In some languages the clause Till I come may be placed at the end of the verse, with the other clauses coming first.

The mention of Paul’s planned visit to Timothy does not mean that he is going to take over the duties that he is exhorting Timothy to fulfill. Rather the sense is that when he comes he will give Timothy new instructions and new duties to perform; in the meantime he should continue with those duties that are already assigned to him.

The word for attend to is found in verse 1, where it is translated as “give heed.” Other ways of rendering the word are “devote yourself to,” “occupy yourself with,” “give your time and effort to” (Good News Translation), or “keep on reading” (Contemporary English Version). The three duties mentioned seem to be regular parts of the activities of Christians when they gather together for worship. This is supported by the fact that each of these duties is preceded by the definite article, which suggests that the reference is to specific rather than to general activities. Public reading of scripture is literally “reading”; most commentators, however, are in agreement that this pertains to the reading of Scripture, and furthermore, that what is meant is not the private study of Scripture but Scripture being read aloud in the worship service. Scripture most certainly includes the Old Testament and perhaps parts of the New Testament, most certainly a collection of the teachings of Jesus, since, as 5.18 shows, Jesus’ teachings were already considered as Scripture by that time. Another way of expressing public reading of scripture is “reading the scriptures aloud for the believers (or, everyone) to hear.”

The word for preaching (New Revised Standard Version “exhortation”) is not derived from the same root as “preacher” in 2.7, but translates a Greek verb which is often translated “to encourage,” “to comfort,” or “to urge” (see, for example, 1 Tim 1.3), but which can also mean “to exhort.” In view of this, preaching here does not refer to the proclamation of the good news but to the explanation of the scripture passages that are read, making their meaning and relevance clear to the gathered congregation. So another way to say this is “explaining the meaning of the scriptures.” The word for teaching occurs elsewhere in the letter; it is the word that is usually translated “doctrine.” (See, for example, 1.10; 4.1.) Here the focus is not on the content of what is taught but on the act of teaching itself, particularly the nurturing of new Christians in catechetical classes.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .