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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
2 Tim 2 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V23 V24 V25 V26
OET (OET-LV) And be_fleeing the youthful lusts, but be_pursuing righteousness, faith, love, peace, with the ones calling_on the master out_of a_ pure _heart.
OET (OET-RV) 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.
In this paragraph, Paul instructed Timothy regarding how he could be a “container” that God can use.
Flee from youthful passions
¶ Timothy, run from doing the evil things that other young people want to do.
¶ So, avoid the sinful passions that attract young people,
This verse begins with the Greek conjunction de, which can be translated But (NET, NCV) or “so” (RSV). It indicates that Paul was changing his topic from the figure of speech about the different containers and their uses to another topic. Many English versions, including BSB, NIV and GNT, do not translate this conjunction, but indicate the change of topic by beginning a new paragraph.
Flee from: Other ways to translate the verb phrase Flee from are “run from,” “stay away from,” or “avoid.”
In the figure of speech about the containers in a large house, Paul had indirectly encouraged Timothy. Here with the verb Flee he directly commanded him. If the change seems too abrupt, perhaps your language has a way to mark this change. One way to do this is to begin the command with “Timothy” as you will see in the first Meaning Line of the Display.
youthful passions: The phrase youthful passions means “the evil things that young people want to do.” The NLT translates this phrase “youthful lusts” and the NIV translates it as “evil desires of youth.”
passions: Other ways of translating the word that the BSB translates as passions are “desires” and “impulses.” Paul was probably referring to sexual desires. He may also have been referring to selfish ambition, impatience, and doing unwise, impulsive things.
and pursue righteousness,
Instead, run towards what is right,
and make an effort to do what is right and just,
pursue: The verb pursue is the opposite of “flee” in 2:22a. Flee means “to run away from,” and pursue means “to run towards.” Paul used these two verbs figuratively. He used “flee” to mean, “do not…” and pursue to mean, “make an effort to….” The NLT says: “Follow anything that makes you want to do right.”
The four abstract nouns that follow the word pursue describe character traits that Paul urged Timothy to develop. It may be necessary for you to use verb phrases or complete clauses to express what these abstract nouns mean.
righteousness: Because Paul was talking about character traits here, righteousness in this context probably refers to the way that we behave. It means “to live in a way that God considers right, and to do what is right and just to other people.” Paul was probably not talking here about the righteousness that God attributes to us because we trust in Jesus Christ. That kind of righteousness does not depend on our good character or on anything that we have done or could do. See also righteousness in the Glossary, Meaning 1.
faith, love, and peace,
be faithful/dependable, love other people, and live in peace with them.
faith: It is not clear in which sense Paul used this word here. There are two interpretations:
It means “faithfulness,” that is, being honest, truthful, and dependable either toward God or other people.
It means “belief or trust in God.”
If possible, translate in a general way so that people could understand both interpretations. If that is not possible and you must make a choice, choose interpretation (1). See faith in the Glossary, Meaning 3.
love: In this context, love refers to love for other people, not love for God.
peace: The word peace refers to living in harmony with other people.
together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
You are to pursue these things along with the people who worship the Lord with a clean heart.
You and those who worship/pray to the Lord with sincerity are to pursue these things.
together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart: Scholars disagree about what this phrase goes with. There are two interpretations:
It applies to all four nouns that follow the verb “pursue.” So both Timothy and those who call on the Lord are to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace.
It applies only to the word peace. So Timothy is to live in peace with those who call on the Lord.
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
those who call on the Lord: This phrase means “people who pray to the Lord.” It refers to those who follow the Lord and worship him. It is similar to the phrase “everyone who confesses the name of the Lord” in 2:19d.
the Lord: Here the Lord probably refers to God.
a pure heart: The term pure heart means “sincerely” or “without deceit.” In many languages there is an idiom to express this aspect of a person’s character. Consider whether your language also uses an idiom. Use it if it is appropriate.
