Greeting
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, 2 to my dear child Timothy: Favor, compassion, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Master.
Gratitude and encouragement
3 I am grateful to God, to whom I offer divine service from a clear conscience as my ancestors did, as I continually remember you in my impassioned prayers night and day. 4 I long to see you again as I recall your tears, so I can be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your genuine faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I’m sure still lives in you.
6 For this reason, I am reminding you to rekindle the gift of God that you have because I dedicated you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice but of power, of love, and of self-discipline. 8 So then, may you not be ashamed of the testimony of our Master, nor of me, his captive. Instead, by means of the power of God, endure the suffering that is to the benefit of the good news. 9 He is the one who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of anything we did, but because of his own proposal and the favor given to us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.
10 This favor is about to be revealed at the sudden appearance of our Savior Jesus Christ, who neutralized death while illuminating life and immortality through the good news. 11 This is what I was appointed to as a herald and apostle and teacher, 12 and the reason I am experiencing these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have trusted, and I am convinced that he has the power to guard the deposit entrusted to me until that day. 12 13 Keep to the pattern of healthy sayings you’ve heard from me, in trust and love in the anointing of Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit by means of the Holy Spirit that lives in us.
Desertion and loyalty
15 As you know, everyone in the province of Asia turned on me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. 16 But may the Master have compassion on the household of Onesiphorus, since he refreshed me on many occasions and was not ashamed of my confinement. 17 In fact, when he came to Rome he searched for me diligently until he found me. 18 May the Master grant compassion on that day! And you are well aware of all his service in Ephesus.
- 12 “the sudden appearance of our savior Jesus.”