In this verse the meaning of the metaphor is explained, primarily as it relates to the situation in Ephesus.

Any one refers generally to all members of the church, and in some languages it will be helpful to begin this verse in the following way: “That’s how it is with Christians (or, believers)” (compare Contemporary English Version “… with people”). The generic sense here seems to be deliberate in order to include the heretical teachers and those affected adversely by their teachings and actions.

The word for purifies occurs only twice in the New Testament, here and in 1 Cor 5.7, “cleanse out.” It refers to the act of cleaning something thoroughly and completely, with the implication that everything unclean is removed.

From what is ignoble is literally “from these things,” but which may refer to all the negative things that Timothy has been advised to avoid (see especially verses 14 and 16). Some translations achieve this result by using a generic term here; for example, Revised English Bible “all this wickedness,” Phillips “the contaminations of evil,” New Revised Standard Version “the things I have mentioned.”

In the next part of the verse, Paul goes back to the language of the metaphor in the previous verse.

For vessel, see previous verse. This word is also used in a figurative sense to refer to people (see 1 Thes 4.4, where Revised Standard Version renders it “a wife,” and 1 Peter 3.7, where Revised Standard Version translates “the weaker vessel” as “the weaker sex”). The focus in this context is the function of people as equipment or implements in the hands of God.

For for noble use see previous verse. Other ways of expressing the first part of this verse are “That’s how it is with Christians! If a believer stops doing evil and makes himself pure, he will be used in a special way” or “That’s how it is with believers! God will use those Christians in a special way who stop doing evil and make themselves pure.”

For consecrated see 1 Tim 4.5. The focus here is on being dedicated to God through some religious ceremony, so that these utensils now belong to God and are set aside for special use.

Useful translates a word that is used to describe something that is regarded as valuable and beneficial. This is in stark contrast to “disputing about words” in verse 14, words that are of no value at all. This final sentence may also be expressed as “Because he (or, they) will be holy (or, dedicated to God) and useful to God who is the Master of the house. They will be ready for him to use for every good deed.”

For master see 1 Tim 6.2, where the same word is used for the owner of slaves. The master of the house is a figure for God.

Ready translates the perfect passive participle of the verb that means “to make ready,” “to prepare.” The dedication of the utensil accomplishes the task of making it ready for the master’s use.

This last phrase ready for any good work reverts back to the application of the metaphor, for while ready is in the neuter gender and therefore is connected with vessels, good work definitely refers to people and not to the utensils (but see Revised English Bible “fit for any honorable purpose”). What we have here then is a mixture of metaphor and application, with the first part of the verse being application, the middle part metaphor, and the last part application again. Because of this mixing of metaphor and application, it may be appropriate to change the metaphorical parts into similes (for example, “he will be like a vessel”), or else to drop the metaphor altogether, as Good News Translation has done.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• That’s how it is with believers. If anyone stops doing evil and makes himself pure, God will use him for special purposes. This is because he is dedicated and useful to his Master, and ready to do all kinds of good deeds.

Or:
• That’s how it is with Christians. God will use in a special way those who stop doing evil and make themselves pure. This is because they have been dedicated to their Master and are useful to him. They are then ready to do all kinds of good deeds.

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