But here stresses the contrast between the action of the Christians and that of the Lord, who remained faithful to Paul. Lord here probably refers to Christ. His faithfulness to Paul is described in two ways: (1) he stood by him and gave him strength to proclaim the message fully; and (2) he was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

Stood by translates a verb that in the present context means “to be at hand” (compare Good News Translation “stayed with me”) with the intention of helping; hence “come to the aid of,” “help.” Gave me strength translates a verb that means “to empower,” “enable” (see further comments on 1 Tim 1.12 and on “be strong” in 2 Tim 2.1). As a result of this empowerment, Paul was able to continue proclaiming the gospel to the Gentiles. The Greek text clearly marks this as a result; Good News Translation is therefore a closer representation of the Greek text than is Revised Standard Version.

Proclaim the message fully translates two words that together can be rendered “to fully accomplish the proclamation of the message.” For “to fully accomplish” see comments on “fulfill” in 2 Tim. 4.5 of this chapter. The Greek text is much more closely represented by New Revised Standard Version: “so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed”; in the Greek “through me” is in the emphatic position. Another way to express this clause is “so that I was able to preach all of the Lord’s message (or, words).”

A further consequence of this is that all the Gentiles are given the possibility of hearing the full message. For Gentiles see 1 Tim 2.7. The reference here may be to those present at the Roman court during Paul’s trial. This would mean that Paul took advantage of the trial to explain fully the reasons for his arrest. This is not unlikely, since as the book of Acts notes, Paul did use those occasions when he was in trouble with the authorities to give a personal witness of his faith (see, for example, Acts 24.1-20; 26.1-32). But another possibility suggested is that Paul was freed from prison and was able to resume his ministry to non-Jews in various places. In either case, all the Gentiles is an exaggeration that in many languages serves as a common way of saying “many Gentiles” or “most of the Gentiles.” The exaggeration may be retained but qualified somewhat; for example, “all the Gentiles (or, non-Jews) here,” meaning “in Rome.” In certain languages it will not be necessary to say that the Gentiles might hear it (the message), as the act of Paul’s preaching obviously means that the Gentiles “heard.”

A second result is that Paul was rescued from the lion’s mouth. For rescued see 2 Tim 3.11. The word can mean “deliver,” “save,” “preserve someone from someone or something,” “set free.”

There is very little doubt that the lion’s mouth is used here not in a physical sense but metaphorically; the whole expression is in fact used in the Old Testament to denote being saved from severe danger (see, for example, Psa 22.21). There is, however, no certainty as to what the metaphor refers to in the present context. Some have suggested that this refers to Satan, who is sometimes referred to as a lion (see, for example, 1 Peter 5.8). The argument against this is that the metaphor is the lion’s mouth and not the lion alone. An attractive proposal is to take the clue from Psa 22, which seems to have influenced verses 9-18. For instance, Paul experienced being deserted (verses 10, 16) in much the same way that the psalmist felt abandoned. And, not unlike the psalmist, Paul has been rescued (verse 18; compare Psa 22.4-5) and will be rescued from the lion’s mouth (verse 17; compare Psa 22.21). If this is the case, then what Paul means by being rescued from the lion’s mouth is what the psalmist means, which is being rescued from death. So instead of “being sentenced to death” (Good News Translation), Paul was given an extension of his life that enabled him to continue his ministry.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• But the Lord stayed right beside me. He gave me strength so that I was able to preach all the Lord’s message (or, words) to all the Gentiles (or, non-Jews) here. And he saved me from death.

Or:
• … And he saved me from death just like rescuing me from hungry lions.

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 .