SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Timothy 2003

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 2:18

2:18a

who have deviated from the truth: Apparently these two men had at one time professed to believe the message about Jesus Christ. But the things they were teaching people at the time that Paul wrote this letter were not true.

deviated from: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as deviate from originally meant “to miss the mark.” Later it came to mean “to miss, fail, deviate, and depart.” This verb occurs in 1 Timothy 1:6 also.

2:18b

They say that the resurrection has already occurred: Here Paul specifically mentioned one of the teachings of the false teachers. They taught that the resurrection had already happened.

the resurrection: In the New Testament, the word resurrection can refer to:

(a) the specific, future, universal resurrection of human beings. This term is usually preceded by the definite article: “the resurrection” (John 11:24),

(b) the resurrection of Jesus from the grave three days after he was buried (Matthew 27:53).

Here it refers to (a), the resurrection of human beings. The teaching about the resurrection includes the ideas of eternal life, fellowship with God, and rewards for living in a way that pleases God.

has already occurred: Scholars do not agree about what the false teachers meant when they said that the resurrection had already occurred. However, most scholars say that these heretics taught the following: when people believed the good news about Jesus Christ, God “resurrected” them symbolically or spiritually. This heretical teaching implied that since the resurrection was symbolic only, believers could not look forward to life in a resurrected, physical body after they died.

Try to leave all this information implicit in your translation. You may want to consider putting it in a footnote.

2:18c

and they undermine the faith of some: Apparently some of the people in the congregation at Ephesus had believed this new teaching and now doubted what they had believed before.

undermine: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as undermine means “destroy,” “to overthrow” or “to overturn.” This same verb is used in Titus 1:11 where the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “undermine.”

According to 1 Corinthians 15:12–19, a key element of the Christian faith is belief in the resurrection of the body. So when the false teachers convinced people that there would be no resurrection of the body, they were indeed “undermining their faith.”

The verb for undermine is in the present tense. This indicates that at the time Paul was writing this letter to Timothy, these false teachers were actively deceiving believers.

faith: Here, Paul used the word faith in the sense of the basic teachings that Christians believe and practice The false teachers were causing the believers to stop believing in Christ and his teachings.

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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.

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 4:13

4:13a

cloak: The word cloak refers to a garment that a person would wear to stay warm. Another word for cloak is “coat.” In 4:21a Paul wrote about the season of cold weather arriving before long, so he had a real need for his warm clothing.

You have two main options in translating this word:

• Use your word for whatever type of outer garment people wear to stay warm.

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example, “outer garment used to keep warm.”

I left with Carpus at Troas: Paul had left his cloak at the house of a man called Carpus. This man lived in the town of Troas, which was on the northwest coast of the Roman province of Mysia. Timothy had been in that town with Paul some years earlier during one of Paul’s missionary journeys.

4:13b

and my scrolls, especially the parchments: The people of Paul’s culture used scrolls the way that people use paper and books now. A scroll was long piece of papyrus, leather or parchment that people wound around a stick in order to occupy less space and make it easy to carry. Paul probably wrote each of his letters on a scroll.

People usually made scrolls from papyrus, a kind of thick paper made from papyrus reed. People also made scrolls from parchment. Parchment was made from animal skin, usually sheepskin or goatskin. Parchment lasted longer than papyrus, so it was more expensive.

especially the parchments: Because parchments lasted longer than other types of scrolls, people wrote the most important documents on parchments. That is why Paul especially wanted Timothy to bring the parchments.

In many languages, there will be no word for scrolls or parchments. If this is true in your language, you can use a descriptive phrase or use a modern equivalent. For example, the Good News Translation uses the word “books” instead of scrolls.

Some ways to translate this verse part are:

Bring my scrolls/books, especially the important ones.
-or-
Bring my scrolls/books, especially the expensive ones.

Paragraph 4:14–15

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 1:10

1:10a

And now He has revealed this grace: Scholars have different opinions about the way the clause now He has revealed relates to “before time began” in 1:9e. The Greek is ambiguous. There are two points of view about how these two periods of time relate to each other.

