2 Timothy 2 Pulpit Commentary

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>2 Timothy 2 Pulpit Commentary</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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<span class="accented">strengthened</span> for <span class="accented">strong</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">Be strengthened</span> (<span class="greek">ἐνδυναμοῦ</span>); more exactly (as Huther), <span class="accented">become strong</span>, or, which is the same thing, <span class="accented">strengthen thyself</span>; implying, perhaps, though gently expressed, some previous weakness, as m <a href="/hebrews/11-34.htm">Hebrews 11:34</a>, "From weakness were made strong;" where the image seems to be that of recovery from sickness. In <a href="/ephesians/6-10.htm">Ephesians 6:10</a>, however (<span class="greek">ἐνδυναμοῦσθε</span> <span class="greek">ἐν Κυρίῳ</span>), there is no evidence of preceding weakness, but only a call to use the strength they had; and it may be so here too. The strength, Timothy is reminded, by which he was to fight the good fight, was not his own, but that which would come to him from the grace and love of Jesus Christ (comp. <a href="/1_corinthians/15-10.htm">1 Corinthians 15:10</a>; <a href="/philippians/4-13.htm">Philippians 4:13</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-2.htm">2 Timothy 2:2</a></div><div class="verse">And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 2.</span> - <span class="accented">Which</span> for <span class="accented">that</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">from</span> for <span class="accented">of</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">The things which thou hast heard,</span> etc. Here we have distinctly enunciated the succession of apostolical doctrine through apostolical men. We have also set before us the partnership of the presbyterate, and, in a secondary degree, of the whole Church, with the apostles and bishops their successors, in preserving pure and unadulterated the faith once delivered to the saints. There can be little doubt that St. Paul is here alluding to Timothy's ordination, as in <a href="/1_timothy/4-14.htm">1 Timothy 4:14</a>; <a href="/1_timothy/6-12.htm">1 Timothy 6:12</a>; <a href="/2_timothy/1-6.htm">2 Timothy 1:6, 7, 13, 14</a>. Timothy had then heard from the apostle's lips a certain "form of sound words" - something in the nature of a creed, some summary of gospel truth, which was the deposit placed in his charge; and in committing it to him, he and the presbyters present had laid their hands on him, and the whole Church had assented, and confirmed the same. "Thus through many witnesses," whose presence and assent, like that of witnesses to the execution of a deed of transfer of land (<a href="/genesis/23-10.htm">Genesis 23:10, 16, 18</a>), was necessary to make the transaction valid and complete, had Timothy received his commission to preach the Word of God; and what he had received he was to hand on in like manner to faithful men, who should be able to teach the same to others also. <span class="cmt_word">Commit</span> (<span class="greek">παράθου</span>); identifying the doctrine committed to be handed on with the <span class="accented">deposit</span> (<span class="greek">παραθήκη</span>) of <a href="/1_timothy/6-20.htm">1 Timothy 6:20</a> and <a href="/2_timothy/1-14.htm">2 Timothy 1:14</a>. It is important to note here both the concurrence of the presbyters and the assent of the Church. The Church has ever been averse to private ordinations, and has ever associated the people as consentient parties in ordination (Thirty-first Canon; Preface to "Form and Manner of Making of Deacons," and rubric at close - "in the face of the Church;" "Form and Manner of Ordering of Priests" - "Good people," etc.). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-3.htm">2 Timothy 2:3</a></div><div class="verse">Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 3.</span> - <span class="accented">Suffer hardship with me</span> for <span class="accented">thou therefore endure hardness</span>, A.V. and T.R.; <span class="accented">Christ Jesus</span> for <span class="accented">Jesus Christ</span>, A.V. and T.R. <span class="cmt_word">Suffer hardship with me</span> (<span class="greek">συγκακοπάθησον</span>), which is the reading "supported by the weightiest authorities" (Huther), as in <a href="/2_timothy/1-8.htm">2 Timothy 1:8</a>. The simple form <span class="greek">κακοπάθησον</span>, which is the reading of the T.R., occurs also in ver. 9 of this chapter, in <a href="/2_timothy/4-5.htm">2 Timothy 4:5</a>, and in <a href="/james/5-13.htm">James 5:13</a>, and <span class="greek">κακοπαθεία</span> in <a href="/james/5-10.htm">James 5:10</a>. Both these simple forms are classical. But the context favours the compound form, and is supported by <a href="/2_timothy/1-8.htm">2 Timothy 1:8, 12</a>. (For the sentiment, see the "Ministration of Public Baptism" - "We receive this child," etc.) </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-4.htm">2 Timothy 2:4</a></div><div class="verse">No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of <i>this</i> life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 4.</span> - <span class="accented">Soldier on service</span> for <span class="accented">man that warreth</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">in</span> for <span class="accented">with</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">enrolled him as</span> for <span class="accented">hath chosen him to be</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">Soldier on service</span> (<span class="greek">στρατευόμενος</span>); as <a href="/1_corinthians/9-7.htm">1 Corinthians 9:7</a> (see, too. <a href="/1_timothy/1-18.htm">1 Timothy 1:18</a>). In <a href="/luke/3-14.htm">Luke 3:14</a> <span class="greek">στρατευόμενοι</span> is rendered simply "soldiers," with margin, "Greek, <span class="accented">soldiers on service."</span> There is no difference in meaning between the "man that warreth" in the A.V., and the "soldier on service" of the R.V. <span class="cmt_word">Affairs</span> (<span class="greek">πραγματείσις</span>); only here in the New Testament, but common in the LXX. and in classical Greek, where it means, as here, "business," "affairs," "occupation," "trade," and the like, with the accessory idea of its being an "absorbing, engrossing pursuit." <span class="cmt_word">Enrolled him,</span> etc. (<span class="greek">στρατολογήσαντι</span>); only here in the New Testament, not found in the LXX., but common in classical Greek for "to levy an army," "to enlist soldiers." The great lesson here taught is that the warfare of the Christian soldier requires the same concentration of purpose as that of the earthly warrior, if he would win the victory. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-5.htm">2 Timothy 2:5</a></div><div class="verse">And if a man also strive for masteries, <i>yet</i> is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 5.</span> - <span class="accented">Also a man</span> for <span class="accented">a man also</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">contend in the games</span> for <span class="accented">strive for masteries</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">he is not</span> for <span class="accented">yet is he not</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">have contended</span> for <span class="accented">strive</span>, A.V. Contend in the games (<span class="greek">ἀθλῇ</span>); only here in the New Testament, and not found in the LXX., but common in classical Greek. It means "to contend for <span class="greek">ἄθλον</span> the prize, to be an "athlete." This is also the meaning of the A.V. "strive for masteries." "To strive," means properly to contend with an antagonist, and "mastery" is an old English word for "superiority," "victory," or the like. Dryden has "mastership" in the same sense - <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="accented">"When noble youths for mastership should strive,<br />To quoit, to run, and steeds and chariots drive."</span><br /><br />(<span class="note_acc">Ovid., 'Met,' bk. 1.</span>) <span class="cmt_word">Lawfully</span> (<span class="greek">νομίμως</span>, as <a href="/1_timothy/1-8.htm">1 Timothy 1:8</a>); according to the laws and usages of the games. So Timothy must conform to the laws of the Christian warfare, and not shrink from afflictions, if he would gain the great Christian prize. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-6.htm">2 Timothy 2:6</a></div><div class="verse">The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 6.</span> - <span class="accented">The first to partake</span> for <span class="accented">first partaker</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">That laboureth</span> (<span class="greek">τὸν κοπιῶντα</span>). Let not Timothy think to shirk labour and yet enjoy its fruits. (For <span class="greek">κοπιάω</span>, see note on 1 Timothy 5:17.) </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-7.htm">2 Timothy 2:7</a></div><div class="verse">Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 7.</span> - <span class="accented">For the Lord shall give</span> for <span class="accented">and the Lord give</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">Consider what I say. The</span> apostle's lessons had been given in parables or similitudes. He therefore begs Timothy to note them well, lest the application to himself should escape him, suggesting further that he should seek the necessary wisdom and understanding from God. So our Lord, at the end of the parables recorded in <a href="/matthew/13.htm">Matthew 13</a>, says to his disciples in ver. 51, "Have ye understood all these things?" and elsewhere, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." <span class="cmt_word">Understanding</span> (<span class="greek">σύνεσιν</span>); one of the special gifts of the Spirit (<a href="/isaiah/11-2.htm">Isaiah 11:2</a>, LXX.; see <a href="/colossians/1-9.htm">Colossians 1:9</a>; <a href="/colossians/2-2.htm">Colossians 2:2</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-8.htm">2 Timothy 2:8</a></div><div class="verse">Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 8.</span> - <span class="accented">Jesus Christ, risen from the dead</span> for <span class="accented">that Jesus Christ...was raised from the dead</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">of the seed of David</span> for <span class="accented">Jesus Christ of the seed of David</span>, A.V. Remember Jesus Christ. The A.V. seems to give the sense more correctly than the R.V. The point of the exhortation is to remember that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and by that remembrance to be encouraged to face even death courageously. The verb <span class="greek">μνημονεύω</span>, in the New Testament, usually governs the genitive case as <span class="accented">e.g.