Open English Translation 2TIM Chapter 2

2 So my ‘son’, may the grace from Yeshua the messiah make you strong 2 along with everything you heard from me through many witnesses. Entrust those things to faithful people who will also be capable of teaching others.

3 Suffer together with me as a good soldier of Yeshua the messiah. 4 Soldiers stay unentangled from the affairs of daily living so that they will be dedicated to pleasing their commanding officer. 5 Similarly the athlete won’t win the competition if they don’t follow the rules. 6 It’s fair for the farmer working in the orchard to be allowed to eat the fruit. 7 You should easily understand what I’m saying because the master will be giving you insight into everything.

8 Always remember the promised descendant of King David, Yeshua the messiah who came back from the dead, which is what I preach 9 and why I’m here in chains suffering hardship as a criminal. But God’s message hasn’t been chained. 10 So I will endure everything so that the ones that God has chosen will also be able to receive their salvation in Yeshua the messiah and live with him forever. 11 There’s a reliable saying that goes,

If we died along with him,

we will live together with him.

12 [ref]If we endure with him,

we will be able to reign with him.

If we disown him,

he will also disown us.

13 If we refuse to believe him,

he will remain faithful to us,

because he isn’t able to go against his nature.

14 Keep reminding them of all that. Tell them before God not to quibble[fn] about the intricacies of words as it’s not helpful and can lead the listeners to ruin.

15 Work hard so that God will see you as someone he approves of—not ashamed of the good message but straight-talking the truth. 16 Avoid chatter about unimportant or crude topics because it will eventually led to godlessness. 17 Those kinds of talk are like rot that spreads, as happened when Hymenaeus and Philetus 18 deviated from the truth by claiming that the resurrection has already happened and have drawn some away from the faith. 19 However God’s solid foundation has stood with this inscription on it: ‘The master knew his own ones,’[ref] and ‘Let everyone who claims to follow the master avoid disobedience.’

20 An expensive home doesn’t just have gold and silver bowls, but there are wooden and pottery bowls as well. Some will contain valuable things, but others contain dishonourable things that we prefer not to display. 21 So those people who rid themselves of dishonourable thoughts and actions will become a container for honourable things, being reserved to do the special work that the master has prepared for them. 22 And run far from youthful lusts—chase instead after obedience, faith, love, and peace like all the others who follow the master with a pure heart. 23 Refuse to enter foolish and uneducated debates because they’ll just end in an argument. 24 It’s not fitting one of the master’s slaves to be argumentative, but rather to be polite to everyone and to be teaching the truth yet be tolerant of other people’s bad behaviour. 25 We should politely point out the wrongs of those opposing us and perhaps God might bring them to repentance and the knowledge of the truth. 26 After being caught in the devil’s trap just as he wanted, maybe they’ll escape and come to their senses.