Paragraph 1:15–18

In this paragraph Paul temporarily stopped giving instructions to Timothy and wrote about several people whom he had previously considered to be his friends. It is probable that these people lived in the province of Asia and that Timothy knew them. Paul contrasted a faithful friend named Onesiphorus with the people who had abandoned him.

1:15a

You know: Paul changed his theme here. He used the clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as You know instead of a conjunction to indicate this change of theme. In some languages there is a word or part of a word that indicates a change in theme. In other languages this may be a phrase, or a clause or even a whole sentence. Make sure your translation indicates Paul’s change in theme here in the way that your language signals a change in the theme.

that: In the Greek text, a word that means “this” immediately follows the verb You know. It emphasizes what Paul was sure that Timothy already knew.

everyone: In this context, the word everyone is an exaggeration. It does not literally mean that all the people who lived in the province of Asia abandoned Paul. It refers here to a number of Christians whom Paul had considered to be his friends, or possibly to be followers of what he taught. He had depended on these people to help him.

This type of exaggeration is common in many languages. However, if people understand this word literally, then you may have to say something like “many believers.”

the Province of Asia: Asia was the name of a province of the Roman Empire. It was not the present day continent of Asia. The Province of Asia was a part of the country that people now call Turkey. Ephesus was the capital city of the Province of Asia, and it was the city where Timothy lived and served as a church leader.

1:15b

has deserted me: Commentators believe that the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as has deserted refers to one of two things:

(1) A general situation. Paul may have been thinking that people had left or abandoned him in the sense that they no longer accepted him as their leader. Or perhaps Paul was referring to those who had accepted his message at first but later turned away.

(2) A specific occasion. Paul may have been thinking of a specific time when the people of the province of Asia deserted him. Perhaps they did not visit him when he was in prison or support him when he was on trial. (See 4:16.)

We cannot be sure which of these Paul was referring to, so you should not try to make either one explicit in your translation. Use a general verb such as “abandon” or one whose meaning could include or refer to as many of these situations as possible.

1:15c

including Phygelus and Hermogenes: Phygelus and Hermogenes were the names of two men. Paul probably thought that these two men would continue to be his friends and to help him, but they did not. He mentioned them by name because Timothy knew who they were.

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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.

3:9a

But they will not advance much further: The Berean Standard Bible phrase not advance much further is a figure of speech in English. Other versions have translated this as:

they will not make much progress (New Revised Standard Version)

Their successes will be short-lived (Revised English Bible)

they will not be successful (New Century Version)

Here, Paul meant that the false teachers would not be able to deceive people indefinitely. Although they might deceive them for a short period of time, eventually people would realize that the “religion” they taught and practiced did not come from God. After a while, many people would stop following them.

3:9b

For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone: This part of the verse gives a reason why the false teachers “will not advance much further.” The Berean Standard Bible reordered the phrases in this verse. In Greek, the phrase just like Jannes and Jambres is at the end of the sentence. In some languages it may be helpful to follow the word order of the Greek, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have done. See also the second Meaning Line of 3:9b in the Display.

folly: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as folly means “stupidity.”

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

2:9a

for: There are several ways to show the relationship between 2:8d and 2:9a. Good News Translation uses one of the most common ways by repeating some form of 2:8d “the gospel that I preach” at the beginning of 2:9a. This way is followed in the Display. (See also God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), Contemporary English Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.)

which I suffer: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as suffer is related to the word translated “endure hardship” in 2:3a. It is a general word that can include all of the things Paul had endured because people tried to stop him from preaching the good news about Jesus Christ. In particular, at this time, Paul was suffering because he was in prison.

2:9b

to the extent of being chained like a criminal: In those days people punished criminals by fastening metal chains to or between their hands and feet. They did this to prevent the criminals from moving around and finding a way to escape from the prison. Paul mentioned the chains earlier in 1:16c.

2:9c

But: The Greek conjunction alla, which the Berean Standard Bible translates here as But, signals a strong contrast between Paul’s situation and God’s word. If your language uses a word in addition to “but” to mark such a contrast, you may want to use it here. Some ways of showing this contrast in English are:

But God’s word, in contrast…
-or-
But as for God’s word….

the word of God cannot be chained!: This clause is a figure of speech. Paul meant that God’s word would continue to be preached. Even though Paul himself could not travel around to preach God’s word because chains held him, other Christians who were not in prison would continue to tell people the good news and teach the word of God. Neither chains nor any other thing could stop God’s word from being preached.

