2 Timothy 4

⁴²And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.

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.

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.

²⁷For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.

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

⁴And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

¹⁵Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.

¹⁶Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

¹⁴And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.

¹⁹Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.

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

¹⁵Speak these things as you encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

²¹So if anyone cleanses himself of what is unfit, he will be a vessel for honor: sanctified, useful to the Master, and prepared for every good work.

¹Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

²Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed.

¹But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.

²For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

¹Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,

²influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.

¹⁰for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching

¹⁶Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

¹⁹And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.

²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

¹¹But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.

⁵⁷At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him.

¹⁶For we did not follow cleverly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

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

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

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

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.

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

¹³Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹⁷Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”

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

¹¹my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.

¹⁵Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.

²³I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.

¹⁷But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.

¹⁴because I know that this tent will soon be laid aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

¹⁵And I will make every effort to ensure that after my departure, you will be able to recall these things at all times.

¹⁴Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know with all your heart and soul that not one of the good promises the Lord your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed.

²¹Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.

¹²Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range and see the land that I have given the Israelites.

¹³After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was;

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.

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.

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.

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.

²⁴But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

³⁴Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

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.

¹⁰Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

⁴And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

⁴and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,

¹⁹Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

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.

⁴Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.

²¹Make every effort to come to me before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.

¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

¹⁶For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

¹⁵You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

¹⁴Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas send you greetings.

¹⁵Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the church that meets at her house.

⁴because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

⁵Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

⁶After the Holy Spirit had prevented them from speaking the word in the province of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia.

¹³I had no peace in my spirit, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

¹²And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.

²⁵When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark.

²⁴as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

³⁹Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,

¹⁵You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

¹⁴Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas send you greetings.

²¹Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know about me and what I am doing.

⁴Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

¹²As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.

⁷Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord.

³As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines

¹⁶Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, because he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.

¹¹We sailed from Troas straight to Samothrace, and the following day on to Neapolis.

²⁷in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure.

¹¹To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.

⁸So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

⁵These men went on ahead and waited for us in Troas.

⁶And after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we sailed from Philippi, and five days later we rejoined them in Troas, where we stayed seven days.

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

⁶After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

⁴Repay them according to their deeds and for their works of evil. Repay them for what their hands have done; bring back on them what they deserve.

¹²May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you.

³³The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward to explain himself, and he motioned for silence so he could make his defense to the people.

³⁴But when they realized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

¹⁹Attend to me, O Lord. Hear what my accusers are saying!

²⁰Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.

⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.

²Watch out for those dogs, those workers of evil, those mutilators of the flesh!

¹⁶Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

¹⁷But beware of men, for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.

⁶⁰Falling on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

³²“Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.

⁵⁰Then everyone deserted Him and fled.

¹¹Among all my enemies I am a disgrace, and among my neighbors even more. I am dreaded by my friends—they flee when they see me on the street.

¹²I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind. I am like a broken vessel.

¹⁷The former, however, preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains.

¹⁵But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect,

⁸Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel.

¹³As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.

²¹Save me from the mouth of the lion; at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me!

³⁷David added, “The Lord, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the Lord be with you.”

²²My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”

⁹One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent.

¹⁰For I am with you and no one will lay a hand on you, because I have many people in this city.”

⁷The Lord will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul.

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

²⁴Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—

²⁵to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

¹³And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

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

²⁹My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

²³Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them,

¹⁹The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.

³Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,

⁴who have risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

¹⁶May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me and was unashamed of my chains.

¹⁷Indeed, when he arrived in Rome, he searched diligently until he found me.

²⁶And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

¹⁸Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.

⁴Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

²²He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed for a time in the province of Asia.

²⁶For he has been longing for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.

²⁷He was sick indeed, nearly unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.

²⁹For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

¹⁵Sailing on from there, we arrived the next day opposite Chios. The day after that we arrived at Samos, and on the following day we came to Miletus.

²³Gaius, who has hosted me and all the church, sends you greetings. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you greetings, as does our brother Quartus.

⁹Make every effort to come to me quickly,

²²All the saints send you greetings, especially those from the household of Caesar.

²¹Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you greetings, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow countrymen.

²²I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.

⁴Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.

¹⁴Instead, I hope to see you soon and speak with you face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send you greetings. Greet each of our friends there by name.

²⁰All the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²⁵The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

¹⁸This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

⁷To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²¹The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

¹⁴Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.