2 Timothy 2 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~AD 64 to 67, the final years of Paul's life under the emperor Nero
Location
Written from imprisonment in Rome to Timothy at Ephesus, a major port and the leading city of the Roman province of Asia
Audience
Timothy as a church leader, and the next generation of teachers he was expected to train
Situation
Paul tells Timothy to pass the teaching on to reliable people who can teach others, and illustrates endurance with a soldier, an athlete and a farmer. He then names Hymenaeus and Philetus, who taught that the resurrection had already happened, and describes how a servant of God should correct opponents gently.
Key Background
Teaching passed by memorised oral transmission from teacher to student was the standard educational method in both Jewish and Greek schools, so handing the message to reliable men is a description of a known system, not a metaphor. Roman soldiers were legally barred from trades and entanglements that would distract from service, athletes swore to a strict training regime and were disqualified for breaking the rules, and farmers waited seasons for a return, so all three examples turn on accepted rules and delayed reward. The claim that the resurrection was already past likely reflected a Greek preference for spiritual over bodily existence, treating new life as purely inward and making a future bodily resurrection unnecessary.
So, my let the that comes through the Jesus, make you strong.
And everything you've heard me teach in front of many — hand that down to people you can trust, the kind of people who will be able to teach others too.
Take your share of like a good of the One, Jesus.
No one in the gets tangled up in everyday civilian affairs — the goal is to please the
And if someone as an they don't win the prize unless they by the
The who does the should be the first to get a share of the harvest.
what I'm saying — the will give you understanding in all of this.
Remember: Jesus, the One — raised from from That's the I spread.
It's because of this good news that I'm suffering, up like a But you can't chain up
That's why I all of this — for the sake of the ones God has so they can experience the that comes through the One, Jesus, along with
Here's a If we with we'll also live with
If we we'll also with If we he'll us too.
If we're he stays — he can't be anything other than what he is.
Keep reminding people of these things. Warn them before God not to — it does nothing useful and only down the people listening.
Do your best to present yourself to God as someone who has been and — a worker with nothing to be embarrassed about, someone who the of the
Stay away from that wanders further and further from God.
That kind of talk spreads like an and are two examples —
they've wandered away from the truth by claiming that the has already happened, and they're wrecking some people's
But here's the thing: God's still stands, and it has this stamped on it: "The who to and "Everyone who claims the Master's name must walk away from doing wrong."
In any there aren't just gold and silver dishes — there are also wood and clay ones. Some are for others for everyday use.
So if someone up from all that, they'll be like those special dishes — set to the ready for every good thing.
Run away from the that with being Instead, chase after what is and — alongside everyone who calls on the Master with an
Don't get sucked into that go — you know they just produce
And someone who the shouldn't be a fighter. Instead, they should be with everyone, able to teach, and when
They should people who hoping that God will give those people a of so they come to recognize the truth.
Then they can to their and escape the of the who had them to do