4:6a

For I: In the same way that Paul used a pronoun and conjunction in 4:5a to highlight what Timothy was to do in contrast to the false teachers, so here he begins this thought in Greek with the pronoun meaning I and a conjunction. The pronoun emphasizes Paul’s situation compared to Timothy’s.

The Greek conjunction gar, “for,” indicates that 4:6 gives the reason why Paul had given Timothy the commands in 4:5. Timothy needed to “fulfill” his “ministry” because Paul would not be alive much longer to help him.

being poured out like a drink offering: The phrase being poured out like a drink offering is the Berean Standard Bible translation of one Greek verb. This verb is found only here and in Philippians 2:17. It literally means “being poured out” and describes one particular type or part of a Jewish sacrifice.

Exodus 29:38–41 describes the ritual for offering sacrifices to God each morning and evening. The sacrifice included a lamb, an offering of grain mixed with oil, and a specific quantity of wine, which a priest “poured out” or “poured over” the other things. The wine that the priest poured out was called the “drink offering.” It was the final part of the entire sacrifice.

In this verse, Paul used the word meaning “being poured out” in a figurative sense. Paul considered his entire life to be a sacrifice to God. This part of his life was the final part of that sacrifice, just as the drink offering was the final part of an animal sacrifice. In other words, Paul was saying that he would die soon.

When translating this phrase, you have several possibilities:

• Use the figure of speech, but add a phrase to “being poured out” so that the meaning will be easier to understand. The Berean Standard Bible and most other English versions do this. For example, Contemporary English Version says:

My life is like a drink offering being poured out on the altar.

• Explain the figure of speech. You can say something like,

Just as the offering of wine is poured out at the end of the sacrifice, even so my life is at its end.

• Replace the figure of speech with the direct meaning. If you cannot retain the figure, you can say something like,

My life is already ending….
-or-
My life and work for God are ending….

4:6b

and the time of my departure is at hand: The phrase my departure is a euphemism for “my death.” Paul wrote these words to Timothy because the Romans had condemned him to die, and he knew that they planned to kill him soon.

General Comment on 4:6

In some languages is may be more natural to reorder 4:6a and 4:6b. For instance, you could say:

^6bI am about to die; ^6amy life is like a drink offering that is being poured out as a sacrifice.

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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.