¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
²tn Grk “for the promise…” or possibly “in accordance with the promise…”
³tn Grk “from my ancestors.”
⁴tn Or “as I do constantly. By night and day I long to see you…”
⁵tn 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.
⁶tn 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.
⁷tn Grk “the sincere faith in you.”
⁸tn Or “convinced.”
⁹tn Grk “that is in you.”
¹⁰sn A Spirit. 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.
¹¹tn Grk “the testimony of our Lord.”
¹²tn Or “according to.”
¹³tn Grk “suffer hardship together,” implying “join with me in suffering.”
¹⁴tn 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.
¹⁵tn Or “according to,” or “by.”
¹⁶tn Grk “before eternal times.”
¹⁷tn Grk “having broken…and having brought…” (describing Christ).
¹⁸tn Grk “for which.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
¹⁹tc Many manuscripts (Ͳ C D F G Y Byz it) add “of the Gentiles” after “teacher.” The shorter phrase is preferred because it probably represents a gloss added by copyists familiar with 1 Tim 2:7. There is no good explanation for the omission of the phrase if it were original here.
²⁰tn Grk “suffer these things.”
²¹tn Or “in whom I have believed.”
²²sn 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).
²³sn 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.
²⁴tn Or “pattern.”
²⁵tn 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).
²⁶sn That good thing (Grk “the good deposit”) refers to the truth of the gospel committed to Timothy (cf. 1 Tim 6:20).
²⁷sn Asia in the NT always refers to the Roman province of western Asia Minor.
²⁸tn Grk “my chain.”
²⁹sn 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).
³⁰tn Grk “all the ways he served in Ephesus.”
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 ajnqrwvpoi" (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.
¹⁹tn 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.
²⁰tn Or “renounce,” “disown,” “repudiate.” It is important to note that the object of Christ’s denial is “us.” The text does not contained an implied complement (“he will deny us [x],” similar to the phrase “he will make you [king]”) since the verb ajrnevomai (arneomai) is not one of the category of verbs that occur in these constructions (see Wallace, Exegetical Syntax, 182-89). See also the note on the word “disown” in Luke 12:9.
²¹tn Grk “if we renounce,” but the “him” is implied by the parallel clauses.
²²sn 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).
²³tn Grk “remind of these things,” implying “them” or “people” as the object.
²⁴tn Grk “solemnly charging.” The participle diamarturovmeno" (diamarturomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
²⁵tn Grk “[it is] beneficial for nothing, for the ruin of those who listen.”
²⁶sn 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.”
²⁷sn Profane chatter was apparently a characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus (cf. 1 Tim 1:3-4; 4:7; 6:20).
²⁸tn Grk “they [who engage in it] will progress even more in ungodliness.”
²⁹tn Or “eat away.”
³⁰tn 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.
³¹tn Grk “have deviated concerning the truth.”
³²tc Most manuscripts have the article thvn (thn) before ajnavstasin (anastasin), though significant witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western strain lack the article (Í F G 33 et pauci). Since ajnavstasin is a third declension noun, an accidental oversight is not likely. As the accusative subject of the infinitive gegonevnai (gegonenai) in indirect discourse, the noun seems to require an article (“saying that the resurrection has already occurred”). Thus, there is strong scribal motivation for adding the article, and little for omitting it. The shorter reading thus is to be preferred.
³³sn A quotation from Num 16:5.
³⁴tn Grk “names the name of the Lord.”
³⁵tn Grk “for dishonor,” probably referring to vessels used for refuse or excrement.
³⁶tn Grk “from these,” alluding to the errors and deeds of the false teachers described in vv. 14-19.
³⁷tn Grk “and peace, with those.”
³⁸sn 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.
³⁹tn Or “uninstructed,” “silly.”
⁴⁰tn Or “quarrels.”
⁴¹tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though dou'lo" (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free man serving another. BAGD 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” (BAGD 205, s.v. dou'lo"). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for dou'lo"), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
⁴²tn Grk “must not fight” or “must not quarrel.”
⁴³sn Correcting is the word for “child-training” or “discipline.” It is often positive (training, educating) but here denotes the negative side (correcting, disciplining).
⁴⁴tn Grk “repentance unto knowledge of the truth.”
⁴⁵tn Grk “having been captured.”
⁴⁶tn 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.
¹tn Or perhaps, “dangerous,” “fierce.”
²tn Grk “men”; but here a[nqrwpoi (anqrwpoi) is generic, referring to both men and women.
³tn Or “self-centered.” The first two traits in 2 Tim 3:2 and the last two in 3:4 are Greek words beginning with the root “lovers of,” and so bracket the list at beginning and end.
⁴tn Or “form.”
sn Outward appearance. Paul’s contrast with power in 3:5b shows that he regards this “form” to be outward, one of appearance rather than reality (cf. 1 Cor 4:19-20; 1 Thess 1:5).
