For this verse see 1 Tim 2.7, which is quite similar, and where the words appointed, preacher, apostle, and teacher appear. For further discussion on apostle see 1 Tim 1.1, and for appointed see 1.12.

For this gospel is literally “into which,” with “which” clearly referring back to “gospel” in verse 10, and “into” designating purpose and direction. It is possible that an expression like “into which” is present in the receptor language. However, since it is better to start a new sentence here, it will be necessary to capture the intent of “into which” and fit it within the sentence, as Revised Standard Version has done. Another way of translating the verse is “For the purpose of making this gospel known (or, proclaiming this good news), God has appointed me as preacher, apostle and teacher.” However, in some languages it will be good to reorder the clauses as Good News Translation has done: “God has appointed me as….”

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 .

Finally, the Lord’s servant must be correcting his opponents with gentleness. For correct see 1 Tim 1.20, where the passive verb is translated “learn.” For gentleness see 1 Tim 6.11; a possible translation model is “He (or, They) must be humble when correcting people who oppose him (or, them).” Opponents translates the participle form of a verb that appears only here. Depending on how one takes the participle, it can be rendered either as “those who are opposing” (hence opponents) or “those who are adversely affected, opposed” (the victims of the opponents). While both are possible, it seems that the primary focus here is on the opponents who are identified with the false teachers. These people should be corrected and disciplined, but always in a spirit of gentleness and humility.

Paul’s hope in all this is that God will grant that the opponents will repent, although he is not at all sure this will happen, as shown by the use of perhaps, which translates a word that indicates lack of certainty in something. God may perhaps grant that they will repent is literally “perchance (or, maybe) God will give to them repentance”; the meaning of the expression is captured in Good News Translation, “it may be that God will give them the opportunity to repent.” That they will repent and come to know the truth is literally “repentance into (or, for) knowledge of truth,” which may mean that repentance leads into the knowledge of the truth, or that the purpose of repentance is for them to know the truth (compare New Jerusalem Bible “God may give them a change of mind so that they recognize the truth,” New American Bible, Revised “repentance that leads to knowledge of the truth,” Revised English Bible “God grant them a change of heart and lead them to recognize the truth”).

“Repentance” is literally a change of mind but actually refers to a change both in thought and behavior as a result of some religious experience. Here repentance means the giving up of teachings and doctrines that are contrary to the gospel, together with a corresponding change in behavior. This word may be variously translated as “turn one’s back on sinning,” “turn back to God,” or “change one’s way of living.” In certain languages idiomatic expressions will be used for repent; for example, “turn one’s heart completely over” (Thai).

For know the truth see “knowledge of the truth” in 1 Tim 2.4.

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 .

Beware: the word primarily means to watch or to be on guard, either in a literal or figurative sense (compare Good News Translation “be on your guard,” or Contemporary English Version “watch out for”; see “keep” in 1 Tim 5.21, and “guard” in 1 Tim 6.20). Another way to express this is “Be very wary of him yourself.”

For opposed see 2 Tim 3.8. Strongly can be rendered as “exceedingly,” “very much,” and can be taken either in a negative or in a positive sense. Since the accent here is negative, a possible rendering is “vehemently” or “violently” (Good News Translation). Our message is literally “our words” (see “sound words” in 1 Tim 6.3 and 2 Tim 1.13); the interpretation of this expression will depend on the conclusion drawn as to the setting of Alexander’s opposition. If, for example, Alexander’s opposition is set in the context of Paul’s trial in Rome, then Alexander may have been the most effective witness for the prosecution. In this case “our words” refers to Paul’s arguments before the court, which were severely damaged by Alexander’s testimony. If, on the other hand, Alexander’s opposition is set in the context of Paul’s ministry in general, then “our words” refers to Paul’s words about the gospel that he has uttered on various occasions in his preaching and teaching ministry. The latter seems to be more likely. In some languages one may change the order of the two sentences and say, for example, “He [Alexander] violently opposed what I was preaching. So you should be on your guard against him yourself.”

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 .

This verse continues the metaphor of the soldier. Soldier on service translates a term that can refer either to a soldier actually engaged in warfare, or to a person who is currently serving as a soldier; the latter seems to be in focus here, hence “A soldier on active duty” (Good News Translation; also New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Phillips). The phrase No soldier on service may also be expressed as “No soldier who is doing his work as a soldier” or “… who is doing a soldier’s job.” There are also a number of ways to express the phrase No soldier; for example, “A soldier” (Good News Translation), “Soldiers” (Contemporary English Version), “Any soldier” and so on, moving the negative to the verb, “does not get entangled….”

Gets entangled translates a rare verb that occurs only here and in 2 Peter 2.20, and refers to the act of getting so involved in something that one becomes restricted and controlled, no longer free to do what one should.

Pursuits translates a word that occurs only here in the New Testament and that is used for ordinary things that people do everyday. Civilian, on the other hand, translates the prepositional phrase “of the life” (or “of life”), with the word for “life” referring to ordinary existence. The two terms together describe the activities of ordinary life as contrasted to that of the life of a soldier in active duty, hence “everyday affairs” (New Revised Standard Version), “affairs of civilian life” (Good News Translation, Translator’s New Testament), “outside jobs” (Contemporary English Version).

