2 Timothy 2

⁹But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.

¹⁰That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

⁷For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

¹³I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

¹³Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.

⁴But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work! For I am with you, declares the Lord of Hosts.

¹³Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching you have heard from me, with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴Guard the treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

⁶By pointing out these things to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of faith and sound instruction that you have followed.

¹²Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.

⁷For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts.

⁵The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

⁶An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination.

¹⁰You, however, have observed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my perseverance,

²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

⁵But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

⁸So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.

¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.

¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

³For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.

⁴The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

⁴Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts.

¹⁴The seeds that fell among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does not mature.

²⁰If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.

²²For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.

²³You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.

²⁵Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.

²⁶Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air.

⁵⁹Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.” The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.

²⁵Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.

¹¹I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

⁸From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

²⁹To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me.

²⁴“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.

³⁶You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.

⁷Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk?

⁸Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?

⁶I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

⁷So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

³⁵Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.

³⁶Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together.

²And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.

²³I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

⁵Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

³⁸So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?”

³⁹Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

⁴⁵Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

¹⁷that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.

¹⁸I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,

³if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,

⁴if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure,

²⁴But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep Him in its grip.

¹⁶on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel.

¹⁴To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹¹Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

¹²But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

³regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,

⁴and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

³¹Boldly and freely he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me.

⁸So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.

¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,

²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.

³as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.

¹⁰And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.

²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.

⁶If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience.

³Join me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

²⁷To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

¹³I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy.

¹⁴And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.

³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

⁴When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

⁵For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.

¹⁵This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.

¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

¹⁹In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live.

¹⁷And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.

³³But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

⁴Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

⁹But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

⁶Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

¹⁰You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”

¹⁹God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

³What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?

²⁴The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.

³But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

²in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

⁹God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

⁹But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.

¹⁰Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition,

²³But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling.

¹I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom:

¹Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions.

²¹I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to maintain these principles without bias, and to do nothing out of partiality.

⁴he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions,

⁵and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.

⁴Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts.

¹⁰Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble,

⁶By pointing out these things to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of faith and sound instruction that you have followed.

¹⁸For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

⁹So we aspire to please Him, whether we are at home in this body or away from it.

¹²Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

¹³Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching.

⁹But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.

²⁰O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called “knowledge,”

¹⁴Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin.

⁷For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way.

⁸And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.

¹⁴and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.

¹Ephraim feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and violence; he makes a covenant with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.

²⁰Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

¹⁵There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down and consume you like a young locust. Make yourself many like the young locust; make yourself many like the swarming locust!

³Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.

¹²But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹⁹holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith.

¹⁰Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways.’

¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

²⁹Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

¹⁹They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.

¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me,

³But the one who loves God is known by God.

⁷The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who trust in Him.

⁷Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.

⁸The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.

⁵Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one He chooses He will bring near to Himself.

²⁷My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.

²⁸I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.

²¹Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?

²²What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction?

⁵you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

¹⁵in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

⁹For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

⁶And all their neighbors supported them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuables, in addition to all their freewill offerings.

⁵Furthermore, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, must also be returned to the temple in Jerusalem and deposited in the house of God.

¹⁰For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

¹⁷so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

¹Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

⁹How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your word.

²²Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.

³And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.

¹¹Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.

¹¹He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁸Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

¹¹But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

⁹How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your word.

¹⁴Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

¹⁴Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin.

⁹But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.

⁷But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness.

⁴he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions,

⁵and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.

⁴or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.

¹⁶But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,

²to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.

¹⁹My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

²⁰for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.

⁷As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.

⁷On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children.

²An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

³not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.

²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

¹⁸When they heard this, they had no further objections, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

¹Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

⁴who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

¹⁶If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he should ask God, who will give life to those who commit this kind of sin. There is a sin that leads to death; I am not saying he should ask regarding that sin.

²²Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart.

²⁹Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

⁷Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil.

²⁵Indeed, this is what the Lord says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.

²⁶I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁷We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; the net is torn, and we have slipped away.

¹³He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,

⁶“I, the Lord, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,

⁷to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.

¹⁵Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”