⁵tn Grk “and avoid these,” with the word “people” implied.
⁶tn Grk “For from these are those who sneak.”
⁷tn Or “silly women.”
⁸tn Grk “always learning,” continuing the description of the women from v. 6. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
⁹sn Jannes and Jambres were the traditional names of two of Pharaoh’s magicians who opposed Moses at the time of the Exodus.
¹⁰tn Grk “disapproved concerning the faith.”
¹¹tn Grk “for they will not progress any more.”
¹²tn Grk “as theirs came to be,” referring to the foolishness of Jannes and Jambres.
¹³sn There is a strong emphasis on the pronoun you in contrast to the people described in vv. 2-9.
¹⁴tn The possessive “my” occurs only at the beginning of the list but is positioned in Greek to apply to each of the words in the series.
¹⁵tn Grk “persecutions, sufferings,” as a continuation of the series from v. 10.
¹⁶sn In Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra. See Acts 13-14 for the account of these persecutions.
¹⁷tn Grk “will advance to the worse.”
¹⁸tn Grk “deceiving and being deceived.”
¹⁹tn Grk “but you, continue,” a command.
²⁰tn Grk “knowing,” giving the reasons for continuing as v. 14 calls for.
²¹tn Grk “those from whom you learned.”
²²tn Or “All scripture.”
sn There is very little difference in sense between every scripture (emphasizing the individual portions) and “all scripture” (emphasizing the composite whole). The former option is preferred, because it fits the normal use of the word “all/every” in Greek (pa'", pas) as well as Paul’s normal sense for the word “scripture” in the singular without the article, as here. So every scripture means “every individual portion of scripture.”
²³sn Inspired by God. Some have connected this adjective in a different way and translated it as “every inspired scripture is also useful.” But this violates the parallelism of the two adjectives in the sentence, and the arrangement of words makes clear that both should be taken as predicate adjectives: “every scripture is inspired…and useful.”
²⁴tn Or “rebuke,” “censure.” The Greek word implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.
²⁵tn Grk “the man of God,” but a[nqrwpo" (anqrwpos) is most likely used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.
²⁶tn This word is positioned for special emphasis; it carries the sense of “complete, competent, able to meet all demands.”
¹tn Or “the word.”
²tn Grk “be ready.”
³tn Grk “in season, out of season.”
⁴tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people in that future time) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁵tn Grk “in accord with.”
⁶tn Grk “having an itching in regard to hearing,” “having itching ears.”
⁷sn These myths were legendary tales characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus and Crete. See parallels in 1 Tim 1:4; 4:7; and Titus 1:14.
⁸tn Or “sober,” “temperate.”
⁹tn Grk “of my departure.”
¹⁰sn The expression I have competed well (Grk “I have competed the good competition”) uses words that may refer to a race or to a boxing or wrestling match: “run the good race” or “fight the good fight.” The similar phrase in 1:18 uses a military picture and is more literally “war the good warfare.”
¹¹tn Grk “all who have loved.”
¹²tc Most manuscripts have the aorist, ejgkatevlipen (enkatelipen), though the evidence seems to be better for the imperfect ejgkatevleipen (enkateleipen; so A C D² F G L P 33 81 1175 1881 et alii). At the same time, the reading of these witnesses could be a simple itacistic change. Intrinsically, it should be noted that Paul nowhere uses the imperfect of -leivpw (-leipw) verbs, though he does use the present participle on occasion. But a scribe would tend to change such forms to the aorist, to conform to Paul’s style. As well, in this context the aorist fits nicely, while the imperfect seems a bit awkward (especially with its internal perspective). Hence, the imperfect has a slightly greater probability of being original.
¹³tn Grk “having loved.”
¹⁴tn Grk “useful.”
¹⁵tn Or “in serving me.”
¹⁶tc The imperfect ajpevleipon (apeleipon) is read by A C F G L P 33 104 326 1175 1881 et pauci; almost all other manuscripts have the aorist ajpevlipon (apelipon) here. See text-critical note at v. 10 (“deserted”). The same comments apply here.
¹⁷tn Grk “showed me much evil.”
¹⁸sn An allusion to Ps 28:4.
¹⁹tn Grk “against whom,” as a continuation of the previous clause. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
²⁰tn The imperfect is read by A C D¹ F G L P 33 104 326 1175 et pauci. See text-critical note at 4:10 (“deserted”); the same comments apply here.
²¹tn Or “the preaching.”
²²tn Grk “might be completely fulfilled.”
²³tn Grk “save me.”
²⁴tn Grk “to whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
²⁵tn Grk “unto the ages of the ages,” an emphatic way of speaking about eternity in Greek.
²⁶tn Grk “greet.”