</span> <a href="/acts/20-35.htm">Acts 20:35</a>; <a href="/galatians/2-10.htm">Galatians 2:10</a>. But in <a href="/1_thessalonians/2-9.htm">1 Thessalonians 2:9</a>; <a href="/matthew/16-9.htm">Matthew 16:9</a>; <a href="/revelation/18-5.htm">Revelation 18:5</a>, it has an accusative, as here, and commonly in classical Greek. There seems to be hardly sufficient ground for the distinction mentioned by Bishop Ellicott, that with a genitive it means simply "remember," with the accusative "keep in remembrance." It is more difficult to determine the exact force and intent of the clause, "of the seed of David." It seems, however, to point to Christ's human nature, so as to make the example of Christ's resurrection apposite as an encouragement to Timothy. And this view is much strengthened by <a href="/romans/1-3.htm">Romans 1:3</a>, where the addition, "according to the flesh," as contrasted with "the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness," marks the clause, "of the seed of David," as specially pointing to the human nature of Christ. The particular form which the reference takes probably arises from the form to which the apostle refers us as "my gospel." In that creed, which was the epitome of the gospel as preached by St. Paul, there was no doubt mention made of Christ's Davidic descent. Others, as Huther, think the clause points to the Messianic dignity of David. Others that it is inserted in refutation of the Docetae, and to show the reality of the death and resurrection of Christ; or that it is meant to mark especially the fulfilment of prophecy. But the first explanation is quite satisfactory, and the general purpose of the reference to our Lord as intended to encourage Timothy to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, is fully borne out by the "faithful saying" in vers. 11 and 12, "If we died with him, we shall also live with him: if we endure, we shall also reign with him." </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-9.htm">2 Timothy 2:9</a></div><div class="verse">Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, <i>even</i> unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 9.</span> - <span class="accented">Hardship</span> for <span class="accented">trouble</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">unto</span> for <span class="accented">even unto</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">as a malefactor</span> for <span class="accented">as an evil doer</span>, A.V.; transposition of clause, <span class="accented">unto bonds. <span class="cmt_word"></span>Wherein</span> (<span class="greek">ἐν ῷ</span>); <span class="accented">i.e.</span> in which gospel, in the preaching of which. <span class="cmt_word">Suffer hardship</span> (<span class="greek">κακοπαθῶ</span>); as ver. 3, T.R. <span class="cmt_word">Unto bonds</span> (<span class="greek">μέχρι δεσμῶν</span>). So <span class="greek">μέχρι θανάτου</span>, <a href="/philippians/2-8.htm">Philippians 2:8</a>; <span class="greek">μέχρις αἵματος</span>, <a href="/hebrews/12-4.htm">Hebrews 12:4</a>; but most frequently of time, "until," as <a href="/matthew/11-23.htm">Matthew 11:23</a>; <a href="/matthew/13-30.htm">Matthew 13:30</a>; <a href="/acts/10-30.htm">Acts 10:30</a>, etc. <span class="cmt_word">A malefactor</span> (<span class="greek">κακοῦργος</span>); as <a href="/luke/23-32.htm">Luke 23:32, 33, 39</a>; common in classical Greek. <span class="cmt_word">Bonds</span> (<span class="greek">δεσμῶν</span>); as <a href="/acts/26-29.htm">Acts 26:29</a>; <a href="/philippians/1-7.htm">Philippians 1:7, 13</a>, etc.; <a href="/colossians/4-18.htm">Colossians 4:18</a>. So St. Paul calls himself <span class="greek">δέσμιος</span>, in respect of these bonds (<a href="/ephesians/3-1.htm">Ephesians 3:1</a>; <a href="/ephesians/4-1.htm">Ephesians 4:1</a>; <a href="/2_timothy/1-8.htm">2 Timothy 1:8</a>; <a href="/philemon/1-9.htm">Philemon 1:9</a>). <span class="cmt_word">The Word of God</span> <span class="cmt_word">is not bound.</span> A beautiful reflection of an utterly unselfish mind! The thought of his own bonds, likely soon to be exchanged for the bonds of a martyr's death, awakens the comforting thought, Though they bind me with an iron chain, they cannot bind the gospel. While I am here, shut up in prison, the Word of God, preached by a thousand tongues, is giving life and liberty to myriads of my brethren of the human race. The tyrant can silence my voice and confine it within the walls of my dungeon; but all the while the sound of the gospel is going through all the earth, its saving words to the ends of the world; and I therein rejoice, yea, and will rejoice; and not all the lemons of Rome can take this joy from me." </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-10.htm">2 Timothy 2:10</a></div><div class="verse">Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 10.</span> - <span class="accented">Sake</span> for <span class="accented">sakes</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">also may</span> for <span class="accented">may also</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">Therefore</span> (<span class="greek">διὰ τοῦτο</span>); <span class="accented">for this cause.</span> Some (Wiesinger, Alford, etc.) refer this to what follows, viz. "that the elect may obtain the salvation," etc., after the model of <a href="/1_timothy/1-16.htm">1 Timothy 1:16</a> and <a href="/philemon/1-15.htm">Philemon 1:15</a>, where <span class="greek">διὰ τοῦτο</span> clearly refers to the words which follow. But the interposition of the words, <span class="greek">διὰ τοὺς ἐκλεκτούς</span>, is strongly adverse to this view. It seems, therefore, rather to refer collectively to all the considerations which he had just been urging upon Timothy, perhaps especially the last, of the resurrection of Christ, which he now again enforces by his own example of willing suffering in order that the elect may obtain the eternal salvation which is in Jesus Christ - adding, in vers. 11 and 12, the encouragement to suffering derived from the "faithful saying." <span class="cmt_word">I endure</span> (<span class="greek">ὑπομένω</span>); the exact force of which is seen in the substantive <span class="greek">ὑπομονή</span>, patience, so frequently attributed to the suffering saints of God. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-11.htm">2 Timothy 2:11</a></div><div class="verse"><i>It is</i> a faithful saying: For if we be dead with <i>him</i>, we shall also live with <i>him</i>:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 11.</span> - <span class="accented">Faithful is the saying</span> for <span class="accented">it is a faithful saying</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">died</span> for <span class="accented">be dead</span>, A.V. Died; <span class="accented">i.e.</span> in baptism (<a href="/romans/6-8.htm">Romans 6:8</a>), as denoted by the aorist. But the death with Christ in baptism is conceived of as carrying with it, as a consequence, the daily death of which St. Paul speaks so often (<a href="/galatians/2-20.htm">Galatians 2:20; <a href="/1_corinthians/15-31.htm">1 Corinthians 15:31</a>; <a href="/2_corinthians/4-10.htm">2 Corinthians 4:10</a>), as well as the death to sin. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-12.htm">2 Timothy 2:12</a></div><div class="verse">If we suffer, we shall also reign with <i>him</i>: if we deny <i>him</i>, he also will deny us:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 12.</span> - <span class="accented">Endure</span> for <span class="accented">suffer</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">shall deny</span> for <span class="accented">deny</span>, A.V. and T.R. <span class="cmt_word">Endure</span>; as ver. 10. Mark the present tense as distinguished from the aorist in <span class="greek">ἀπεθάνομεν</span>, betokening patient continuance in suffering. <span class="cmt_word">If we shall deny him</span> (<span class="greek">ἀρνησόμεθα</span>); comp. <a href="/matthew/10-30.htm">Matthew 10:30</a>; <a href="/luke/12-9.htm">Luke 12:9</a>; <a href="/acts/3-13.htm">Acts 3:13, 14</a>, etc. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-13.htm">2 Timothy 2:13</a></div><div class="verse">If we believe not, <i>yet</i> he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 13.</span> - <span class="accented">Are faithless</span> for <span class="accented">believe not.</span> A.V.; <span class="accented">he</span> for <span class="accented">yet he</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">for he</span> for <span class="accented">he</span>, A.V. and T.B. <span class="cmt_word">Are faithless</span> (<span class="greek">ἀπιστοῦμεν</span>); meaning the same as the A.V. <span class="accented">believe not</span>, which is everywhere in the New Testament the sense of <span class="greek">ἀπιστέω</span> <a href="/mark/16-11.htm">Mark 16:11</a>; <a href="/luke/24-11.htm">Luke 24:11</a>; <a href="/romans/3-3.htm">Romans 3:3</a>, etc.). (For the contrast between man's unbelief and God's faithfulness, see <a href="/romans/3-3.htm">Romans 3:3</a>.) <span class="cmt_word">He cannot deny himself,</span> by coming short of any promise once made by him (comp. <a href="/titus/1-2.htm">Titus 1:2</a>; <a href="/hebrews/6-18.htm">Hebrews 6:18</a>; <a href="/hebrews/10-23.htm">Hebrews 10:23</a>, etc.). This and the two preceding couplets in vers. 11 and 12 make up "the faithful saying" spoken of in ver. 11 (see <a href="/1_timothy/1-15.htm">1 Timothy 1:15</a>, note). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-14.htm">2 Timothy 2:14</a></div><div class="verse">Of these things put <i>them</i> in remembrance, charging <i>them</i> before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, <i>but</i> to the subverting of the hearers.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 14.</span> - <span class="accented">In the sight of</span> for <span class="accented">before</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">to</span> for <span class="accented">but to</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">them that hear</span> for <span class="accented">the hearers</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">Put them in remembrance</span> (<span class="greek">ὑπομίμνησκε</span>; <a href="/john/14-26.htm">John 14:26</a>; <a href="/titus/3-1.htm">Titus 3:1</a>; <a href="/2_peter/1-12.htm">2 Peter 1:12</a>). St. Paul skilfully strengthens his preceding exhortations to Timothy by now charging him to impress upon others - referring, perhaps, especially to "the faithful men" spoken of in ver. 2, but generally to the whole flock committed to him - the truths which he had just been urging upon Timothy. <span class="cmt_word">Charging</span> (<span class="greek">διαμαρτύρομενος</span>); as <a href="/1_timothy/5-21.htm">1 Timothy 5:21</a> and <a href="/2_timothy/4-1.htm">2 Timothy 4:1</a>. <span class="cmt_word">Strive...about words</span> (<span class="greek">λογομαχεῖν</span>); only here in the New Testament or elsewhere. But <span class="greek">λογομαχία</span> occurs in <a href="/1_timothy/6-4.htm">1 Timothy 6:4</a> and in late Greek. Another reading is <span class="greek">λογομάχει</span>, as if addressed to Timothy himself, but <span class="greek">λογομαχεῖν</span> is supported by the best authorities, and agrees best with the context. <span class="cmt_word">To no profit;</span> literally, <span class="accented">useful for nothing</span>; serving no good purpose. <span class="greek">Ξρήσιμον</span>, which occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, is found repeatedly in the LXX., and is very common in classical Greek, where it