2 Timothy Chapter 4
Showing all 22 verses for 2 Timothy Chapter 4.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"So I solemnly charge you, in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead when he appears in his kingdom."
When something truly matters to me, I want to say it plainly and with full seriousness, not bury it in small talk. Pay attention when someone you trust speaks to you this directly - it usually means they mean it.
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. "
"Proclaim the message; be ready whether the timing is convenient or not; correct, warn, and encourage, with endless patience and careful teaching."
Don't wait for the perfect moment to say what needs saying or do what needs doing - the right time is rarely convenient. But say it with patience, not with an axe to grind.
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; "
"Because a time is coming when people won't put up with solid teaching - instead, driven by what they want to hear, they'll gather teachers who tell them exactly that."
Be honest with yourself about whether you're seeking truth or just seeking agreement. I want you to be able to hear something uncomfortable and still recognise it might be exactly what you need.
"And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. "
"They'll turn their ears away from the truth and turn instead towards made-up stories."
Comfortable lies eventually cost more than uncomfortable truths. I ask you to keep choosing what's real, even when a more flattering story is right there, easier to believe.
"But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. "
"But you, stay alert in every situation, endure hardship, do the work of sharing the good news, and carry out your calling fully."
When everyone around you is drifting towards what's easy, that's exactly the moment to stay alert and keep doing the real work. I ask you to be the steady one, not the one swept along.
"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. "
"As for me, I'm ready to be poured out like a sacrifice, and the time for me to leave this life is close."
Facing your own ending, whatever kind of ending it is, doesn't have to mean facing it in dread. I want you to know that peace at the end is possible - not denial, but a genuine, settled readiness.
"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: "
"I've fought the fight worth fighting, I've finished the race, I've kept my word."
I want you to be able to say something like this about your own life one day - not perfect, but honestly given, fully finished, faithfully kept. Live now in a way that lets you say it truthfully when your own time comes.
"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. "
"From now on, a crown of righteousness is waiting for me, which the Lord, the fair judge, will give me on that day - and not only to me, but to everyone who has longed for his return."
Whatever hope sustained Paul at the very end isn't reserved for extraordinary people - it's available to anyone who genuinely wants it and lives towards it. I include you in that 'all them also,' not just the exceptional few.
"Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: "
"Do your best to come to me soon."
It's alright to want ordinary comfort - a person's presence - even in the middle of your biggest, most meaningful moments. I don't expect you to need only lofty things; simple human company matters too.
"For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. "
"Demas has abandoned me because he loved the comforts of this present life, and has left for Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia."
I won't pretend it doesn't hurt when someone chooses comfort over showing up for you when it costs them something. That grief is real and honest, and naming it plainly, without pretending it's fine, is part of being truthful about love.
"Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. "
"Only Luke has stayed with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, because he's genuinely useful to me for the work."
People can change, and relationships can be rebuilt even after real conflict. I never wanted you to hold someone's past mistake against them forever - if they've grown, welcome them back in, the way Paul welcomed Mark.
"And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. "
"I've sent Tychicus to Ephesus."
Looking after the practical needs of people you care about is just as real an expression of love as any grand gesture. I want you to notice and value the quiet, organisational acts of care too, not just the dramatic ones.
"The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments. "
"When you come, bring the coat I left with Carpus in Troas, along with the books - especially the parchments."
Even people facing the biggest things in life still need warmth, and something to read, and ordinary comfort. I don't ask you to be so spiritual that you ignore your body's real needs - Paul wasn't, even at the very end.
"Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: "
"Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm - may the Lord repay him according to what he's done."
You're allowed to name what someone did to you honestly, without dressing it up or pretending it didn't hurt. But I ask you to leave the settling of accounts to something bigger than your own need for payback.
"Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. "
"Watch out for him too, because he strongly opposed what we taught."
Warning someone you love about a genuine danger isn't unkind - it's protective. I ask you to be honest with people about real threats to their wellbeing, even if it means naming someone directly.
"At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. "
"At my first legal defence, nobody stood by me - everyone abandoned me. I pray it won't be held against them."
You can feel the full sting of being abandoned and still choose not to hold it against the people who let you down. That's not weakness - it's one of the hardest, most freeing things I ask of anyone, and Paul managed it at the worst moment of his life.
"Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. "
"But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message could be fully proclaimed for all the non-Jewish nations to hear - and I was rescued from what felt like a lion's jaws."
When people let you down, that's not the end of the story - there's often a deeper source of strength available that doesn't depend on anyone else showing up. I want you to know you're never truly as alone as it might feel in that moment.
"And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. "
"And the Lord will rescue me from every evil scheme and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom - glory to him forever and ever. Amen."
I want you to have a kind of confidence that doesn't depend on avoiding every hardship - one that holds even if the hardest thing happens anyway. That's a different, deeper kind of safety than simply escaping trouble.
"Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. "
"Greet Priscilla and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus."
Remembering people by name, and making sure they know they're remembered, is a simple but real way to show love. I want you to be the kind of person who keeps people in mind, even under your own pressure.
"Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick. "
"Erastus stayed behind in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick at Miletus."
Not every difficult situation gets neatly fixed, even by someone with a track record of remarkable things happening around him. I don't promise you every problem will resolve the way you'd want - but I do stay present with you through the ones that don't.
"Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren. "
"Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus sends greetings, along with Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the other believers."
When time might be genuinely short, say so plainly and ask directly for what you need - don't leave it unsaid out of pride or awkwardness. I want you to be honest about your limits and your longing to see the people you love.
"The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. "
"May the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you all. Amen."
However your story ends, or however any particular chapter of it ends, I want your last words - the ones you leave people with - to be words of blessing, not bitterness. Paul chose grace as his final note, and that choice is available to you too, right up to your very last one.