For beloved see 1 Tim 6.2. The term is based on the Greek word for love (agapē) and is therefore an expression of Paul’s intimate endearment to Timothy. Another way of expressing To Timothy, my beloved child is “Timothy, you are like a dear child to me.”

On the translation of Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord, see 1 Tim 1.2b.

Alternative translation models for verses 1-2a are:
• I, Paul, who am an apostle (or, personal representative) of Christ Jesus, write this letter to you, Timothy. God chose me to be an apostle, and he gave me the life which he had promised to give me. This life comes as a result of being in a close relationship with Christ Jesus.
• Timothy, you are like a dear child to me.
I pray that God, who is our [inclusive] father, and Christ Jesus, the one who commands us [inclusive], be kind to you and cause you to live in peace.

Or:
• … God chose me to be an apostle so that I might proclaim the life which he promised to give me. This life comes….

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 .

Avoid (Good News Translation “Keep away from”) translates a verb that appears only here and in Titus 3.9, and refers to the act of keeping oneself from being involved in something. Another way to express this is “Do not listen to.”

For godless see comments on “profane” in 1 Tim 1.9, where it refers to people. The Greek word itself refers either to a thing or a person that has no relationship or connection with God whatsoever. The verb form (that is, “to profane”) refers to the act of taking something that is dedicated to God and making it unacceptable to God. For godless chatter see comments on 1 Tim 6.20. The expression is plural, indicating not one but many occurrences of the event. Such in the expression such godless chatter represents the effort to do justice to the definite article that goes with godless chatter, which if translated literally would be awkward. However, such also may be misleading, for it may give the impression that Paul has just mentioned godless chatter in the immediately preceding verses, when in fact this is not the case. Many translations do not try to represent the definite article, but in many languages, the definite article is very important in this case. Godless chatter as in 1 Tim 6.20 may also be expressed as “worthless (or, silly) discussions that show no reverence for God.”

For here has the sense of “because,” marking the reason why godless chatter should be avoided. It will lead people into more and more ungodliness is literally “they will greatly increase ungodliness,” with “they” referring either to godless chatter or to people, with no indication of who they are. Some interpreters see irony here, since the word for “increase” can also mean “progress”; these people are therefore making progress but on a downward rather than an upward direction. An argument in favor of godless chatter as the subject is the fact that the expression is plural and is therefore the logical antecedent of “they.” An argument in favor of people as the subject is that “their” in the next verse seems to have the same antecedent as “they” in this verse, and it makes more sense to read “their” in verse 17 as referring to people rather than to godless chatter. But regardless of the conclusion we draw, what comes out rather clearly is that godless chatter affects people adversely. We therefore need to ask the question, among whom will ungodliness increase? Possible answers are: (1) people in general (compare Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version “It only leads people farther away from God”); (2) Christians; and (3) those who engage in godless chatter, particularly the false teachers, but not limited to them (compare Revised English Bible “those who indulge in it,” New American Bible, Revised “such people will become more and more godless,” Translator’s New Testament “those who practice it”). (1) seems the more likely interpretation.

Ungodliness is not the same word as godless but translates a combination of “godliness” (for which see 1 Tim 2.2) and a negative prefix. Some translations take “godliness” here to mean “religion”; for example, New Jerusalem Bible “they only lead further and further away from true religion.” Others take it in a moral and ethical sense, describing Christian behavior; for example, Revised English Bible “will stray farther and farther into godless ways,” Translator’s New Testament “go on to even worse irreverence,” Phillips “lead further and further away from Christian living.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• Don’t listen to worthless (or, silly) discussions that show no reverence for God. Such talk causes people to go further away from God.

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 .

Paul’s last testament starts with For, which connects these three verses with what precedes, namely, the charge to Timothy to be faithful in his ministry. What Paul seems to be saying is that it is very necessary for Timothy to do his best in the ministry, because Paul won’t be there to help out. It is clear from the passage that Paul did not expect to survive his imprisonment. The older man is being called home by the Master, and the younger man must now take over and fill the space created as a result of the older man’s departure.

For already see 1 Tim 5.15. His death is not going to be postponed any longer. In this context it will mean, as in Good News Translation, “the hour has come,” or Contemporary English Version “the time has come.” However, since it does not mean that Paul will actually die in the hour or day of writing the letter, in some languages this will be expressed as “it’s near the time” or “in a short time.”