is followed by <span class="greek">εἰς ἐπί</span>, and <span class="greek">πρός</span>. The construction is "not to strive about words, a thing useful for nothing, but, on the contrary, tending to subvert those who hear such strife." To the subverting (<span class="greek">ἐπὶ</span> <span class="greek">καταστροφῇ</span>); elsewhere only in <a href="/2_peter/2-6.htm">2 Peter 2:6</a>, where it is used of a material overthrow, as it is in the LXX. of <a href="/genesis/19-29.htm">Genesis 19:29</a>, to which St. Peter is referring. The history of its use here of a moral overthrow, which is not borne out by its classical use, seems to be that the apostle had in his mind the very common metaphor of <span class="greek">οἰκοδομή</span>, edification, as the proper result of speaking and teaching, and so uses the contrary to "building up," viz. an "overthrowing" or "destruction," to describe the effect of the teaching of those vain talkers and deceivers (comp. ver. 18). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-15.htm">2 Timothy 2:15</a></div><div class="verse">Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 15.</span> - <span class="accented">Give diligence to present</span> for <span class="accented">study to show</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">handling aright</span> for <span class="accented">rightly dividing</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">Give diligence.</span> The A.V. "study," if we give it its proper force, as in the Latin <span class="accented">studeo, studium, studiosus</span>, expresses the sense of <span class="greek">σπούδασον</span> exactly. Zeal, earnest desire, effort, and haste, are all implied in it (comp. <a href="/2_timothy/4-9.htm">2 Timothy 4:9, 21</a>; <a href="/titus/3-12.htm">Titus 3:12</a>; <a href="/2_peter/1-10.htm">2 Peter 1:10, 15</a>; <a href="/2_peter/3-14.htm">2 Peter 3:14</a>). <span class="cmt_word">To present thyself</span> (<span class="greek">παραστῆσαι</span>, to present); as in <a href="/luke/2-22.htm">Luke 2:22</a>; <a href="/acts/1-3.htm">Acts 1:3</a>; <a href="/acts/9-41.htm">Acts 9:41</a>. In <a href="/1_corinthians/8-8.htm">1 Corinthians 8:8</a> it has the sense of "to commend," nearly the same as <span class="greek">δόκιμον παραστῆσαι</span>. The rendering, <span class="accented">to show thyself</span>, of the A.V. is a very good one, and is preserved in the R.V. of <a href="/acts/1-3.htm">Acts 1:3</a>. <span class="cmt_word">Approved</span> (<span class="greek">δόκιμον</span>; <a href="/romans/16-10.htm">Romans 16:10</a>; <a href="/1_corinthians/11-19.htm">1 Corinthians 11:19</a>, etc.); one that has been tried and tested and found to be sterling; properly of metals. This, with the two following qualifications, "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed," and "one that rightly handles the Word of truth," is the character which Timothy is exhorted to appear in before God. The dative <span class="greek">τῷ Θεῷ</span> is governed by <span class="greek">παραστῆσαι</span>, not by <span class="greek">δόκιμον</span>. <span class="cmt_word">A workman</span> (<span class="greek">ἐργάτην</span>). How natural is such a figure in the mouth of Paul, who <span class="accented">wrought</span> at his trade with Aquila and Priscilla (<a href="/acts/18-3.htm">Acts 18:3</a>), and was <span class="accented">working</span> night and day at Thessalonica, that he might earn his own living! <span class="cmt_word">That needeth not to be ashamed</span> (<span class="greek">ἀνεπαισχυντον</span>); not found anywhere else, either in the New Testament or in the LXX., or in classical Greek. Bengel hits the right force of the word when he renders it "non pudefactum," only that by the common use of the passive participial form (compare <span class="greek">ἀνεξιχνίαστος ἀνεξερεύνητος ἀναρίβμητος</span>, etc.), it means further "that cannot be put to shame." The workman whose work is skimped is put to shame when, upon its being tested, it is found to be bad, dishonest work; the workman whose work, like himself, is <span class="greek">δόκιμος</span>, honest, conscientious, good work, and moreover sound and skilful work, never has been, and never can be, put to shame. St. Paul shows how to secure its being good work, viz. by its being done for the eye of God. <span class="cmt_word">Handling aright the Word of truth</span> (<span class="greek">ὀρθοτομοῦντα τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας</span>). The verb <span class="greek">ὀρθοτομεῖν</span> occurs only here in the New Testament. In the LXX., in <a href="/proverbs/3-6.htm">Proverbs 3:6</a>, it stands for "he shall <span class="accented">direct</span> [or 'make straight'] thy paths;" and so in <a href="/proverbs/11-5.htm">Proverbs 11:5</a>. The idea is the same as that in <a href="/hebrews/12-13.htm">Hebrews 12:13</a>, "Make straight paths for your feet (<span class="greek">τροχιὰς ὀρθὰς ποιήσατε</span>)." But this does not at all suit the context. We must look, therefore, at the etymology of the word. <span class="greek">Ὀρθοτόμεω</span> must mean "to cut straight," and, as the apostle is speaking of a good workman, he must be thinking of some work in which the workman's skill consists in cutting straight: why not his own trade, in which it was all-important to cut the pieces straight that were afterwards to be joined to each other (see <span class="greek">ὀρθότομος</span> and <span class="greek">ὀρθοτομία</span>)<span class="accented">?</span> Hence, by an easy metaphor, "divide rightly," or "handle rightly, the Word of truth," preserving the true measure of the different portions of Divine truth. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-16.htm">2 Timothy 2:16</a></div><div class="verse">But shun profane <i>and</i> vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 16.</span> - <span class="accented">Profane</span> for <span class="accented">profane and vain</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">proceed further in ungodliness</span> for <span class="accented">increase unto more ungodliness</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">Shun</span> (<span class="greek">περιι'´στασο</span>, as in <a href="/titus/3-9.htm">Titus 3:9</a>); literally, <span class="accented">step out of the way of</span>, or <span class="accented">stand away from</span> - an unusual use of the word, found also in Josephus, 'Ant. Jud.,' 4. 6:12. <span class="cmt_word">Profane babblings</span> (see <a href="/1_timothy/4-7.htm">1 Timothy 4:7</a>; <a href="/1_timothy/6-20.htm">1 Timothy 6:20</a>). <span class="cmt_word">They will proceed</span> (<span class="greek">προκόψουσιν</span>); see note on <span class="greek">προκοπή</span> in <a href="/1_timothy/4-15.htm">1 Timothy 4:15</a>. <span class="cmt_word">Further in ungodliness</span> (<span class="greek">ἐπὶ πεῖον ἀσεβείας</span>); surely better rendered in the A.V. <span class="accented">to more ungodliness.</span> It may be questioned whether "they" refers to the babblings or to the false teachers. It makes very good sense to say, "Avoid these profane babblings, for they won't stop there - they will grow into open impiety and blasphemy." But ver. 17, as Alford observes, is in favour of the "teachers" being the subject of "will proceed;" but it is not conclusive. If a full stop be put after "ungodliness," as in the A.V., ver. 17 comes in quite naturally with the further statement that "their word will eat as doth a gangrene." </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-17.htm">2 Timothy 2:17</a></div><div class="verse">And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 17.</span> - <span class="accented">Gangrene</span> for <span class="accented">canker</span>, A.V. <span class="accented"><span class="cmt_word"></span>Their word;</span> as opposed to "the Word of truth" in ver. 15. <span class="cmt_word">Will eat</span> (<span class="greek">νομὴν ἕξει</span>); <span class="accented">i.e.</span> spread, like a gangrene, which gradually enlarges its area, corrupting the flesh that was sound before. So these heretical opinions spread in the body of the Church which is affected by them. <span class="greek">Νομή</span> is literally "pasture" (<a href="/john/10-9.htm">John 10:9</a>), "grazing of flocks," and hence is applied to fire (Polybius), which as it were feeds upon all around it, and, in medical language (Hippocrates), to sores and gangrenes, which grow larger and depasture the flesh. <span class="cmt_word">Of whom</span>; of the number of those pointed at in the phrase, "their word." <span class="cmt_word">Hymenaeus</span>; probably the same person as is mentioned as a blasphemer in <a href="/1_timothy/1-20.htm">1 Timothy 1:20</a>. <span class="cmt_word">Philetus</span>. Nothing is known of him. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-18.htm">2 Timothy 2:18</a></div><div class="verse">Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 18.</span> - <span class="accented">Men who</span> for <span class="accented">who</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">Have erred</span> (<span class="greek">ἠστόχησαν</span>); see <a href="/1_timothy/1-6.htm">1 Timothy 1:6</a> (note) and 1 Tim 6:21. In <a href="/matthew/22-29.htm">Matthew 22:29</a> and in <a href="/mark/12-24.htm">Mark 12:24</a> our Lord's word for "erring" is <span class="greek">πλανᾶσθε</span>. It is remarkable that it was the subject of the resurrection which was so misunderstood in both cases. The heretics to whom St. Paul here alludes probably explained away the resurrection, as the Gnostics in the time of Irenaeus and Tertullian did (Huther), by spiritualizing it in the sense of <a href="/romans/6-4.htm">Romans 6:4</a>; <a href="/ephesians/2-1.htm">Ephesians 2:1</a>; <a href="/colossians/2-12.htm">Colossians 2:12</a>; <a href="/colossians/3-1.htm">Colossians 3:1</a>, etc. It is the usual way with heresy to corrupt and destroy the gospel, under pretence of improving it. And there are always some weak brethren ready to be deceived and misled. Overthrow (<span class="greek">ἀνατρέπουσί</span>); elsewhere in the New Testament only in <a href="/titus/1-11.htm">Titus 1:11</a>; but common in LXX. and in classical Greek. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-19.htm">2 Timothy 2:19</a></div><div class="verse">Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 19.</span> - <span class="accented">Howbeit</span> for <span class="accented">nevertheless</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">firm foundation of God standeth</span> for <span class="accented">foundation of God standeth sure</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">this</span> for <span class="accented">the</span> (1611 copy), A.V.; <span class="accented">the Lord</span> for <span class="accented">Christ</span>, A.V. and T.R.; <span class="accented">unrighteousness</span> for <span class="accented">iniquity</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">The firm foundation of God standeth;</span> <span class="accented">i.e.