To satisfy is literally “to please,” “to gain someone’s approval.” The one who enlisted him translates the dative participle of a Greek verb that means “to enlist someone as a soldier.” The second half of this verse is introduced by the Greek word “in order that,” which marks either result or, more likely, purpose. The purpose of the soldier not being involved in affairs other than that of his job as a soldier is so that he may be pleasing and acceptable to the one who enlisted him. This purposive element is retained in New American Bible, Revised, “To satisfy the one who recruited him, a soldier does not become entangled….” Another way of expressing to satisfy the one who enlisted him is “to cause the person who commands him (or, his commander) to be pleased with him.” Languages will differ as to the ordering of the sentences in this verse. Translators in some languages will find Revised Standard Version‘s ordering more natural, while others will follow Good News Translation.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• Soldiers who are doing military (or, soldier) work don’t want to involve themselves with other kinds of work, since they want to cause their commander to be pleased with them.

Or:
• A soldier who is doing his military work wants to cause his commander to be satisfied with him. So he does not involve himself with other kinds of work.

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 .

Now is actually “But” (Good News Translation); the Greek text in fact begins with an emphatic “But you” (or better, “But as for you”), thus marking the contrast between Timothy and the false teachers mentioned in the previous section.

You have observed translates an aorist but with a perfect sense, a fact that is reflected in many translations. The ordinary meaning of the verb is “to accompany,” which makes it a fitting description of the action of a disciple in regard to his or her master; this verb in fact is used in Stoicism to describe the master-disciple relationship. From this ordinary meaning have developed two other related meanings: (1) to make a careful study and diligent investigation of something (so Contemporary English Version “you know,” New International Version “know all about”); (2) to conform to a particular model, to follow closely, to follow faithfully. This second meaning is preferred by many translations. (See further comments on the same verb translated “followed” in 1 Tim 4.6.) The rendering in Revised Standard Version have observed is ambiguous in the sense that “observe” here can mean either “watch” (that is, pay attention to) or “obey.”

Except for the last two, the nine features that Paul mentions as examples that Timothy has followed deal with personal qualities that characterize his life as a Christian and as a leader of the Christian community.

For teaching see the same term translated “doctrine” in 1 Tim 1.10. Included here is perhaps both content and method: “what I teach” and “how I teach.”

Conduct appears only here in the whole New Testament. The word denotes one’s way of life, particularly one’s daily behavior. Here it focuses on how Paul has conducted his life both as a Christian and as a church leader. So one may translate “the way I live,” “the way I walk my life.”

For aim in life (Good News Translation “purpose in life”) see comments on “purpose” in 2 Tim 1.9. The word comes from the verb that means “to plan in advance,” hence “plan,” “main purpose,” “main concern,” “intentions.”

For faith see 1 Tim 1.5. Here it could be objective, referring to content (“what I believe”), or subjective, referring to Paul’s relationship to Christ (“how much I trust Christ”).

For patience see 1 Tim 1.16.

For love see 1 Tim 1.5. As is often the case, the focus here is not vertical but horizontal, that is, love directed to people rather than to God.

For steadfastness (Good News Translation “endurance”) see 1 Tim 6.11. There is a close relationship between steadfastness and patience (see above). On the one hand, patience puts focus on the emotional state of a person, that is, a person’s ability to remain calm when confronted with adverse and unpleasant circumstances. Steadfastness, on the other hand, focuses on a person’s ability to persevere or endure in the midst of difficult situations.

In many languages it will be helpful to divide this long sentence into two sentences; for example,
• But as for you, Timothy, you have paid attention to my teaching and have lived your life as I have, having the same purpose in life. You have observed (or, seen) how much I trust in Christ, my ability to put up with troubles, how I love other people, and my ability to endure.

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 .

Instead of “by command of God,” we have here by the will of God, a formula that is present in some of Paul’s letters (see, for example, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians). This change can perhaps be explained by the fact that Paul’s authority as an apostle has already been established in the first letter, and since there is no need to reiterate it here, Paul goes back to the more traditional formula. Will has two components of meaning, namely, “wish” or “desire,” and “intent” or “purpose.” Perhaps both elements are present here, which means that Paul’s apostleship is in obedience to what God wants and in accordance with God’s purpose and plan. In certain languages it will be necessary to restructure an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and employ a causative expression; for example, “God made me an apostle (or, personal representative) of Christ Jesus because that is what he wanted” or “God wanted me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and so he made me one.” It is also possible to use two sentences for this one Greek sentence and say “From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. God himself chose me to be an apostle…” (compare Contemporary English Version), or “I, Paul, who am an apostle of Christ Jesus, write this letter to you, Timothy. God chose me to be an apostle….”

The phrase according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus translates the Greek text literally but gives little clue as to what it means and how it is related to the rest of the verse.

First of all, the phrase may be understood as qualifying the will of God, hence “by the will of God that is according to the promise….” But secondly, it may qualify apostle of Christ Jesus, in which case the sense is “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and according to the promise of life….”