The single Greek word translated on the point of being sacrificed occurs only twice in the New Testament, here and in Phil 2.17. The language used here recalls the practice of pouring out wine in the sanctuary as a sacrifice to the Lord (see Num 28.7). Paul compares his life to that wine that is poured out. Many translations make this information explicit; for example, New English Bible “my life is being poured out on the altar,” New Revised Standard Version “I am already being poured out as a libation” (compare Jerusalem Bible), New International Version “being poured out as a drink offering,” Phillips “the last drops of my life are being poured out for God.” In languages that cannot use the figure of “life being poured out,” one may say, for example, “The time has come for me to give up my life as if it’s poured out on an altar.” If it is not possible to retain the figure of speech, then it is also possible to say “It is very close to the time when God will take me from this life.”

Departure occurs only here in the whole New Testament. It is suggested by some scholars that this figure originates from sailing and refers to the act of releasing a boat from its moorings. In various writings at that time, it was a popular euphemism for death, which is the meaning intended here (so Good News Translation “the time is here for me to leave this life”). Many translations retain the figure, perhaps because the context clearly shows what it means.

Has come translates a verb that expresses very clearly the idea that something is about to happen very shortly.

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 .

In this verse Timothy is exhorted to have, or follow (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), as his pattern (Good News Translation “example”) the sound words that he has heard from Paul. For pattern see 1 Tim 1.16, where it is translated as “example.” For sound words see 1 Tim 6.3. There the reference is to the words of Jesus Christ; here it is to the words of Paul, either in his preaching (that is, what Paul says about the gospel) or perhaps in his personal ministry to Timothy. See also the discussion of “sound doctrine” in 1 Tim 1.10.

For faith see 1 Tim 1.2 and 1.4. It should be noted that faith here is without the article in the Greek text and very likely refers to trust in Christ. For love see 1 Tim 1.5 and 1.14. How to interpret the prepositional phrase in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus is not very clear. It seems that faith and love are qualities that Timothy himself possesses and that are made possible by his close relationship to Christ Jesus. Furthermore, in following faithfully the example of Paul, particularly in the area of sound teaching, Timothy should do so in the context of faith and love; in other words, as Timothy endeavors to follow the sound teachings of Paul, his whole being should be permeated by his trust in Christ and his love for others. This understanding is reflected in Good News Translation, where the prepositional phrase is translated as an imperative: “remain in the faith and love that are ours in union with Christ Jesus.” This translation model will be very difficult for translators in languages which must use verbal expressions for faith and love. In such cases an alternative translation model for the second part of this verse is “As you follow this model, you should continue to trust Christ and love others. You can do this because you are united with Christ Jesus.” Or “… This is made possible by your union with Christ Jesus.”

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 .

Understand is literally “know,” not in the sense of introducing new information, but of calling attention to something that is already known (so Good News Translation “Remember”). Other ways of expressing understand are “I want you to know that…,” “You should be aware of the fact that…,” or “You can be certain that….” This refers to what follows, namely, the conditions that exist in the end time. The term the last days may be taken in two ways: (1) It may refer to the time immediately before Christ’s second coming; interpreted this way, the last days refers to the period immediately preceding the “Day” that is referred to in 2 Tim 1.12, 18. (2) It may be a general reference to the Christian era. There is biblical evidence to show that the coming of Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of the Christian church signal the beginning of the last days (see, for example, Acts 2.16-21 and Heb 1.2). Christians therefore are living in the last days. If this second option is followed, then the last days is better rendered as “these last days.”

Will come is in the future tense but clearly suggests that the events described are imminent and are about to happen. Stress pertains to something which causes hardships; times of stress are therefore times of danger, violence, trouble, and distress. It is a common theme in Jewish apocalyptic literature that the last days are characterized by such adversities.

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 .

But here stresses the contrast between the action of the Christians and that of the Lord, who remained faithful to Paul. Lord here probably refers to Christ. His faithfulness to Paul is described in two ways: (1) he stood by him and gave him strength to proclaim the message fully; and (2) he was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

Stood by translates a verb that in the present context means “to be at hand” (compare Good News Translation “stayed with me”) with the intention of helping; hence “come to the aid of,” “help.” Gave me strength translates a verb that means “to empower,” “enable” (see further comments on 1 Tim 1.12 and on “be strong” in 2 Tim 2.1). As a result of this empowerment, Paul was able to continue proclaiming the gospel to the Gentiles. The Greek text clearly marks this as a result; Good News Translation is therefore a closer representation of the Greek text than is Revised Standard Version.

