Chapter 4
The Preaching of a Man of God[a]
The Charge To Preach. 1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead,[b] and by his appearing and his kingdom, I charge you: 2 preach the message; be persistent in doing so, whether in season or out of season; convince, reprove, and encourage, but with great patience and instruction.
The Need for Preaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not accept sound doctrine, but they will follow their own desires and accumulate teachers who will preach to their itching ears. 4 They will shut their ears to the truth and be captivated by myths. 5 As for you, always be sober. Endure hardships, do the work of preaching the gospel, and carry out your ministry to the fullest extent.[c]
The Triumphs of a Man of God[d]
Reward for Fidelity. 6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. 8 Now waiting for me is the crown[e] of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day—and not only to me, but to all those who have eagerly longed for his appearance.
Comfort in Trial. 9 Make every effort to come to me as soon as possible. 10 Because of his love of worldly pursuits, Demas[f] has deserted me and gone off to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has left for Dalmatia. 11 No one but Luke[g] is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he has been helpful to me in my ministry.
12 I have sent Tychicus[h] to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring along with you the cloak[i] that I left with Carpus in Troas, and also the scrolls, particularly the parchments.
14 Alexander the coppersmith[j] has done me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for his deeds. 15 Be on guard yourself against him, for he has been strongly opposed to our teaching.
16 At the first hearing of my case, no one came to court to support me. Every one of them deserted me. May it not be held against them! 17 But the Lord stood at my side[k] and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.
Thus was I rescued from the lion’s jaws. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.[l]
Conclusion[m]
19 Final Greetings. Greet Prisca and Aquila,[n] and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus[o] remained in Corinth, while I left Trophimus ill in Miletus. 21 Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brethren.[p]
22 Farewell. The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with all of you.[q]
Footnotes
- 2 Timothy 4:1 Apostles, missionaries, and pastors are first of all men of the Gospel and evangelization. The project that animates their existence is to awaken human beings to the true worship of the living God. This is a much more pressing task when a swarm of vain ideas sows confusion. Such a time has come, says Paul.
- 2 Timothy 4:1 Living and the dead: Christ will return to judge both the living and the dead (see Mt 25:31; Jn 5:26-29; 1 Thes 4:15-17). This was doubtless an early teaching (see Acts 10:42; 1 Pet 4:5), and it became part of the Creed.
- 2 Timothy 4:5 At the end of this verse, the Vulgate adds the words “Be sober.”
- 2 Timothy 4:6 In these last moments Paul affirms that his blood is about to be shed as a sacrifice to God (it was Jewish practice to pour oil or wine on a burnt offering: see Ex 29:40; Phil 2:17). He then uses images from sports to express his certainty of having remained steadfast in the faith. Although his fate had recently been a sad one and he was abandoned and betrayed, his gaze remains fixed on the Lord to announce the Gospel of salvation to the very end and to enter into his Kingdom.
- 2 Timothy 4:8 Crown: probably a reference taken from the laurel wreath that was customarily placed on the head of a winning athlete or a victorious soldier (see 2 Tim 2:5; 1 Cor 9:25).
- 2 Timothy 4:10 Demas had been with Paul during the latter’s first imprisonment in Rome (see Col 4:14; Philem 24). Crescens is mentioned only here in the New Testament. Galatia here means Gaul, according to the terminology used at that time by writers of Greek. Dalmatia is equivalent to present-day Albania and part of the former Yugoslavia; it is also called Illyricum in the New Testament (see Rom 15:19).
- 2 Timothy 4:11 Luke: the “beloved physician,” mentioned in Col 4:14 and Philem 24, who accompanied Paul throughout much of his Second and Third Missionary Journeys (see note on Acts 16:9-15). Mark: the same person who had left Paul and Barnabas in the midst of the First Missionary Journey (see Acts 13:13). Paul’s refusal to take him along on the Second Missionary Journey caused Barnabas to separate himself from the Apostle and take Mark with him on a mission to Cyprus (see Acts 15:36-41). However, Mark later proved himself to Paul and was present with him during the first Roman imprisonment (see Col 4:10; Philem 24).
- 2 Timothy 4:12 Tychicus: a fellow worker of Paul (see Acts 20:3-5; Eph 6:21; Col 4:7).
- 2 Timothy 4:13 Cloak: probably a long-sleeved traveling garment that Paul could use to keep warm during his imprisonment. Carpus: possibly the Apostle’s host at Troas, but nothing is known for certain about him. Scrolls: undoubtedly some type of printed documents. Parchments: perhaps leather scrolls of Old Testament Books.
- 2 Timothy 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith: this seems to be the same Alexander mentioned in 1 Tim 1:20; he may have testified against Paul in court. The Lord will repay: citation from Pss 28:4; 62:13; and Prov 24:12.
- 2 Timothy 4:17 The Lord stood at my side: Paul’s ultimate strength lay in his total dependence on the One who commissioned him (see 2 Cor 12:9-10; Phil 4:11-13).
- 2 Timothy 4:18 It is noteworthy that this doxology is centered on Christ the Savior and Redeemer (see Rom 16:25; Gal 1:5).
- 2 Timothy 4:19 This conclusion gives a series of short requests, instructions, and greetings.
- 2 Timothy 4:19 Prisca and Aquila: Prisca (see Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19) is the diminutive form of Priscilla (see Acts 16:2, 18f, 26). She and her husband Aquila were Jewish Christians who had met Paul on his first visit to Corinth during the Second Missionary Journey. They had come to Corinth from Rome, and like Paul they were tentmakers (see Acts 16:2f). Later they went with Paul to Ephesus (see Acts 18:18f), where their house became a Christian meeting place for several years before they returned to Rome (Rom 16:3f; 1 Cor 16:19). They had now gone back to Ephesus (see 1 Tim 1:3). Onesiphorus: see note on 2 Tim 1:16.
- 2 Timothy 4:20 Erastus: see note on Rom 16:23. Trophimus: a Christian from Ephesus (see Acts 21:29), who accompanied Paul to Jerusalem (see Acts 20:4) and was thought by the Jews to have entered the temple, thus leading to the riot that resulted in Paul’s arrest (see Acts 21:29ff) and first imprisonment at Rome. Miletus: a seaport on the coast of Asia Minor about 50 miles from Ephesus.
- 2 Timothy 4:21 Nothing is known for certain about Eubulus and Pudens. There is a western tradition that Linus was the successor of Peter as Bishop of Rome, and that Claudia was his mother.
- 2 Timothy 4:22 Some manuscripts add the words “Jesus Christ” after “Lord” and “Amen” at the end of the verse. The first “you” in the Greek (translated as “your”) is singular, indicating that the Letter was addressed to Timothy alone; the second is plural (“all of you”), indicating that it was intended to be read aloud to the community.