One possible way to translate 2:22 is to put 2:22d earlier in the verse as follows:
Timothy, run away from the evil things that other young men do. You and those who worship the Lord with clean hearts should search for ways to do what is right, faithful, loving, and peaceful.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
δὲ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τάς Δέ νεωτερικάς ἐπιθυμίας φεῦγε δίωκε δέ δικαιοσύνην πίστιν ἀγάπην εἰρήνην μετά τῶν ἐπικαλουμένων τόν Κύριον ἐκ καθαρᾶς καρδίας)
Here the word But introduces the next thing that Paul wants to write about. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces the next idea, or you could leave But untranslated. Alternate translation: [Now]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
φεῦγε
˓be˒_fleeing
Paul speaks of youthful lusts as if they were things a person could physically run away from. He means that Timothy should always avoid these lusts. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [make sure that you do not have]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τὰς & νεωτερικὰς ἐπιθυμίας
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τάς Δέ νεωτερικάς ἐπιθυμίας φεῦγε δίωκε δέ δικαιοσύνην πίστιν ἀγάπην εἰρήνην μετά τῶν ἐπικαλουμένων τόν Κύριον ἐκ καθαρᾶς καρδίας)
Here Paul is referring to lusts that generally characterize youthful people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [the lusts that youthful people often have]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
δίωκε & δικαιοσύνην, πίστιν, ἀγάπην, εἰρήνην, μετὰ τῶν ἐπικαλουμένων τὸν Κύριον ἐκ καθαρᾶς καρδίας
˓be˒_pursuing & righteousness faith love peace (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τάς Δέ νεωτερικάς ἐπιθυμίας φεῦγε δίωκε δέ δικαιοσύνην πίστιν ἀγάπην εἰρήνην μετά τῶν ἐπικαλουμένων τόν Κύριον ἐκ καθαρᾶς καρδίας)
Here the phrase with the ones calling on the Lord from a pure heart could modify: (1) pursue. In this case, Timothy is supposed to pursue these good qualities along with the people who are calling on the Lord from a pure heart. Alternate translation: [pursue, with the ones calling on the Lord from a pure heart, righteousness, faith, love, peace] (2) peace. In this case, the people with whom Timothy should have peace are those calling on the Lord from a pure heart. Alternate translation: [pursue righteousness, faith, and love, and pursue peace with the ones calling on the Lord from a pure heart]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
δίωκε
˓be˒_pursuing
Paul speaks of righteousness and other good qualities as if they were things that a person could pursue and catch. He means that Timothy should try very hard to be characterized by these good things. Alternate translation: [seek to acquire] or [work hard to be characterized by]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
δικαιοσύνην, πίστιν, ἀγάπην, εἰρήνην
righteousness faith love peace
If your language does not use abstract nouns for some or all of the ideas in this list, you could express the same ideas in another way. Alternate translation: [becoming more righteous, believing, loving, peaceful]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
πίστιν
faith
Here the word faith could refer to: (1) belief in Jesus. Alternate translation: [faith in Jesus] (2) faithfulness in doing what God requires. Alternate translation: [faithfulness]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
τῶν ἐπικαλουμένων τὸν Κύριον
the_‹ones› calling_on (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τάς Δέ νεωτερικάς ἐπιθυμίας φεῦγε δίωκε δέ δικαιοσύνην πίστιν ἀγάπην εἰρήνην μετά τῶν ἐπικαλουμένων τόν Κύριον ἐκ καθαρᾶς καρδίας)
The phrase calling on the Lord refers to worshiping and praying to the Lord. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the ones praying to the Lord]
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τὸν Κύριον ἐκ καθαρᾶς καρδίας
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τάς Δέ νεωτερικάς ἐπιθυμίας φεῦγε δίωκε δέ δικαιοσύνην πίστιν ἀγάπην εἰρήνην μετά τῶν ἐπικαλουμένων τόν Κύριον ἐκ καθαρᾶς καρδίας)
Here the phrase from a clean heart could be: (1) another description of these people. Alternate translation: [the Lord who have a pure heart] (2) a description of how they are calling on the Lord. Alternate translation: [the Lord, which they do with a pure heart]
Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ἐκ καθαρᾶς καρδίας
out_of pure ˓a˒_heart
In Paul’s culture, the heart is the place where humans think and feel. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate heart by referring to the place where humans think and feel in your culture or by expressing the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [from a pure mind] or [from pure thoughts]
OET (OET-LV) And be_fleeing the youthful lusts, but be_pursuing righteousness, faith, love, peace, with the ones calling_on the master out_of a_ pure _heart.
OET (OET-RV) 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.
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.