1 TIM 2:1 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–15: Paul told Timothy that it was important that believers should pray

In this section Paul told Timothy some things that the believers should do when they met together regularly to worship God. They should pray for everybody. The men should pray in holiness and without anger, and the women should dress and behave modestly and appropriately.

Paragraph 2:1–7

When believers gather together, they should pray for everybody. They should pray that God would help their government officials to govern well so that believers can worship God peacefully. They should also pray for everybody else because God wants to save everybody.

Everything that Paul wrote in this paragraph (2:1–7) was to help Timothy communicate the gospel to everyone.

One reason that Paul emphasized that the gospel was for everyone was probably because the false teachers were doing exactly the opposite. They were encouraging their followers to consider themselves as better than other people and as part of a small, elite group that excluded other people.Fee, pages 61 and 62, says, “…what might be the place of this first paragraph in the argument? The frequent answer is that the point lies in verse 2, that prayer be made for rulers so that the church may enjoy a peaceful existence. It has even been suggested that a correct Christian attitude toward the state is what is in view. Verses 4–7, then, are seen as nearly irrelevant to that point, but go back to elaborate on a secondary point made in verse 1 (prayer be made for everyone). However, it seems much more likely that precisely the opposite is the case. The one clear concern that runs through the whole paragraph has to do with the gospel as for everyone (‘all people,’ vv. 1, 4–6, and 7). In this view, the phrase this is good in verse 3 refers to prayer for everyone in verse 1, thus seeing verse 2 as something of a digression —albeit as before (1:12–17), a meaningful one. The best explanation for this emphasis lies with the false teachers, who either through the esoteric, highly speculative nature of their teaching (1:4–6) or through its ‘Jewishness’ (1:7) or ascetic character (4:3) are promoting an elitist or exclusivist mentality among their followers. The whole paragraph attacks that narrowness.”

2:1a

First of all, then, I urge

¶ Therefore, Timothy,, the most important thing that I am strongly encouraging you and the other believers to do is

First of all: The Greek word that the BSB translates as First of all is the word that means “first.” In this context there are two possible meanings:

It refers to something that is first in importance. So Paul was saying that prayer was more important than anything else he mentioned in this section.
It refers to something that is first in order. So the first thing that Paul urged people to do in this section was to pray.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and translate First of all as “most importantly.”

then: The Greek word that the BSB translates as then is oun, which literally means “therefore.”Louw and Nida (89.50) say that it is a “marker of result, often implying the conclusion of a process of reasoning - ‘so, therefore, consequently, accordingly, then, so then.’” It connects this paragraph to what Paul said in chapter 1. Try to translate this connection in a general way. For example, use a word like “therefore” or “so,” or an expression like:

so, this is what I want you to do

urge: In the Greek text, this word is the same as the word that the BSB translates as urged in 1:3a. Paul was strongly encouraging something or making an important request.

In some languages, it may be necessary to say whom Paul was addressing or urging. If this is true in your language, you could use a second person plural pronoun (like “you^(plur)”). This will make it clear that Paul was not only writing to Timothy, but expected other believers to read the letter.

2:1b

that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone—

to make requests to God for all people, to pray and intercede for them, and to thank God for what he has done for them.
to pray earnestly to God for everyone and also to thank God for all that he does for them.

petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving: Paul used four Greek words to describe prayer. The BSB translates them as petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving. The first three words all refer to asking God to do something. The last word, thanksgiving, refers to thanking God for what he has done.

petitions, prayers, intercessions: These three words mean almost the same thing.

petitions: The Greek word that the BSB translates as petitions refers to people asking God for particular things that they or other people need.

prayers: The Greek word that the BSB translates as prayers is a more general word. It refers to people asking God in a general way to bless and care for themselves and other people.

intercessions: The Greek word that the BSB translates as intercessions refers to people asking God to supply other people’s needs.

