Paragraph 6:20a–21b
In this final paragraph, Paul was once more giving commands to Timothy himself.
6:20a
O Timothy: Paul addressed Timothy by name in this final paragraph of his letter. In Greek and in English, it is natural to place this name at the beginning of the sentence. However, in other languages, it may be more natural to place it at the end or in the middle. You should place Timothy’s name where it is most natural in your language.
guard what has been entrusted to you: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as guard what has been entrusted to you is a command to care for someone else’s possessions and make sure they are safe.
Here, Paul was not talking about an object that Timothy was to guard. He was talking about a task that God had entrusted to Timothy. This was probably the task of teaching God’s message. God had given this responsibility to Timothy. See the note on 1:11b and 1:18a.
6:20b
Avoid: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Avoid literally means to physically “swerve to avoid something.” Here Paul used the verb in a figurative way. He was telling Timothy to avoid certain types of conversation. In other words, he was not to listen to such ideas and he was to make sure that they did not influence what he taught.
irreverent: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as irreverent here and in 4:7a was translated as “profane” in 1:9e. Other translation possibilities for it are “godless,” “vile,” or “impure.”
empty chatter: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as empty chatter means “empty, worthless talk.” Paul was telling Timothy to avoid getting involved in conversations that were meaningless.
Paul used the same expression “godless” chatter in 2 Timothy 2:16.
6:20c
the opposing arguments: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as opposing arguments refers to something that contradicts something else. Scholars understand this in two ways:
(1) Paul was referring to ideas that opposed, or contradicted, the true teaching about God.
(2) Paul was referring to false teaching that contradicted itself and so was inconsistent and foolish. The Good News Translation translates it as “foolish arguments.”
It is not clear which of these interpretations many English versions follow. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
so-called “knowledge”: Paul wanted Timothy to know the difference between true knowledge and what some people claimed to be knowledge. That is, the false teachers claimed that the false teaching was true. Paul made it clear here to Timothy that these opposing arguments were not real knowledge.
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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.