General Comment on 2:9b–c

Some ways to translate 2:9b and 2:9c are:

• Use the word “chain” in both. For example:

They chained me like a criminal, but they cannot chain God’s word.

• Use the word “prison” in both. For example:

I am in prison like a criminal, but God’s word is not in prison.

• Replace the figure of speech with the direct meaning. For example:

I am chained like a criminal and cannot preach God’s word, but others will preach God’s word

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

4:8a

From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness: Here Paul used another figure of speech from sports. During the time that Paul lived, an athlete who won a fight or a race or any other sports event received a crown made of leaves as a prize. Paul lived a righteous life and had done everything that God had told him to do, so he anticipated that God would give him a prize in heaven. Paul described his prize as a crown that was already in heaven waiting for him to arrive.

From now on: The crown was already in heaven waiting for Paul when he wrote this letter to Timothy.

the crown of righteousness: The Greek word that is translated by the Berean Standard Bible as crown is the same word that is used in 2:5b–c. It refers to the crown of leaves given to a winning athlete, not to the crown a king wears. It may be better to translate it as “reward” or “prize” instead of crown if your readers would not know this meaning. For example, the Good News Translation says,

And now there is waiting for me the victory prize….

Scholars have several opinions about the meaning of the phrase crown of righteousness. Two possibilities are:

(1) It is the reward or prize for a person who is righteous. In other words, it is the reward for a person who lives to please and obey God and who lives a life that God considers right. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

a crown will be given to me for pleasing the Lord.

(2) It is the symbol that God has accepted someone and he is right in God’s eyes. For example, God’s Word says:

The prize that shows I have God’s approval

See also Good News Translation, New Century Version.

Most English versions translate the phrase crown of righteousness literally and the reader cannot tell which option the version followed. It is recommended that if possible, you also do not specify which option you are following, However, if you need to be specific, it is recommended that you follow option (1). In the context, the crown is a reward, which fits better with option (1).

Some ways to translate this term are:

crown of victory for living right
-or-
victory prize for pleasing God
-or-
reward because I was righteous

4:8b

the Lord: In this context Bible scholars agree that the Lord refers to Christ.

the righteous Judge: Christ is the righteous Judge. He always judges people justly and fairly. The righteous Judge would give Paul this prize because Paul had lived righteously.

4:8c

will award to me on that day: The phrase on that day refers to the time when Christ will return to the earth and will judge all people. A similar phrase, for that day occurs in 1:12d.

4:8d–e

and not only to me, but to all who: This grammatical construction (not only me, but to all who…) is stronger than a simple coordination of two groups (“me and all who…”). These words emphasize that Paul was including other Christians.

all who crave His appearing: Christ will also give a crown of righteousness to everyone who desires to see him. The constant, hopeful anticipation of the time when Christ will return is one of the main characteristics that distinguishes genuine Christians from other people.

crave: The word which the Berean Standard Bible translates as crave means “desire.”

His appearing: The term His appearing refers to the time when “Christ will return.”

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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.

1:5a

I am reminded: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I am reminded is literally “taking remembrance.” The verb is not passive, as the Berean Standard Bible translation implies, but active. The verb here can be translated as “I remember” (see Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version), or “I recall” (see NET Bible).

sincere faith: In your language it may be clearer to say, “you truly believed in Christ Jesus.” This same phrase sincere faith is found in 1 Timothy 1:5.

1:5b

which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice: Paul wrote here about “faith” as if it were a person. When Paul used the phrase first dwelt, he meant that Timothy’s grandmother and mother “had faith” in Jesus Christ before Timothy did.

In some languages it is natural to say that Timothy’s mother and grandmother “had faith” in Jesus Christ. (Good News Translation is an example of this.) But if this is not natural in your language, then you may need to replace the noun “faith” with the verb “believe.” Then you would state who believed (that is, “your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice believed”). You may also need to add the implied information that they believed “in Jesus Christ.”

grandmother: Here the term grandmother refers to “the mother of Timothy’s mother.”

1:5c

I am convinced: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as convinced also means “persuaded.” Paul saw evidence that Timothy truly believed in Jesus because of what Timothy had learned from his mother and his grandmother, and also because Paul had seen that Timothy behaved as a true follower of Christ. These things made Paul sure/certain that Timothy truly believed in Jesus.

is in you as well: Here, the clause in you as well is similar to what Paul said concerning Timothy’s mother and grandmother in 1:5b. In many languages it is more straightforward to translate this with a clause similar to:

you also believe in Jesus now

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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.