The reason that Paul used these three similar words was to emphasize that prayer is important and that believers should pray often. However, in some languages there may not be three different words for prayer. If this is true in your language, translate this part of the verse in a way that emphasizes how important prayer is. For example:

pray earnestly

pray in every way

thanksgiving: Although the first three words that Paul used (petitions, prayers, intercessions) have a similar meaning, the final word in the list, thanksgiving, is different. The Greek word that the BSB translates as thanksgiving refers to people thanking God for what he has done rather than asking him to do something.

be offered for everyone: Paul meant that we should pray for all kinds of people, no matter who they are. No one should be excluded.Knight, page 115, says, “The repetition of ὑπέρ [=‘for’] and further specification, as a subgroup, of civil rulers (v. 2) points in the direction of it meaning all kinds of people. This meaning would fit in the other occurrences of the phrase in 1 Timothy and Titus (especially Tit. 3:2) and would appear to be the understanding of the term when it was first presented to Paul as the perspective for his ministry (Acts 22:15). It is also the most natural understanding in a number of the Pauline passages where an absolute universalism is a virtual impossibility and a reference to all kinds of individuals is more likely (cf. Rom. 12:17, 18; 2 Cor. 3:2; Phil. 4:5; perhaps 1 Thes. 2:15; cf. also εἰς πάντας in Rom. 10:12…).”

General Comment on 2:1a–b

In some languages it may be helpful to start a new sentence for the idea of thanksgiving. For example:

So first of all, I urge you^(plur) to make petitions, prayers and intercessions for all people. And I urge you all to thank God for all that he does for us.

In other languages, it may be necessary to reorder the verse and place 2:1a after 2:1b. For example:

I urge you^(plur) to make petitions, prayers and intercessions for all people. And I urge you all to thank God. These are the most important things to do.

General Comment on 2:1b

In some languages it may be necessary to state what believers should ask God for. Paul wanted believers to pray that God would help people to stop sinning and begin to trust Christ. In the following verses (2:3–7) Paul said that God wanted to save all people. If you can avoid specifying what the believers should pray about, you should do so. However if you need to say what the believers should pray for, you could say:

to pray that everyone be saved

In other languages, it may be necessary to state what people should thank God for. Avoid being too specific. Instead, use a general phrase like:

thank God for everything he has done for people

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

παρακαλῶ οὖν

˱I˲_˓am˒_exhorting (Some words not found in SR-GNT: παρακαλῶ Οὖν πρῶτον πάντων ποιεῖσθαι δεήσεις προσευχάς ἐντεύξεις εὐχαριστίας ὑπέρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων)

Here, the word therefore introduces an exhortation that is based on what Paul has said in chapter 1. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different word or phrase that introduces an exhortation based on a previous section. Alternate translation: [Because of all that, I urge] or [Given what I have written, I urge]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

πρῶτον πάντων

first ˱of˲_all

Here Paul could be using the word first: (1) to indicate that what he is about to urge is the most important thing he will urge. Alternate translation: [most importantly] (2) to indicate that what he is about to urge is the first of several commands he will give. Alternate translation: [as the first of the following commands]

Note 3 topic: translate-ordinal

πρῶτον

first

If your language does not use ordinal numbers, you could use a cardinal number here or an equivalent expression. Alternate translation: [number one]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ποιεῖσθαι δεήσεις, προσευχάς, ἐντεύξεις, εὐχαριστίας

˓to_be_being˒_made petitions prayers petitions thanksgivings

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who should do the action, it is clear from the context that it should be Christians. Alternate translation: [that Christians make requests, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ποιεῖσθαι δεήσεις, προσευχάς, ἐντεύξεις, εὐχαριστίας,

˓to_be_being˒_made petitions prayers petitions thanksgivings

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the ideas in this list, you could express the same ideas in another way. Alternate translation: [for believers to request things, pray, intercede, and thank God]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

δεήσεις, προσευχάς, ἐντεύξεις, εὐχαριστίας

petitions prayers petitions thanksgivings

Here Paul uses four words that refer to four types of prayer. The word prayers is the most general, and the word thanksgivings refers to thanking God for something rather than asking for something. The words requests and intercessions both refer to asking God to do something, and they mean very similar things. Paul uses these four words to indicate that believers should be praying for all men in many different ways. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the idea by referring to two or three types of prayer. Alternate translation: [prayers and thanksgivings] or [for prayers, requests, and thanksgivings]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ἀνθρώπων

people

Although the term men is masculine, Paul is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [men and women]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear 1 TIM 2:1

SR Greek word order

Section 2:1–15: Paul told Timothy that it was important that believers should pray

Paragraph 2:1–7

2:1a

2:1b

General Comment on 2:1a–b

General Comment on 2:1b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

OET interlinear 1 TIM 2:1

SR Greek word order

Section 2:1–15: Paul told Timothy that it was important that believers should pray

Paragraph 2:1–7

2:1a

2:1b

General Comment on 2:1a–b

General Comment on 2:1b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

OET interlinear 1 TIM 2:1