Section 1:18–20

Paul encouraged Timothy to persevere

In this section, Paul tried to encourage Timothy. He did not want Timothy to become discouraged because of the false teachers in Ephesus. So he reminded Timothy about the prophecies that people had spoken about him when the believers dedicated him as a pastor.

Paragraph 1:18–20

1:18a

my child: This is a metaphor. When Paul called Timothy my child, he meant that Timothy was like a son to him and that he loved him like a father loves his son. See the comments on “my true son” in 1:2b.

In some languages it is not possible to call someone “my child” if he is not a biological child. If that is true in your language, you may be able to use a simile rather than a metaphor. For example:

You are like my real son.

Or you may prefer to use a more natural expression, such as “my dear [Timothy]” or “my beloved [Timothy].”

I entrust you with this command: Paul was commanding Timothy to correct those who were teaching wrongly. The same Greek word which means “entrust” or “commit” is also used in 1 Timothy 6:20 and 2 Timothy 2:2.

this command: Scholars interpret the phrase this command in several different ways. Two of the ways are:

(1) Paul was referring to his command to Timothy in 1:3a–4a to correct the false teachers. For example, the New Century Version says:

Timothy, my child, I am giving you a command that agrees with the prophecies that were given about you in the past.

(Berean Standard Bible, New Century Version, Revised Standard Version, New International Version (2011 Revision), New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version, NET Bible)

(2) Paul was referring to his command in 1:18d to “fight the good fight.” For example, the New American Standard Bible says:

This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight

(New American Standard Bible, Good News Translation, God’s Word)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the same word is used here as in 1:3 and 1:5.

1:18b

in keeping with the previous prophecies about you:

If we consider what Jesus told Paul when Paul first started his ministry, it helps us to understand the kinds of things which Timothy may also have been told by prophets when he began his ministry. You can read what Jesus told Paul in Acts 9:15–16, 22:14–15, 22:21 and 26:16–18. Jesus told Paul the following (see Hendriksen p. 85):
(a) Paul would have a special job of announcing God’s message,
(b) some of the details of his job,
(c) Paul would suffer, and
(d) Jesus would always help him when he suffered.
It could be that the prophetic messages which Timothy received were similar to these messages which Paul received, although the details were probably different. If these messages were similar, then Timothy needed to remember things like the following:
(a) It was God himself who had called him to the job of proclaiming the gospel. Timothy did not get this job merely from some person’s idea or from his own imagination.
(b) God himself promised to help him do that job.
Consequently, as Timothy remembered the prophecies which people had spoken about him, he would want to continue to do his job in spite of difficulties.
) Paul was saying that what he was telling Timothy to do in this letter agreed with some prophecies that had been made about Timothy earlier. If Timothy did what Paul told him to, he would be doing what God, by means of the prophecies, had told him to do.

the previous prophecies about you: Paul was probably referring to the time (see 4:14b) when church leaders placed their hands on Timothy, prayed for him, and dedicated him as a pastor and special helper for Paul.

the previous prophecies: The word prophecies refers to special messages that the Holy Spirit gives to people.

1:18c

so that: Paul here told Timothy his purpose in reminding him about the prophecies.

by them: The pronoun them refers to the prophecies made about Timothy. Scholars interpret this in several ways:

(1) Timothy was to remember the things that the prophets said in their message from God to him and be encouraged by it. For example, the NET Bible says:

that with such encouragement…

(NET Bible, Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision))

(2) Timothy was to use what the prophets said (as a weapon against evil). For example, the Good News Translation says:

Use those words as weapons…

(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, God’s Word)

(3) Timothy was to obey what the prophets said. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

If you follow these instructions…

(Contemporary English Version, New International Version (2011 Revision), New Revised Standard Version, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Paul was probably telling Timothy to remember certain things. As Timothy remembered these things, he would be more likely to be faithful and “fight the good fight.”

1:18d

fight the good fight: Timothy’s task was to proclaim the gospel and to correct false teaching. Paul wanted Timothy to continue to do this no matter how difficult it might become. He compared this to fighting. There are two ways to make this clearer. For example:

to fight well in the Lord’s battles (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
-or-
you will fight like a good soldier (Contemporary English Version)

In some languages, the phrase fight the good fight can only refer to physical fighting. If your language is like that, you may need to make it clear in you translation the way Timothy’s job was like fighting in a physical battle. For example, you could say:

contend for the truth of the gospel as a good soldier fights to win a war

Or you may have to translate without a comparison here, in order for Paul’s main point to be clear enough that people can understand it. For example:

continue to proclaim the gospel despite opposition

good fight: This has been interpreted in two ways:

(1) It means to fight well; that is, bravely or expertly. For example, the Good News Translation says “fight well.”

(Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), Contemporary English Version)

(2) It means that the fight was itself good; that is, just and right. When Timothy did his job to proclaim God’s message, he was fighting for a worthy principle or goal. God’s Word says:

fight this noble war

Most English versions are ambiguous. If you must choose between these interpretations, it is recommended that you choose interpretation (1).

fight: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fight means “campaign” or “war,” not a single battle.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.