2 Timotius 1:3-12

Thanksgiving and Charge to Timothy

1:3 I am thankful to God, whom I have served with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, ¹  when I remember you in my prayers as I do constantly night and day. ²  1:4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, ³  so that I may be filled with joy. 1:5 I recall ⁴  your sincere faith ⁵  that was alive first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am sure ⁶  is in you.

1:6 Because of this I remind you to rekindle God’s gift that you possess ⁷  through the laying on of my hands. 1:7 For God did not give us a Spirit ⁸  of fear but of power and love and self-control. 1:8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord ⁹  or of me, a prisoner for his sake, but by ¹⁰  God’s power accept your share of suffering ¹¹  for the gospel. 1:9 He is the one who saved us ¹²  and called us with a holy calling, not based on ¹³  our works but on his own purpose and grace, granted to us in Christ Jesus before time began, ¹⁴  1:10 but now made visible through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus. He ¹⁵  has broken the power of death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel! 1:11 For this gospel ¹⁶  I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher. ¹⁷  1:12 Because of this, in fact, I suffer as I do. ¹⁸  But I am not ashamed, because I know the one in whom my faith is set ¹⁹  and I am convinced that he is able to protect what has been entrusted to me ²⁰  until that day. ²¹ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Grk “from my ancestors.”

[1:3]  ² tn Or “as I do constantly. By night and day I long to see you…”

[1:4]  ³ tn Grk “longing to see you, remembering your tears” (as a continuation of the preceding clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Grk “recalling” (as a continuation of the preceding clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “the sincere faith in you.”

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Or “convinced.”

[1:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “that is in you.”

[1:7]  ⁸ tn Or “a spirit,” denoting the human personality under the Spirit’s influence as in 1 Cor 4:21; Gal 6:1; 1 Pet 3:4. But the reference to the Holy Spirit at the end of this section (1:14) makes it likely that it begins this way also, so that the Holy Spirit is the referent.

[1:8]  ⁹ tn Grk “the testimony of our Lord.”

[1:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “according to.”

[1:8]  ¹¹ tn Grk “suffer hardship together,” implying “join with me in suffering.”

[1:9]  ¹² tn More literally, “who saved us,” as a description of God in v. 8. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:9]  ¹³ tn Or “according to,” or “by.”

[1:9]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “before eternal times.”

[1:10]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “having broken…and having brought…” (describing Christ). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here (and at the beginning of v. 11) in the translation.

[1:11]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “for which.”

[1:11]  ¹⁷ tc Most mss (א² C D F G Ψ 1739 1881 Ï latt sy co) have ἐθνῶν (eqnwn, “of the Gentiles”) after “teacher.” The shorter reading has poorer external credentials (א* A I 1175 pc), but is preferred because ἐθνῶν probably represents a gloss added by copyists familiar with 1 Tim 2:7. There is no easy explanation for the omission of the word if it were original here.

[1:12]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “suffer these things.”

[1:12]  ¹⁹ tn Or “in whom I have believed.”

[1:12]  ²⁰ sn What has been entrusted to me (Grk “my entrustment,” meaning either (1) “what I have entrusted to him” [his life, destiny, etc.] or (2) “what he has entrusted to me” [the truth of the gospel]). The parallel with v. 14 and use of similar words in the pastorals (1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 2:2) argue for the latter sense.

[1:12]  ²¹ sn That day is a reference to the day when Paul would stand before Christ to give account for his service (cf. 2 Tim 1:18; 1 Cor 3:13; 2 Cor 5:9-10).