And therefore is literally “because of which cause,” which goes back to verse 11; it is because of Paul being a preacher-apostle-teacher of the gospel that he is experiencing his present state of suffering. I suffer as I do most probably refers to his being in prison, a condition that is assumed in the letter. In many languages it will be helpful to begin a new sentence here and say, for example, “For this reason I suffer as I do,” or “For this reason I am presently suffering,” or “That is why I suffer” (similarly Contemporary English Version).
Nevertheless, in much the same way that Paul has exhorted Timothy not to be ashamed, so he clearly states that he himself is not ashamed because of the certainty of his faith in Christ. For ashamed see 2 Tim. 1.8. It is possible that the focus here is on Paul’s attitude toward his condition of being a prisoner, since the natural assumption is that people who are put in prison have committed some terrible crime, and this kind of assumption would be made in the case of Paul as well. What he is saying therefore is “I am not ashamed, even though I am now in prison.” In Good News Translation there is an attempt to capture the intention of the expression by means of the positive statement “I am still full of confidence.” This captures the emotive tone of the expression; that is, by saying what he said, Paul has shown bold confidence, determination, and courage in the midst of the difficult circumstances with which he is faced. The Good News Translation restructuring may be valid in some cultures, but in cultures where the concept of “shame” plays a prominent part, it is preferable in this case to stay as close as possible to the Greek text.
The basis of Paul’s bold attitude is his knowledge of the one in whom he has “believed.” Know here is much more than simply having information, for it includes being acquainted with and having a close relationship with someone. Whom is ambiguous; it can refer to either Christ or God. Considering, however, the New Testament practice of associating faith more with Christ than with God, it is more likely that the former is meant. Believed is better translated as “trusted” (so Good News Translation), since it pertains to having trust and confidence in someone to the extent of relying and depending on that someone.
For sure, see 2 Tim. 1.5 above. The verb is in the perfect tense, indicating a continuing sense of assurance. Able contains both the elements of competence and ability, with focus on the latter. For guard see 1 Tim 5.21, where it is rendered “keep.” The focus here is on guarding something closely in order to make sure that it is not damaged or lost, hence “safeguard” (New Jerusalem Bible), “keep safe” (Revised English Bible), “take care of” (Translator’s New Testament).
The Greek for entrusted to me appears only here in the whole New Testament. The noun form is used to refer to a deposit, and figuratively to something that is put in the trust of someone. The Greek is literally “my deposit” or “my trust” and is in the genitive case, but with no clear clue as to whether the genitive should be taken as objective (for example, “something entrusted to me”; compare Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation; Contemporary English Version “what he has trusted me with”) or subjective (for example, “something I have entrusted to someone else”; compare Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, King James Version). In the first option, what is entrusted to Paul may be one of two things: (1) his own ministry or any aspects of it; (2) the gospel. In this second case “my trust” would be parallel to “the truth that has been entrusted to you” in verse 14 and also to “what has been entrusted to you” in 1 Tim 6.20. As for the second alternative, what Paul is entrusting to Christ would probably be his own life, with the assurance that Christ can guard his life even to the end of the age. The eschatological tone of the verse, as shown by the mention of Day, favors this interpretation.
Day here is used as a technical term for the final day when God judges all human beings, punishing those who are evil and rewarding those who are obedient to his will. Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation signal this understanding by capitalizing Day. In languages that cannot use capitalization like this, it will be necessary to say, for example, “that last (or, final) day.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• For this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed (or, I am completely confident), because I know the one [Christ] whom I believe (or, trust) in. I am certain that he is able to keep (me) safe until that final day (what he has given to me to look after).
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .