Greeting

1 Paul, an ^aapostle of Christ Jesus ^bby the will of God according to the ^cpromise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, my beloved ^dchild:

^eGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

3 ^fI thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a ^gclear conscience, as I ^hremember you ⁱconstantly in my prayers ^jnight and day. 4 As I remember ^kyour tears, ^lI long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your ^msincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in ⁿyour grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the ^ogift of God, which is in you through the ^playing on of my hands, 7 for God gave us ^qa spirit not of fear but of power and love and ^rself-control.

8 Therefore do not be ^sashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his ^tprisoner, but ^ushare in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and ^vcalled us to¹ a holy calling, ^wnot because of our works but because of his own ^xpurpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus ^ybefore the ages began,² 10 and which now has been ^zmanifested through the ^aappearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished ^bdeath and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was ^cappointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and ^dI am convinced that ^ehe is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.³ 13 ^fFollow the pattern of the ^gsound⁴ words that you have heard from me, ^hin the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who ⁱdwells within us, guard the good deposit ^jentrusted to you.

15 You are aware that all who are in Asia ^kturned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of ^lOnesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of ^mmy chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— 18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

1 You then, my child, ⁿbe strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses ^oentrust to faithful men,⁵ who will be able to teach others also. 3 ^pShare in suffering as a good ^qsoldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not ^rcrowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 ^sIt is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

8 Remember Jesus Christ, ^trisen from the dead, the ^uoffspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. ^vBut the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I ^wendure everything ^xfor the sake of the ^yelect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 ^zThe saying is trustworthy, for:

for he cannot deny himself.

A Worker Approved by God

14 Remind them of these things, and ^dcharge them before God⁶ not to ^equarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to ^fpresent yourself to God as one approved,⁷ a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the ^gword of truth. 16 But ^havoid ⁱirreverent babble, for it will lead people into ^jmore and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are ^kHymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have ^lswerved from the truth, ^msaying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ⁿ“The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who ^onames the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

20 Now in a great ^phouse there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, ^qsome for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, ^rif anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,⁸ he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ^sready for every good work.

22 So ^tflee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, ^ulove, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant ^vcontroversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant⁹ must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 ^wcorrecting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the ^xsnare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Godlessness in the Last Days

1 But understand this, that ^yin the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, ^zproud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, ^aswollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. ^bAvoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a ^cknowledge of the truth. 8 Just as ^dJannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men ^ecorrupted in mind and ^fdisqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God

10 ^gYou, however, have ^hfollowed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at ⁱAntioch, at ^jIconium, and at ^kLystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord ^lrescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a ^mgodly life in Christ Jesus ⁿwill be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on ^ofrom bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom¹⁰ you learned it 15 and how ^pfrom childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 ^qAll Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the ^rman of God¹¹ may be complete, ^sequipped for every good work.

Preach the Word

1 I ^tcharge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, ^uwho is to judge the living and the dead, and by his ^vappearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; ^wreprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 ^xFor the time is coming when people will not endure ^ysound¹² teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and ^zwander off into ^amyths. 5 But as for you, always be sober-minded, ^bendure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, ^cfulfill your ministry.

6 ^dFor I am already being ^epoured out as a drink offering, and the time of my ^fdeparture has come. 7 I have fought the ^ggood fight, I have ^hfinished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is ⁱlaid up for me the ^jcrown of righteousness, which the Lord, the ^krighteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Personal Instructions

9 Do your best ^lto come to me soon. 10 For ^mDemas, ⁿin love with ^othis present world, ^phas deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia,^{13 q}Titus to Dalmatia. 11 ^rLuke alone is with me. Get ^sMark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 ^tTychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 ^uAlexander the coppersmith did me great harm; ^vthe Lord will repay him ^waccording to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first ^xdefense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and ^ystrengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and ^zall the Gentiles might hear it. So I was ^arescued ^bfrom the lion’s mouth. 18 ^cThe Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. ^dTo him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

19 Greet ^ePrisca and Aquila, and the household of ^fOnesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 21 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.¹⁴

22 The Lord be with your spirit. ^gGrace be with you.¹⁵

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.