| 1 | Paul, an apostle (special messenger) of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, |
| 2 | To Timothy, [my] beloved child: Grace (favor and spiritual blessing), mercy, and [heart] peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord! |
| 3 | I thank God Whom I worship with a pure conscience,
[a]in the spirit of my fathers, when without ceasing I remember you night and day in my prayers, |
| 4 | And when, as I recall your tears, I yearn to see you so that I may be filled with joy. |
| 5 | I am calling up memories of your sincere
and
unqualified faith (the
[b]leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), [a faith] that first lived permanently in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am [fully] persuaded, [dwells] in you also. |
| 6 | That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands [
[c]with those of the elders at your ordination]. |
| 7 | For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm
and
well-balanced mind
and
discipline
and
self-control. |
| 8 | Do not blush
or
be ashamed then, to testify to
and
for our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for His sake, but [
[d]with me] take your share of the suffering [to which the preaching] of the Gospel [may expose you, and do it] in the power of God. |
| 9 | [For it is He] Who delivered
and
saved us and called us with a calling in itself holy
and
leading to holiness [to a life of consecration, a vocation of holiness]; [He did it] not because of anything of merit that we have done, but because of
and
to further His own purpose and grace (unmerited favor) which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began [eternal ages ago]. |
| 10 | [It is that purpose and grace] which He now has made known
and
has fully disclosed
and
made real [to us] through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who annulled death
and
made it of no effect and brought life and immortality (immunity from eternal death) to light through the Gospel. |
| 11 | For [the proclaiming of] this [Gospel] I was appointed a herald (preacher) and an apostle (special messenger) and a teacher
of the Gentiles
. |
| 12 | And this is why I am suffering as I do. Still I am not ashamed, for I know (perceive, have knowledge of, and am acquainted with) Him Whom I have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on), and I am [positively] persuaded that He is able to guard
and
keep that which has been entrusted to me
and
which
[e]I have committed [to Him] until that day. |
| 13 | Hold fast
and
follow the pattern of wholesome
and
sound teaching which you have heard from me, in [all] the faith and love which are [for us] in Christ Jesus. |
| 14 | Guard
and
keep [with the greatest care] the precious
and
excellently adapted [Truth] which has been entrusted [to you], by the [help of the] Holy Spirit Who makes His home in us. |
| 15 | You already know that all who are in Asia turned away
and
forsook me, Phygelus and Hermogenes among them. |
| 16 | May the Lord grant [His] mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, for he often showed me kindness
and
ministered to my needs [comforting and reviving and bracing me like fresh air]! He was not ashamed of my chains
and
imprisonment [for Christ’s sake]. |
| 17 | No, rather when he reached Rome, he searched diligently
and
eagerly for me and found me. |
| 18 | May the Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord on that [great] day! And you know how many things he did for me
and
what a help he was at Ephesus [you know better than I can tell you]. |
|