If this second option is chosen, it will still be necessary to define how the promise of the life is related to Paul’s apostleship. Here there are two options as well. First, it may mean that Paul’s apostleship is a result of and in harmony with the promise of the life, in which case the sense is “Because I have experienced the promised life that Jesus makes possible, God has appointed me as an apostle.” But it is more likely that what is intended here is that Paul was made an apostle in order to do something about the promise of the life. For this second option Good News Translation is a good model.

But what is the meaning of the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus? First of all, the expression the promise of the life (literally “the promise of life”) also occurs in 1 Tim 4.8. Here as there, the promise has God as its source and life as its content, hence “the life that God has promised.” Life here is eternal life; see further on 1 Tim 1.16. So one may translate “and he gave me eternal life which he promised.”

Secondly, the prepositional phrase which is in Christ Jesus is to be taken with life rather than with promise. The kind of life being referred to here is experienced as a result of being in Christ Jesus, that is, having a relationship with Christ that is so close and intimate that people experience themselves to be completely united with Christ. For further discussion of the expression in Christ Jesus, see 1 Tim 1.14. With these comments in mind, another way of expressing this sentence is “and he [God] 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.”

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 attention now turns to Timothy; in fact, from this verse on to the end of the chapter, the focus is on Timothy and how he is expected to behave as a young leader of the Christian community.

Do your best translates a verb that refers to the act of putting the utmost effort in some activity; hence “make every effort,” “try as hard as you can,” and so on.

Present translates a verb that literally means “to place beside” and in an extended way has taken the meaning “to exhibit, to prove, to show, to present.” In languages that do not use the passive voice, this first sentence may be expressed as “Try as hard as you can to win God’s approval,” “… to cause God to approve of you,” or “… to cause God to feel pleased with you.”

For workman see 1 Tim 5.18 (“laborer”). Here, of course, it is used with an extended meaning referring to one who works for the gospel.

Who has no need to be ashamed translates a compound verb composed of a negative prefix and the word for being ashamed (for which see 2 Tim 1.8, 12, 16).

Rightly handling also translates a Greek verb that occurs only here in the New Testament. Literally it refers to the act of cutting something in a straight way; figuratively it refers to expounding something rightly, or teaching something correctly. Here, what needs to be handled correctly is the word of truth, which may refer to the gospel itself (see Eph 1.13). The word of truth may be translated as “the true word” or “the true message,” or perhaps more properly “the message about the truth.” For truth see 1 Tim 2.4.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• You must try as hard as you can to cause God to fully approve of you as a worker who is not ashamed of his work and correctly teaches the true message.

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 .

Following a structure that is found throughout the Pastoral Letters, the reference to apostasy in verses 3-4 is immediately followed by words of instruction to Timothy, exhorting him to a course of action that is appropriate for the situation. This verse therefore begins with As for you (literally “But you”; see Good News Translation) and continues with four more imperatives.

Be steady (literally “be sober”) has the primary meaning of abstinence from wine, although in a wider sense it also refers to an ascetic life, a life withdrawn from involvement in the world. It is, however, used here metaphorically, in which case it means being alert and controlled both in speech and conduct. This is the meaning that is reflected in many translations; for example, Good News Translation “keep control of yourself,” New International Version “keep your head,” Phillips “keep your mind sane and balanced,” New English Bible “keep calm and sane,” Contemporary English Version “must stay calm.” Another model for always be steady is “But you must stay calm no matter what happens to you.”

Endure suffering is a theme that runs through this letter (see, for example, 1.8; 2.3; and 2.9). It refers to bearing hardships with patience and courage (so Jerusalem Bible “be brave under trials,” Phillips “meeting whatever suffering this may involve”).

Evangelist occurs only here in the Pastoral Letters and twice more in the New Testament (Acts 21.8 and Eph 4.11). The word can literally be rendered as “one who proclaims the gospel” (so Phillips “go on steadily preaching the gospel,” Jerusalem Bible “the preaching of the Good News,” Good News Translation “do the work of a preacher of the Good News”). In the Ephesians reference evangelist is mentioned as one of the various offices or functions within the church, together with apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers. This office may have developed as the church became more organized; the primary role of the evangelist was to proclaim the Good News to nonbelievers in order to bring them to faith.

The word for fulfill is a compound verb that gives the idea of doing something completely (so Jerusalem Bible “thoroughgoing,” Phillips “carry out to the full”). Ministry translates the Greek word diakonia (from which “deacon” is derived), which is used here in a general sense as referring to any type of Christian service, and not specifically to the ministerial office of deacon that is discussed in 1 Tim 2.8-13. What the clause is saying, then, is that Timothy should do everything that is necessary in the performance of his duties as a servant of God. Another way to express this is “As a servant of God you must do all the work that he has assigned (or, asked) you to do.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• But you must stay calm (or, control yourself) no matter what happens to you, and endure whatever suffering this involves. You must work hard to tell the Good News, and as a servant of God you must do all the work he has assigned you to do.

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 .