complete verse (2 Timothy 4:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Timothy 4:6:

  • Uma: “I give you this advice, for I know that I will not be much longer in this world, my appointed-day-of-death [lit., yes-thing] has almost arrived. And when I am killed, I will offer this life of mine to God, like my worship-gift to him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “As for me, not long and I will be killed. Near now is my going-home to the afterworld.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for me, by contrast, my life will soon come to an end; my death will soon arrive.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because as for me, my life can-be-compared to alcoholic-beverage that they pour-out when there is an animal that they offer to God, what I mean to say is, the time has arrived when I will leave the earth.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But as for me, it’s like my alotted-time is coming close, when my life/breath will be severed.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Now there is arriving the day in which I will depart from the world. But I give myself up to be killed in order to do the work of God.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 2 Timothy 4:6

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 .

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 4:6

4:6a

For I: In the same way that Paul used a pronoun and conjunction in 4:5a to highlight what Timothy was to do in contrast to the false teachers, so here he begins this thought in Greek with the pronoun meaning I and a conjunction. The pronoun emphasizes Paul’s situation compared to Timothy’s.

The Greek conjunction gar, “for,” indicates that 4:6 gives the reason why Paul had given Timothy the commands in 4:5. Timothy needed to “fulfill” his “ministry” because Paul would not be alive much longer to help him.

being poured out like a drink offering: The phrase being poured out like a drink offering is the Berean Standard Bible translation of one Greek verb. This verb is found only here and in Philippians 2:17. It literally means “being poured out” and describes one particular type or part of a Jewish sacrifice.

Exodus 29:38–41 describes the ritual for offering sacrifices to God each morning and evening. The sacrifice included a lamb, an offering of grain mixed with oil, and a specific quantity of wine, which a priest “poured out” or “poured over” the other things. The wine that the priest poured out was called the “drink offering.” It was the final part of the entire sacrifice.

In this verse, Paul used the word meaning “being poured out” in a figurative sense. Paul considered his entire life to be a sacrifice to God. This part of his life was the final part of that sacrifice, just as the drink offering was the final part of an animal sacrifice. In other words, Paul was saying that he would die soon.

When translating this phrase, you have several possibilities:

• Use the figure of speech, but add a phrase to “being poured out” so that the meaning will be easier to understand. The Berean Standard Bible and most other English versions do this. For example, Contemporary English Version says:

My life is like a drink offering being poured out on the altar.

• Explain the figure of speech. You can say something like,

Just as the offering of wine is poured out at the end of the sacrifice, even so my life is at its end.

• Replace the figure of speech with the direct meaning. If you cannot retain the figure, you can say something like,

My life is already ending….
-or-
My life and work for God are ending….

4:6b

and the time of my departure is at hand: The phrase my departure is a euphemism for “my death.” Paul wrote these words to Timothy because the Romans had condemned him to die, and he knew that they planned to kill him soon.

General Comment on 4:6

In some languages is may be more natural to reorder 4:6a and 4:6b. For instance, you could say:

6bI am about to die; 6amy life is like a drink offering that is being poured out as a sacrifice.

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Sung version of 2 Timothy 4

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