2 TIM 2:4 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. Οὐδείς
2. oudeis
3. No one
4. -
5. 37620
6. R····NMS
7. no_one
8. no_one
9. S
10. Y66
11. 138916
1. στρατευόμενος
2. strateuō
3. soldiering
4. -
5. 47540
6. VPPM·NMS
7. soldiering
8. soldiering
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138917
1. ἐμπλέκεται
2. emplekō
3. is being entangled
4. -
5. 17070
6. VIPP3··S
7. ˓is_being˒ entangled
8. ˓is_being˒ entangled
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138918
1. ταῖς
2. ho
3. with the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····DFP
7. ˱with˲ the
8. ˱with˲ the
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138919
1. τοῦ
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····GMS
7. ¬the
8. ¬the
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138920
1. βίου
2. bios
3. of living
4. living
5. 9790
6. N····GMS
7. ˱of˲ living
8. ˱of˲ living
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138921
1. πραγματείαις
2. pragmateia
3. affairs
4. affairs
5. 42300
6. N····DFP
7. affairs
8. affairs
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138922
1. ἵνα
2. hina
3. in order that
4. -
5. 24430
6. C·······
7. in_order_that
8. in_order_that
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138923
1. τῷ
2. ho
3. to the one
4. -
5. 35880
6. R····DMS
7. ˱to˲ the ‹one›
8. ˱to˲ the ‹one›
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138924
1. στρατολογήσαντι
2. stratologeō
3. having enlisted him
4. -
5. 47580
6. VPAA·DMS
7. ˓having˒ enlisted ‹him›
8. ˓having˒ enlisted ‹him›
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138925
1. ἀρέσῃ
2. areskō
3. he may bring pleasure
4. pleasing
5. 7000
6. VSAA3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓may˒ bring_pleasure
8. ˱he˲ ˓may˒ bring_pleasure
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138926

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–13: Timothy should be willing to endure hardship as he serves Jesus Christ

Paragraph 2:3–7

In this paragraph Paul compared Christians to three types of people in order to give Timothy three different instructions.

As a soldier endures hardship, endure hardship for the Lord.
As an athlete is self-disciplined, be self-disciplined.
As a farmer works hard, work hard for the Lord.

In 2:3 Paul explicitly stated one of the two main themes of the letter. That theme is that a Christian who wants to serve the Lord must be like a loyal soldier. He must be willing to endure suffering.

2:4–6

In 2:4–6, Paul compared the Christian to three types of people. Then in 2:7 he advised Timothy to think deeply about the meaning of these three comparisons. This shows that the point of comparison in Paul’s illustrations would not be immediately clear even to Timothy. He needed to think about what Paul wrote to him. Because of this, you should avoid making the points of comparison explicit in your translation.

2:4a

A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs,

A soldier who is serving in the army does not do another kind of work at the same time.
No one who is a soldier becomes involved in civilian matters,

A soldier: This refers to a soldier on active duty.

entangling himself: This phrase is the translation of one Greek verb. It occurs only here and in 2 Peter 2:20. It means “to get entangled in” or “to get mixed up with.”

in civilian affairs: This phrase is literally “matters/affairs of life.” It can refer to any matter in general, or more specifically, to a business or job that is not a military job. A soldier may have brief times when he is not actually working as a soldier, but even during those times he is not free to start working at some other kind of job.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

everyday matters (NCV)

non-military activities (GW)

2:4b

in order to please the one who enlisted him.

so that he may please his commanding officer.
because he wants to please his commanding officer.
If he does, he will not please his commander/leader.

in order to: In the Greek text, the conjunction hina (in order to) connects 2:4a and 2:4b. There are several ways to show this connection.

Make the conjunction implicit. The NIV uses a dash to indicate the connection between these two verse parts.
^4aNo one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—^4bhe wants to please his commanding officer. Other translations (GW, CEV) begin a new sentence at 2:4b.
^4aSoldiers on duty don’t work at outside jobs. ^4bThey try only to please their commanding officer. (CEV)
Make the conjunction explicit like the BSB and and NASB do. For example, the NASB says:
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
State 2:4b negatively like the NET does.
No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who recruited him. See also NLT, and JBP.
Reorder 2:4a and 2:4b.
^4bA soldier wants to please his commanding officer, ^4aso he does not get involved in civilian affairs.

You should use the option that is most natural in your language.

the one who enlisted him: In Greek, this is literally “the one having enlisted (him).” The BSB, RSV, NASB, and NET translate this literally. However, a literal translation like “the enlistment officer” may give the wrong impression. In Paul’s time, each officer gathered together (or enlisted) the men he later commanded. This was different than many of today’s armies where the enlistment officer is a completely different person than the commanding officer. Therefore, a term like “commanding officer” or “commander” may be more appropriate.

General Comment on 2:4

The Christian’s commanding officer is Christ. The point of the comparison between a soldier and a person who serves Christ is that the soldier and the Christian must each completely commit himself to his commander, doing whatever the commander tells him to do.