Proclaim the message fully translates two words that together can be rendered “to fully accomplish the proclamation of the message.” For “to fully accomplish” see comments on “fulfill” in 2 Tim. 4.5 of this chapter. The Greek text is much more closely represented by New Revised Standard Version: “so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed”; in the Greek “through me” is in the emphatic position. Another way to express this clause is “so that I was able to preach all of the Lord’s message (or, words).”

A further consequence of this is that all the Gentiles are given the possibility of hearing the full message. For Gentiles see 1 Tim 2.7. The reference here may be to those present at the Roman court during Paul’s trial. This would mean that Paul took advantage of the trial to explain fully the reasons for his arrest. This is not unlikely, since as the book of Acts notes, Paul did use those occasions when he was in trouble with the authorities to give a personal witness of his faith (see, for example, Acts 24.1-20; 26.1-32). But another possibility suggested is that Paul was freed from prison and was able to resume his ministry to non-Jews in various places. In either case, all the Gentiles is an exaggeration that in many languages serves as a common way of saying “many Gentiles” or “most of the Gentiles.” The exaggeration may be retained but qualified somewhat; for example, “all the Gentiles (or, non-Jews) here,” meaning “in Rome.” In certain languages it will not be necessary to say that the Gentiles might hear it (the message), as the act of Paul’s preaching obviously means that the Gentiles “heard.”

A second result is that Paul was rescued from the lion’s mouth. For rescued see 2 Tim 3.11. The word can mean “deliver,” “save,” “preserve someone from someone or something,” “set free.”

There is very little doubt that the lion’s mouth is used here not in a physical sense but metaphorically; the whole expression is in fact used in the Old Testament to denote being saved from severe danger (see, for example, Psa 22.21). There is, however, no certainty as to what the metaphor refers to in the present context. Some have suggested that this refers to Satan, who is sometimes referred to as a lion (see, for example, 1 Peter 5.8). The argument against this is that the metaphor is the lion’s mouth and not the lion alone. An attractive proposal is to take the clue from Psa 22, which seems to have influenced verses 9-18. For instance, Paul experienced being deserted (verses 10, 16) in much the same way that the psalmist felt abandoned. And, not unlike the psalmist, Paul has been rescued (verse 18; compare Psa 22.4-5) and will be rescued from the lion’s mouth (verse 17; compare Psa 22.21). If this is the case, then what Paul means by being rescued from the lion’s mouth is what the psalmist means, which is being rescued from death. So instead of “being sentenced to death” (Good News Translation), Paul was given an extension of his life that enabled him to continue his ministry.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• But the Lord stayed right beside me. He gave me strength so that I was able to preach all the Lord’s message (or, words) to all the Gentiles (or, non-Jews) here. And he saved me from death.

Or:
• … And he saved me from death just like rescuing me from hungry lions.

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 .

Thirdly, the Christian worker is compared to a farmer, with special emphasis on the farmer’s whole-hearted devotion to his task.

Hard-working is literally “to work hard,” “to toil,” which implies going through suffering, a point emphasized in verse 3. This verb is used often in the Pauline letters in relation to pastoral work and is therefore appropriate in the present context, where Timothy is receiving advice for his pastoral ministry. See further on 1 Tim 4.10 (“toil”) and 5.17 (“labor”).

Such a hard-working farmer ought to have the first share of the crops. Ought suggests the idea of compulsion and necessity, which means that the hard-working farmer has a legitimate claim on the crops. What is not clear, though, is the antecedent of first. There are various possibilities: (1) The hard-working farmer has the right to be the first to receive a share of the crops. This is reflected in several translations; for example, Revised English Bible “The farmer who does the work has first claim on the crop”; “And farmers who work hard are the first to eat what grows in their field” (Contemporary English Version; also New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version). (2) A farmer has to work hard first before he can have a share of the crops. No translation follows this option. Besides, it is hard to see that the Greek would support this interpretation. (3) The first share of the crops (a designated portion) should be given to the farmer who works hard. This is the sense that comes out in a literal translation; for example, Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Revised. On the whole the first of these options seems to reflect the intention of the verse. The background of this understanding is found in the Old Testament; for example, Deut 20.6 and Pro 27.18; compare 1 Cor 9.7, where a similar figure is used.

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 .