1:14a

Guard: The word Guard here means to “defend against attack.”

the treasure entrusted to you: The words treasure entrusted to you are a translation of one Greek word. This is the same Greek word that Paul used in 1:12d. This word usually refers to money or land that a person entrusted to another person to keep safe. Here Paul used the word treasure to refer to the good news about Jesus Christ. Paul combined these two ideas to tell Timothy to “defend the gospel against attack from enemies.”

1:14b

with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us: Paul told Timothy how he was to protect the true message. Timothy was going to be able to protect the message because he had the Holy Spirit living in him just as Paul did. The Holy Spirit would help him.

with the help of the Holy Spirit: This phrase explains how Paul wanted Timothy to guard the treasure that was entrusted to him. It means, “guard with the help of the Holy Spirit.” This is why the New International Version (2011 Revision) adds the word “guard” in 1:14b. You should do what is more natural in your language—one longer sentence (see Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation), or two shorter clauses or sentences with the verb repeated.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.