deny himself.23

Dealing with False Teachers

14 Remind people24 of these things and solemnly charge them25 before the Lord26 not to wrangle over words. This is of no benefit; it just brings ruin on those who listen.27 15 Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately.28 16 But avoid profane chatter,29 because those occupied with it will stray further and further into ungodliness,30 17 and their message will spread its infection31 like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are in this group.32 18 They have strayed from the truth33 by saying that the resurrection has already occurred, and they are undermining some people’s faith. 19 However, God’s solid foundation remains standing, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,”34 and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord35 must turn away from evil.”

20 Now in a wealthy home36 there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also ones made of wood and of clay, and some are for honorable use, but others for ignoble use.37 21 So if someone cleanses himself of such behavior,38 he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart, useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. 22 But keep away from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, in company with others39 who call on the Lord from a pure heart.40 23 But reject foolish and ignorant41 controversies, because you know they breed infighting.42 24 And the Lord’s slave43 must not engage in heated disputes44 but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, 25 correcting45 opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth46 26 and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive47 to do his will.48

1tn Grk “what you heard from me” (cf. 1:13). 2tn Grk “through many witnesses.” The “through” is used here to show attendant circumstances: “accompanied by,” “in the presence of.” 3tn Grk “faithful men”; but here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") is generic, referring to both men and women. 4tn Or “able” (see Paul’s use of this word in regard to ministry in 2 Cor 2:16; 3:5-6). 5tn Grk “suffer hardship together,” implying “join with me and others in suffering” (cf. 1:8). 6tn Grk “that he may please.” 7tn Grk “will not be crowned,” speaking of the wreath awarded to the victor. 8sn According to the rules (Grk “lawfully, by law”) referring to the rules of competition. In the ancient world these included requirements for training as well as rules for the competition itself. 9tn The Greek word here usually means “for,” but is used in this verse for a milder continuation of thought. 10tn Grk “in all things.” 11tn Grk “of David’s seed” (an idiom for physical descent). 12tn Grk “according to my gospel.” 13tn Or “chains,” “bonds.” 14tn Or “word.” 15tn Or “chained,” “bound.” 16tn Grk “the elect.” 17tn Grk “with eternal glory.” 18sn This saying (Grk “the saying”) refers to the following citation. See 1 Tim 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; Titus 3:8 for other occurrences of this phrase. 19sn The following passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre. 20tn Grk “died together…will live together…will reign together,” without “him” stated explicitly. But “him” is implied by the parallel ideas in Rom 6:8; 8:17 and by the reference to Christ in vv. 12b-13. 21tn Or “renounce,” “disown,” “repudiate.” It is important to note that the object of Christ’s denial is “us.” The text does not contain an implied object complement (“he will deny us [x]”), which would mean that Christ was withholding something from us (for example, “The owner denied his pets water”), since the verb ἀρνέομαι (arneomai) is not one of the category of verbs that normally occurs in these constructions (see ExSyn 182-89). 22tn Grk “if we renounce,” but the “him” is implied by the parallel clauses. 23sn If we are unfaithful…he cannot deny himself. This could be (1) a word of warning (The Lord will exact punishment; he cannot deny his holiness) or (2) a word of hope (Because of who he is, he remains faithful to us despite our lapses). The latter is more likely, since Paul consistently cites God’s faithfulness as a reassurance, not as a warning (cf. especially Rom 3:3; also 1 Cor 1:9; 10:13; 2 Cor 1:18; 1 Thess 5:24; 2 Thess 3:3). 24tn Grk “remind of these things,” implying “them” or “people” as the object. 25tn Grk “solemnly charging.” The participle διαμαρτυρόμενος (diamarturomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. 26tc ‡ Most witnesses (A D Ψ 048 1739 1881 Ï sy) have κυρίου (kuriou, “Lord”) instead of θεοῦ (qeou, “God”) here, while a few have Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “Christ”; 206 {429 1758}). θεοῦ, however, is well supported by א C F G I 614 629 630 1175 al. Internally, the Pastorals never elsewhere use the expression ἐνώπιον κυρίου (enwpion kuriou, “before the Lord”), but consistently use ἐνώπιον θεοῦ (“before God”; cf. 1 Tim 2:3; 5:4, 21; 6:13; 2 Tim 4:1). But this fact could be argued both ways: The author’s style may be in view, or scribes may have adjusted the wording to conform it to the Pastorals’ universal expression. Further, only twice in the NT (Jas 4:10 [v.l. θεοῦ]; Rev 11:4 [v.l. θεοῦ]) is the expression ἐνώπιον κυρίου found. That such an expression is not found in the corpus Paulinum seems to be sufficient impetus for scribes to change the wording here. Thus, although the external evidence is somewhat on the side of θεοῦ, the internal evidence is on the side of κυρίου. A decision is difficult, but κυρίου is the preferred reading. 27tn Grk “[it is] beneficial for nothing, for the ruin of those who listen.” 28sn Accurately is a figure of speech that literally means something like “cutting a straight road.” In regard to the message of truth, it means “correctly handling” or “imparting it without deviation.” 29sn Profane chatter was apparently a characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus (cf. 1 Tim 1:3-4; 4:7; 6:20). 30tn Grk “they [who engage in it] will progress even more in ungodliness.” 31tn Or “eat away.” 32tn Grk “of whom are Hymenaeus and Philetus.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, this last clause has been made a new sentence in the translation. 33tn Grk “have deviated concerning the truth.” 34sn A quotation from Num 16:5. 35tn Grk “names the name of the Lord.” 36tn Grk “a great house.” 37tn Grk “for dishonor,” probably referring to vessels used for refuse or excrement. 38tn Grk “from these,” alluding to the errors and deeds of the false teachers described in vv. 14-19. 39tn Grk “and peace, with those.” 40sn In company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart alludes to the value of the community of believers for the development of Christian virtues. 41tn Or “uninstructed,” “silly.” 42tn Or “fights,” although this could suggest weapons and blows, whereas in the present context this is not the primary focus. Although “quarrel” is frequently used here (NAB, NIV, NRSV) it may be understood to refer to a relatively minor disagreement. 43tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.” 44tn Grk “must not fight” or “must not quarrel.” The Greek verb is related to the noun translated “infighting” in v. 23. 45sn Correcting is the word for “child-training” or “discipline.” It is often positive (training, educating) but here denotes the negative side (correcting, disciplining). 46tn Grk “repentance unto knowledge of the truth.” 47tn Grk “having been captured by him.” 48tn Grk “for that one’s will,” referring to the devil, but with a different pronoun than in the previous phrase “by him.” Some have construed “for his will” with the earlier verb and referred the pronoun to God: “come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap (though they have been captured by him) in order to do His will.” In Classical Greek the shift in pronouns would suggest this, but in Koine Greek this change is not significant. The more natural sense is a reference to the devil’s will.