2:24a

a servant of the Lord: The phrase a servant of the Lord is a general statement referring to all pastors and all teachers of Christian doctrine. Timothy was also a servant of the Lord, so Paul obviously intended it to apply to him also.

Paul made this general statement using the word servant in the singular. In some languages, it will be necessary to follow the example of the New Living Translation (2004 Revision) and make servant plural.

The Lord’s servants must not quarrel

In many languages the form for general statements has a particular person and number marker or pronoun to indicate the subject of the verb. Some examples are:

We^(incl) who are the Lord’s servants…
-or-
You (sing) who are the Lord’s servant… (See Good News Translation, for example.)
-or-
Someone who is the Lord’s servant…
-or-
People who are the Lord’s servants…

You should use the pattern that is natural in your language and use consistent pronouns. In this context, the statements in 2:24–25 apply to Paul himself, to Timothy, and to anyone else who serves as a pastor or a leader for other Christians.

the Lord: Here the Lord refers to God.

2:24b

but: The word but is a translation of the Greek conjunction de. Here Paul contrasts 2:24a with 2:24b. Some English versions translate this word as “instead.”

must be kind to everyone: In 2:24a, Paul told Timothy how the servant of the Lord must not act toward other people. In 2:24b, he told Timothy how the servant of the Lord should act toward everyone, including non-Christians, including those who want to argue with him. He did not say that Timothy should completely avoid people who did not believe the good news. He knew that if Timothy talked with them in a kind manner, he might be able to explain to them the truths that they needed to hear.

2:24c

able to teach: A servant of the Lord must be able to teach. The teaching referred to here implies teaching the truth to both believers and non-believers. It also refers to teaching against false doctrine.

2:24d

and forbearing: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as forbearing means “to be patient” with those who oppose you. Many English versions translate this word as “patient.” For example, the New Living Translation (2004 Revision) says: “They must be…patient with difficult people.” It is recommended that you also translate this word as “patient.”

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

Section 4:19–22

Paul sent greetings to the believers in Ephesus

Paragraph 4:19–21

4:19a

Greet Prisca and Aquila: Priscilla and Aquila were the names of a Christian woman and her husband who were friends of Paul. (See Acts 18:1–3.) Paul had mentioned them before in other letters. Apparently at the time Paul wrote this letter to Timothy in Ephesus, they were there, too.

Greet: Paul asked Timothy to tell Priscilla and Aquila that Paul was thinking about them and wished them well.

Prisca: The Greek word here for the woman’s name is literally “Prisca.” It refers to the same woman whose name is given as Priscilla in Acts 18:1–3.

(1) Many modern versions translate it as Priscilla here also, to avoid confusion. (See New International Version (2011 Revision), Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), New Century Version, Contemporary English Version.)

(2) Several versions translate it literally as “Prisca.” (See Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, God’s Word, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, Revised English Bible.)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) and translate it as Priscilla.

4:19b

the household of Onesiphorus: Onesiphorus is the name of a Christian man. He had proved that he was a faithful friend to Paul. Paul also asked Timothy to greet all those who lived in Onesiphorus’ house.

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

1:16–18

These verses (1:16–18) are one long sentence in the original text. It will probably be necessary for you to divide it into several sentences, as the Display does.

1:16a

the Lord: Here the Lord refers to “the Lord Jesus Christ.”

mercy: The word mercy means “to be kind,” “to help,” or “to have pity on.”

the household of Onesiphorus: The word household here refers to all the people who lived in Onesiphorus’s house as part of his family.

Onesiphorus: Onesiphorus was the name of another man. He was a faithful friend to Paul. Paul was contrasting his conduct with the conduct of the people whom he had mentioned in 1:15. The second Meaning Line of the Display for 1:16a includes a sentence that explicitly shows this contrast.

1:16b

because he has often refreshed me: The word refreshed probably refers to ways Onesiphorus encouraged Paul while Paul was in prison. It may have included visiting him, bringing him food and being kind to him in other ways. You may have a figure of speech in your language for the word “refresh” that will convey what Paul meant here.

1:16c

and was unashamed of my chains: The Berean Standard Bible literally translates the Greek word for chains. In those days people punished criminals by putting them in prison and fastening metal chains to or between their hands and feet. They did this to prevent the criminals from moving around and finding a way to escape. So chains is a figure of speech meaning that Paul was in prison.

In many languages, it will be necessary not to use this figure of speech but rather follow the Good News Translation, which says:

He was not ashamed that I am in prison

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.