(1) Some scholars say that the two clauses should be connected with an and. They believe that 1:10a expresses the next step in God’s plan of grace. For example, the New Living Translation (2004 Revision) says:

And now he has made all of this plain to us….

See also Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, LSA.

(2) Other scholars say that the two clauses should be connected with a but. They believe that 1:10a expresses a contrast in time with 1:9e. For example, the New Century Version says:

but it is now shown to us…

See also New International Version (2011 Revision), Good News Translation, NET Bible, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, New Jerusalem Bible.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). However, interpretation (2) also has much support. If the major language version in your area follows interpretation (2), you may want to follow interpretation (2) instead.

this grace: Grace continues to be the subject in 1:10a. God has revealed/shown to us his grace through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1:10b

through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus: The phrase the appearing of our Savior refers to all that Jesus did while he lived on the earth. It includes Jesus’ death and rising again.

our Savior, Christ Jesus: This is the only time in the New Testament Greek text that these three names occur in this order. In other places in the New Testament text, the order of this phrase is always “(our) Savior Jesus Christ.” It is recommended that you retain the same order for Christ Jesus here as you used in 1:1a.

Savior: Savior here means “one who saves/rescues someone from spiritual and eternal danger.”

1:10c

who has abolished death: Paul spoke of death as something that Christ abolished/destroyed/defeated. Not all languages speak about death this way. You need to translate this to show that the effects of death are ended. Physically, the bodies of Christians will be raised to life when Christ returns. Spiritually, Christians do not die. They go to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23).

Another way to say this is:

He has ended the power of death (Good News Translation).

1:10d

and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the gospel: “Our Savior, Christ Jesus” (1:10b) continues to be the subject here. (Because of the presence of the Greek word men in v.10c, consultants should check that v.10d has received at least as much prominence as 10c, preferably more.)

illuminated the way: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as illuminated the way is a metaphor that means “to show” or “to reveal.” Christ has allowed us to “see/know/experience” life and immortality.

life and immortality: In this phrase the word immortality describes life. Together these two terms mean “a (spiritual) life that lasts forever.” Two possible ways to translate this are:

immortal life (Good News Translation)
-or-
everlasting life (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))

through the gospel: The gospel message (or good news) was the means that Christ (and his followers) used to tell human beings that he had given them everlasting life.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 3:4

3:4a

traitorous: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as traitorous is the word that people used to refer to traitors, such as Judas Iscariot (Luke 6:16). People who are traitorous are traitors who pretend to be the friends of someone, but in reality they are his enemies. They betray that person to his enemies.

3:4b

reckless: People are reckless when they act quickly and do whatever they want to do without stopping to think about the consequences of their action. Some other ways of expressing this are “rash,” “reckless in speech and action,” “foolhardy,” and “thoughtless.” The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as reckless occurs only here and in Acts 19:36.

3:4c

conceited: People are conceited when they think and behave as though they are superior to other people. They are very proud. In many languages, there is an idiomatic way to say this. Good News Translation uses an English figure of speech and says “swollen with pride.” The Greek word “foolhardy,” translated here as conceited, also occurs in 1 Timothy 3:6 and 1 Timothy 6:4.

3:4d

lovers of pleasure: In the Greek text, lovers of pleasure is one word composed of the word for “love” joined to the word for “pleasure.” This Greek word means that people will do only that which they like/enjoy doing.

rather than: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translated as rather than can also mean “instead of.”

lovers of God: In Greek, lovers of God is one word composed of the word for “love” joined to the word for “God.”

The entire clause (3:4d) implies that some of the things that people enjoy doing offend God, and that when they do these things they are sinning against God.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 2:4

2:4–6

In 2:4–6, Paul compared the Christian to three types of people. Then in 2:7 he advised Timothy to think deeply about the meaning of these three comparisons. This shows that the point of comparison in Paul’s illustrations would not be immediately clear even to Timothy. He needed to think about what Paul wrote to him. Because of this, you should avoid making the points of comparison explicit in your translation.