However, the point of comparison should not be made explicit in the translation because in 2:7, Paul asked Timothy to think about what he was saying and said that the Lord would help Timothy to understand it. Therefore, Paul was not trying to be completely explicit.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor

οὐδεὶς στρατευόμενος ἐμπλέκεται ταῖς τοῦ βίου πραγματίαις, ἵνα τῷ στρατολογήσαντι ἀρέσῃ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐδείς στρατευόμενος ἐμπλέκεται ταῖς τοῦ βίου πραγματείαις ἵνα τῷ στρατολογήσαντι ἀρέσῃ)

Here Paul continues to speak about a soldier to help Timothy understand how to behave. Just as a soldier focuses on pleasing his commander, so Timothy should focus on pleasing Jesus. To do so, he will have to avoid becoming entangled in the affairs of life. Since Paul tells Timothy in [2:7](../02/07.md) to think carefully about the examples that he gives in this verse and in [2:5–6](../02/05.md), you should not explain the meaning of this metaphor here. However, if it would be helpful in your language, you could use a form that indicates that Paul is using a metaphor or giving an example. Alternate translation: [Imagine that you are a soldier. No one serving as a soldier is entangled in the affairs of life, so that he may please the one having enlisted him]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐμπλέκεται ταῖς τοῦ βίου πραγματίαις

˓is_being˒_entangled ˱with˲_the ¬the ˱of˲_living (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐδείς στρατευόμενος ἐμπλέκεται ταῖς τοῦ βίου πραγματείαις ἵνα τῷ στρατολογήσαντι ἀρέσῃ)

Paul speaks of the affairs of life as if they were a net that could trap people and keep them from being able to move freely. He means that the affairs of life would prevent a soldier from doing what he is supposed to do. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [is trapped by the affairs of life] or [is distracted by the affairs of life]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἐμπλέκεται

˓is_being˒_entangled

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. Alternate translation: [entangles himself]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ταῖς τοῦ βίου πραγματίαις

˱with˲_the ¬the ˱of˲_living (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐδείς στρατευόμενος ἐμπλέκεται ταῖς τοῦ βίου πραγματείαις ἵνα τῷ στρατολογήσαντι ἀρέσῃ)

Here the phrase the affairs of life refers to the normal things that people who are not soldiers do and care about, including having a job and owning a home. If it would be helpful in your language, you could refer to those things more explicitly. Alternate translation: [in the normal tasks of everyday life] or [in the everyday jobs of civilian life]

τῷ στρατολογήσαντι

˱to˲_the_‹one› ˓having˒_enlisted_‹him›

Alternate translation: [his leader] or [the one who commands him]

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

1. OET-LV words
2. OET-RV words
3. Strongs
4. Greek word
5. Greek lemma
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. No one
2. -
3. 37620
4. S
5. oudeis
6. R-····NMS
7. no_one
8. no_one
9. S
10. Y66
11. 138916
1. soldiering
2. -
3. 47540
5. strateuō
6. V-PPM·NMS
7. soldiering
8. soldiering
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138917
1. is being entangled
2. -
3. 17070
5. emplekō
6. V-IPP3··S
7. ˓is_being˒ entangled
8. ˓is_being˒ entangled
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138918
1. with the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····DFP
7. ˱with˲ the
8. ˱with˲ the
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138919
1. affairs
2. affairs
3. 42300
5. pragmateia
6. N-····DFP
7. affairs
8. affairs
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138922
1. of
2. living
3. 9790
5. bios
6. N-····GMS
7. ˱of˲ living
8. ˱of˲ living
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138921
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····GMS
7. ¬the
8. ¬the
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138920
1. living
2. living
3. 9790
5. bios
6. N-····GMS
7. ˱of˲ living
8. ˱of˲ living
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138921
1. in order that
2. -
3. 24430
5. hina
6. C-·······
7. in_order_that
8. in_order_that
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138923
1. he may bring pleasure
2. pleasing
3. 7000
5. areskō
6. V-SAA3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓may˒ bring_pleasure
8. ˱he˲ ˓may˒ bring_pleasure
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138926
1. to the one
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. R-····DMS
7. ˱to˲ the ‹one›
8. ˱to˲ the ‹one›
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138924
1. having enlisted him
2. -
3. 47580
5. stratologeō
6. V-PAA·DMS
7. ˓having˒ enlisted ‹him›
8. ˓having˒ enlisted ‹him›
9. -
10. Y66
11. 138925

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 2 TIM 2:4

SR Greek word order

Section 2:1–13: Timothy should be willing to endure hardship as he serves Jesus Christ

Paragraph 2:3–7

2:4–6

2:4a

2:4b

General Comment on 2:4

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

OET interlinear 2 TIM 2:4

SR Greek word order

Section 2:1–13: Timothy should be willing to endure hardship as he serves Jesus Christ

Paragraph 2:3–7

2:4–6

2:4a

2:4b

General Comment on 2:4

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

OET interlinear 2 TIM 2:4