2 Timothy 1; 2 Timothy
2; 2 Timothy 3; 2 Timothy 4
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To
Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord. 3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers
did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my
prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I
may be filled with joy. 5 I have been reminded of your sincere
faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice
and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6 For this reason
I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the
laying on of my hands. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of
timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 8 So
do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But
join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who
has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done
but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ
Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been
revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed
death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And
of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That
is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have
believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to
him for that day. 13 What you heard from me, keep as the
pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard
the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy
Spirit who lives in us. 15 You know that everyone in the
province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May
the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed
me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when
he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May
the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very
well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ
Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence
of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach
others. 3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of
Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in
civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly,
if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless
he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer
should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect
on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. 8 Remember
Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my
gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being
chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. 10 Therefore
I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the
salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 Here
is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if
we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown
us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he
cannot disown himself. 14 Keep reminding them of these things.
Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and
only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present
yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and
who correctly handles the word of truth. 16 Avoid godless
chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more
ungodly. 17 Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among
them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have wandered away
from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and
they destroy the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, God's solid
foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows
those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord
must turn away from wickedness." 20 In a large house
there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some
are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21 If a man
cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes,
made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 22 Flee
the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace,
along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don't
have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they
produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord's servant must not quarrel;
instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Those
who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them
repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and
that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who
has taken them captive to do his will.
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last
days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,
boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful,
unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without
self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous,
rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- 5 having
a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 6 They
are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed
women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil
desires, 7 always learning but never able to acknowledge the
truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also
these men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is
concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far
because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to
everyone. 10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way
of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions,
sufferings--what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra,
the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In
fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be
persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors will go from bad
to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you,
continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you
know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy
you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is
God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.
1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge
the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give
you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and
out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful
instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up
with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather
around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to
hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn
aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations,
endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your
ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out like a drink
offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now
there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to
all who have longed for his appearing. 9 Do your best to come
to me quickly, 10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has
deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and
Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring
him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12 I
sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak
that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the
parchments. 14 Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal
of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15 You
too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our
message. 16 At my first defense, no one came to my support,
but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But
the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message
might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was
delivered from the lion's mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me
from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him
be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 19 Greet Priscilla and
Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus stayed in
Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 21 Do your best
to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia
and all the brothers. 22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace
be with you.