2:4a

A soldier: This refers to a soldier on active duty.

entangling himself: This phrase is the translation of one Greek verb. It occurs only here and in 2 Peter 2:20. It means “to get entangled in” or “to get mixed up with.”

in civilian affairs: This phrase is literally “matters/affairs of life.” It can refer to any matter in general, or more specifically, to a business or job that is not a military job. A soldier may have brief times when he is not actually working as a soldier, but even during those times he is not free to start working at some other kind of job.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

everyday matters (New Century Version)
-or-
non-military activities (God’s Word)

2:4b

in order to: In the Greek text, the conjunction hina (in order to) connects 2:4a and 2:4b. There are several ways to show this connection.

• Make the conjunction implicit. The New International Version (2011 Revision) uses a dash to indicate the connection between these two verse parts.

^4aNo one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—^4bhe wants to please his commanding officer.

Other translations (God’s Word, Contemporary English Version) begin a new sentence at 2:4b.

^4aSoldiers on duty don’t work at outside jobs. ^4bThey try only to please their commanding officer. (Contemporary English Version)

• Make the conjunction explicit like the Berean Standard Bible and and New American Standard Bible do. For example, the New American Standard Bible says:

No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

• State 2:4b negatively like the NET Bible does.

No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who recruited him.

See also New Living Translation (2004 Revision), and Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.

• Reorder 2:4a and 2:4b.

^4bA soldier wants to please his commanding officer, ^4aso he does not get involved in civilian affairs.

You should use the option that is most natural in your language.

the one who enlisted him: In Greek, this is literally “the one having enlisted (him).” The Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, and NET Bible translate this literally. However, a literal translation like “the enlistment officer” may give the wrong impression. In Paul’s time, each officer gathered together (or enlisted) the men he later commanded. This was different than many of today’s armies where the enlistment officer is a completely different person than the commanding officer. Therefore, a term like “commanding officer” or “commander” may be more appropriate.

General Comment on 2:4

The Christian’s commanding officer is Christ. The point of the comparison between a soldier and a person who serves Christ is that the soldier and the Christian must each completely commit himself to his commander, doing whatever the commander tells him to do.

However, the point of comparison should not be made explicit in the translation because in 2:7, Paul asked Timothy to think about what he was saying and said that the Lord would help Timothy to understand it. Therefore, Paul was not trying to be completely explicit.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 3:15

3:15a

From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures: This clause is the second object of the verb “know” in 3:14c.

^14cYou know those from whom you have learned these things/truths ^15aand you know that from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures

infancy: In this verse the term infancy refers to the time from which Timothy was able to learn. Timothy probably began learning the Scriptures when he was three to five years old. It does not literally mean from the time he was born. Another way to say this is “from the time you were a small child.”

known: Timothy knew the holy Scriptures because his mother and grandmother taught him the Scriptures. Another way to say this is that Timothy had “learned” the holy Scriptures.

Holy Scriptures: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Scriptures is literally “writings.” There were many “writings” in that day, so the word Holy specified that these “writings” were the “sacred writings” or the books of the Bible that we now call the Old Testament. Other ways to translate Holy Scriptures are “holy/sacred writings” or “God’s word.”

3:15b

which are able to make you wise: Paul said that learning the truths of the Scriptures will make a person wise.

Some other ways to say this are:

God’s word is able to cause you to understand that…
-or-
As you learn God’s word you become wise.

for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus: These words explain what a person will learn from God’s word. Each person will be able to understand, as Timothy had done, what Christ Jesus did to make a way for God to save that person.

This complicated set of phrases can be analyzed as follows:

salvation = God saves you

faith in Christ Jesus = you believe/trust in Christ Jesus

Simply stated, this means:

God saves you through your believing in Christ Jesus.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 2:19

2:19a

Nevertheless: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Nevertheless indicates a strong contrast with 2:16–18. The idea is that heretics might destroy the faith of some believers, but they cannot destroy God’s foundation. Other English versions translate this word as “but” or “however.”

