2:25a

He must gently reprove: In the Greek this is literally “with gentleness instructing.” Because the phrase “with gentleness” is before the word “instructing,” it has special emphasis. Try to reflect that emphasis in your translation.

reprove: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as reprove also means “to correct.” Most English versions translate it as “correct.”

He … him: The words He and him refers to someone/anyone who is “a servant of the Lord” in 2:24a.

2:25b

in the hope that God may grant them repentance: This is the first reason why the Lord’s servant should “gently reprove.” The second reason is in 2:26. Paul knew that if Timothy would be gentle with his opponents when he talked to them about the word of God, they might listen and realize that what they had believed was not true and that they need to change.

in the hope: The phrase in the hope is the translation of one Greek word that means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It is a word that indicates that Paul was not absolutely sure. It was possible that Timothy’s opponents would repent, but not certain.

that God may grant them: The meaning of the clause that God may grant them is “that God will make it possible for them,” “…enable them,” or “…allow them” to repent.

repentance: In this context repentance refers to a major change in what a person believes and how he behaves: That is, the person turns away from false teachings and now believes the true teachings of God. He turns away from sinful choices and now chooses to do things that please God.

As the phrase indicates, God is the one who makes repentance possible. A person cannot change himself in this way without God’s help.

2:25c

leading to a knowledge of the truth: The literal translation of this phrase from the Greek is “into acknowledgement of the truth.” This grammatical construction makes it difficult to know how this phrase is connected to 2:25b. Most translations consider a knowledge of the truth to be the result of “repentance” in 2:25b. Therefore, they translate it:

perhaps God will allow them to repent and then come to know the truth
-or-
perhaps God will enable them to repent and will lead them to know the truth.

a knowledge of the truth: This phrase means “to know or recognize the true teachings.” (See the note on this phrase in Translator’s Notes for Titus 1:1d.)

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