God’s firm foundation stands: In some cultures, people who are constructing a building begin by putting large stones in the ground as a foundation. Then they build the walls of the building on this foundation. This causes the building to be more stable. Here, Paul used the image of a foundation in a figurative sense.

He was referring to the church, that is, the people who believe the teachings of Jesus. In the same way that the foundation stones of a building never move, the body of true believers always continues to trust firmly in Christ.

There are several options for translating this phrase:

• Translate it literally using the figure of a foundation, as many English translations do.

• Translate the phrase using a simile. In this case, you will have to refer to the church/believers as part of the translation. For example,

The true believers in God are strong in their faith like the strong foundation of a building.

• Replace the figure of speech with the direct meaning. An example of this would be:

God’s people always stand/remain firm.
-or-
God’s people always continue to believe the truth.

stands: Most English versions translate the Greek verb as “stands,” “stands firm,” or “remains standing.” The idea is that the foundation cannot break, nor can anyone destroy it.

This verb indicates that the church consists of people who have believed and continue to strongly believe the message of God’s word even when others have chosen to stop believing it.

2:19b

bearing this seal: Paul continued to use the figure of speech of a foundation.

The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as bearing this seal is literally “having this seal.” In the time of Paul, people would make a mark or carve words on the foundation stones of a building to show who owned the building. Sometimes the writing also told the purpose of the building. This mark or writing was called a “seal.”

In cultures where people do not build on large stones or write on them, you may need to supply a footnote. This footnote could describe buildings that people build on stone foundations and it could explain what these stones are for. The note could also say what kinds of things people write on the foundation stones of their buildings.

2:19c

“The Lord knows those who are His”: This saying comes from Numbers 16:5 in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It means that God knows which people believe firmly in him. He knows who is part of his church and who is not.

Lord: The word Lord refers to God.

2:19d

and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity”: Various parts of this saying resemble parts of verses in the Old Testament, but there is no one verse in the Old Testament that contains this entire saying. Therefore, it is uncertain whether Paul wanted to quote from the Old Testament or whether he made this a summary statement of principles from the Old Testament. Nevertheless, because it is one of the two sayings that Paul lists, use the same form of punctuation as you did in the first saying.

calls on the name of the Lord: The Greek phrase which the Berean Standard Bible translates as calls on the name of the Lord means that the person claims that the Lord is his/her master or leader. Good News Translation says: “Whoever says that they belong to the Lord must turn away from wrongdoing.”

the Lord: As in 2:19c, the Lord here refers to God.

turn away from iniquity: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as turn away also means “abandon,” “desert,” or “renounce.” The New Century Version translates this clause clearly when it says: “must stop doing wrong.”

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 4:14

4:14a

Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me: Paul wanted to warn Timothy about a man whose name was Alexander. He had harmed Paul in some way. This is the only place he is mentioned, so scholars assume that he must have been someone from Ephesus. Luke mentioned a man called Alexander in Acts 19:33–34, and Paul mentioned a man who had this same name in 1 Timothy 1:20. However it was probably a common name at that time. So this Alexander in 4:14 probably was not the same person as those other men named Alexander.

coppersmith: A coppersmith was someone who made things out of copper, iron, or other metals. The Greek word is literally “coppersmith.” However, coppersmiths at that time worked not only with copper but also with other metals, so metalworker is another way that this Greek word can be translated.

great harm to me: The harm that Alexander did to Paul was that he opposed Paul’s work. It does not refer to harming him physically. (See 4:15b.)

4:14b

The Lord: The Lord in this context probably refers to Christ.

will repay him according to his deeds: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as repay also means “reward.” (See Good News Translation.) Here, however, it has a negative sense meaning “to judge” or “to punish.”

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Source: SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 2003

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 2:18

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 4:13

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 1:10

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 3:4

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 2:4

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 3:15

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 2:19

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 4:14

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