</span>, though the faith of some is thrown down like a wall built with untempered mortar, the foundation which God has laid fast and firm stands unmoved and unmovable. This is equally true of individual souls (the at <span class="greek">στερεαὶ ψυχαί</span> of Chrysostom), and of the Church, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. Compare our Lord's saying, when the Pharisees were offended at him, "Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up" (<a href="/matthew/15-13.htm">Matthew 15:13</a>); and those in <a href="/john/10-28.htm">John 10:28, 29</a>; and <a href="/1_john/2-19.htm">1 John 2:19</a>. <span class="greek">Θεμέλιος</span> in classical Greek is always an adjective agreeing with <span class="greek">λίθος</span> expressed or understood. In the New Testament it is used only as a substantive (<a href="/luke/6-48.htm">Luke 6:48</a>; <a href="/1_corinthians/3-10.htm">1 Corinthians 3:10</a>; <a href="/1_timothy/6-19.htm">1 Timothy 6:19</a>, etc.). Here the word seems to be employed, not so much to denote a foundation on which a house was to be built, as to denote strength and solidity. The elect of God are like foundationstones, which may not be moved. <span class="cmt_word">Having this seal.</span> In <a href="/revelation/12-14.htm">Revelation 12:14</a> the twelve foundationstones of the new Jerusalem were each inscribed with the name of an apostle. In like manner there are inscriptions, of the nature of seals, on God's strong foundations, showing their immutable condition. One is, "THE LORD KNOWETH THEM THAT ARE HIS," taken <span class="accented">verbatim</span> from the LXX. of <a href="/numbers/16-5.htm">Numbers 16:5</a>: the other is, "LET EVERY ONE THAT NAMETH THE NAME OF THE LORD DEPART FROM UNRIGHTEOUSNESS," This is nowhere to be found in the Old Testament. The first part of the verse is indeed equivalent to <span class="greek">Κύριε τὸ ὀνομά σου ὀνομάζομεν</span> in <a href="/isaiah/26-13.htm">Isaiah 26:13</a>, but there is nothing to answer to the second part. The passages quoted by commentators from <a href="/numbers/16-26.htm">Numbers 16:26</a> and <a href="/isaiah/52-11.htm">Isaiah 52:11</a> are far too general to indicate any particular reference. Possibly the motto is one of those "faithful sayings" before referred to. The two inscriptions, taken together, show the two sides of the Christian standing - God's election, and man's holiness (comp. <a href="/1_john/1-6.htm">1 John 1:6</a>; <a href="/1_john/3-7.htm">1 John 3:7, 8</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-20.htm">2 Timothy 2:20</a></div><div class="verse">But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 20.</span> - <span class="accented">Now</span> for <span class="accented">but</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">unto</span> for <span class="accented">to</span>, A.V. (twice). <span class="cmt_word">Now in a great house,</span> etc. "Now" is hardly the right conjunction. It should rather be "howbeit." The object of the figure of the various vessels in the "great house" is to show that, though every one that names the Name of the Lord <span class="accented">ought</span> to depart from unrighteousness, yet we must not be surprised if it is not so, and if there are found in the Church some professing Christians whose practice is quite inconsistent with their profession. Perhaps even the vilest members of the visible Church perform some useful function, howbeit they do not mean it. With this mention of the vessels, compare the enumeration in <a href="/1_corinthians/3-12.htm">1 Corinthians 3:12</a>. Of earth (<span class="greek">ὀστράκινα</span>); only here and <a href="/2_corinthians/4-7.htm">2 Corinthians 4:7</a>, where it is also applied to <span class="greek">σκεύη</span>, "earthen vessels;" as it is in the LXX., <span class="accented">e.g.</span> <a href="/leviticus/6-28.htm">Leviticus 6:28</a>; and to <span class="greek">ἄγγος</span> (<a href="/numbers/5-17.htm">Numbers 5:17</a>). <span class="greek">Ὄστρακον</span> "a tile." (For the same figure, see <a href="/romans/9-22.htm">Romans 9:22, 23</a>.) </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-21.htm">2 Timothy 2:21</a></div><div class="verse">If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, <i>and</i> prepared unto every good work.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 21.</span> - <span class="accented">Meet</span> for <span class="accented">and meet</span>, A.V. and T.R.; <span class="accented">prepared</span> for <span class="accented">and prepared</span>, A.V. Purge himself from these (<span class="greek">ἐκκαθάρῃ</span>); stronger than the simple <span class="greek">καθάρῃ</span>, "thoroughly purge himself," as in <a href="/1_corinthians/5-7.htm">1 Corinthians 5:7</a> (the only other place in the New Testament where it occurs) and as in classical Greek. It is used also by the LXX. in <a href="/judges/7-4.htm">Judges 7:4</a>, as the rendering of <span class="hebrew">צָרַפ</span>, to try metals. The idea, therefore, seems to be that of <span class="accented">separation</span>, and, if so, "from these" may certainly mean from the false teachers described under the image of the vessels unto dishonour, as usually explained. At the same time, the image is better sustained if we understand "from these" to mean the babblings, and ungodliness, and eating words of the heretics denounced. It is hardly natural to imply that one vessel in the house will become a golden vessel by purging itself from the wooden and earthen vessels. Neither is separation from the false teachers the point which St. Paul is here pressing, but avoidance of false doctrines. <span class="cmt_word">Meet for...use</span> (<span class="greek">εὔχρηστος</span>); only here and ch. 4:11 and <a href="/philemon/1-11.htm">Philemon 1:11</a>. Also <a href="/proverbs/29.htm">Proverbs 29</a>:(31) 13, LXX. Common in classical Greek. <span class="cmt_word">The master</span> (<span class="greek">τῷ δεσπότῃ</span>); the master of the house, the <span class="greek">οἰκοδεσπότης</span>. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-22.htm">2 Timothy 2:22</a></div><div class="verse">Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 22.</span> - <span class="accented">But flee for flee also</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">and follow after</span> for <span class="accented">but follow</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">love</span> for <span class="accented">charity</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">Youthful</span> (<span class="greek">νεωτερικάς</span>); of or belonging to <span class="greek">νεώτεροι</span>, young men; "cupiditates adolescentiae" (Tacit., 'Hist.,' 1:15). The word only occurs here in the New Testament, never in the LXX., but is found in Josephus, who speaks of <span class="greek">αὐθαδεία</span> <span class="greek">νεωτερική</span>, "youthful arrogance," and is common in classical Greek. Lusts (<span class="greek">ἐπιθυμίαι</span>) include, besides the <span class="greek">σαρκικαὶ ἐπιθυμίαι</span> of <a href="/1_peter/2-11.htm">1 Peter 2:11</a>, all those ill-regulated passions to which youth is peculiarly liable, such as intem perance, love of company, arrogance, petulance, ambition, love of display, levity, vehemence of action, wilfulness, and the like. Timothy at this time was probably under forty (see note on q Timothy 4:12, and Ellicott on ditto). <span class="cmt_word">Follow after</span> (<span class="greek">δίωκε</span>); as <a href="/1_timothy/6-11.htm">1 Timothy 6:11</a>, where, as here, it is in contrast with <span class="greek">φεῦγε</span>. Eagerness in pursuit, and difficulty in attainment, seem to be indicated by the word. <span class="cmt_word">With them,</span> etc. (<span class="greek">μετὰ τῶν ἐπικαλουμένων κ.τ.λ.</span>.). "With them" may mean either pursue righteousness, etc., in partnership with all who call upon the Lord; <span class="accented">i.e.</span> make the pursuit of righteousness, etc., your pursuit, as it is that of all who call upon the Lord; or it may be construed with <span class="greek">εἰρήνην</span>, so as to limit the exhortation to peace to those who call upon the Lord, <span class="greek">εἰρήνην μετὰ τῶν ἐπικαλουμένων</span> "peace with those that call," etc., which is the construction in <a href="/hebrews/12-14.htm">Hebrews 12:14</a> and <a href="/romans/12-18.htm">Romans 12:18</a>. It is, however, remarkable that in both these passages, which are referred to for the <span class="accented">grammar</span>, the inference from the <span class="accented">doctrine</span> goes rather the other way, as they teach "peace with all men." So does the balance of the sentence here. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-23.htm">2 Timothy 2:23</a></div><div class="verse">But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 23.</span> - <span class="accented">Ignorant questionings</span> for <span class="accented">unlearned questions</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">refuse</span> for <span class="accented">avoid</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">gender</span> for <span class="accented">do gender</span>, A.V. Ignorant (<span class="greek">ἀπαιδεύτους</span>); only here in the New Testament, but not uncommon in the LXX., applied to persons, and in classical Greek. <span class="accented">Unlearned</span> is quite as good a rendering as <span class="accented">ignorant.</span> It is a term applied properly to ill-educated, ill-disciplined people, and thence, by an easy metonymy, to the questions such persons delight in. <span class="cmt_word">Questionings</span> (<span class="greek">ζητήσεις</span>); see <a href="/1_timothy/1-4.htm">1 Timothy 1:4</a>, note, and <a href="/titus/3-9.htm">Titus 3:9</a>. <span class="cmt_word">Refuse</span> (<span class="greek">παραίτου</span>); "have nothing to do with" (see <a href="/1_timothy/4-7.htm">1 Timothy 4:7</a>; <a href="/titus/3-10.htm">Titus 3:10</a>). <span class="cmt_word">Gender</span> (<span class="greek">γεννῶσι</span>). This is the only place in the New Testament where <span class="greek">γεννάω</span> is used in this metaphorical sense, unless <a href="/galatians/4-24.htm">Galatians 4:24</a> is included. (For the sentiment, see <a href="/1_timothy/6-4.htm">1 Timothy 6:4</a>, "Whereof cometh envy, strife," etc.) <span class="cmt_word">Strifes</span> (<span class="greek">μάχας</span>); compare <span class="greek">μάχας νομικάς</span>, "fightings about the Law" (<a href="/titus/3-9.htm">Titus 3:9</a>); and "wars and fightings" (<a href="/james/4-1.htm">James 4:1, 2</a>). Compare, too, the verb <span class="greek">λογομαχεῖν</span>, in ver. 14. Nothing can be more emphatic than St. Paul's warnings against foolish and angry controversies about words, and yet nothing has been more neglected in the Church, in all ages. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-24.htm">2 Timothy 2:24</a></div><div class="verse">And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all <i>men</i>, apt to teach, patient,</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 24.</span> - <span class="accented">The Lord's servant</span> for <span class="accented">the servant of the Lord</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">towards all</span> for <span class="accented">unto all men</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">forbearing</span> for <span class="accented">patient</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">The Lord's servant</span> (<span class="greek">δοῦλον Κυρίου</span>). So St. Paul repeatedly describes himself (<a href="/romans/1-1.htm">Romans 1:1</a>; <a href="/galatians/1-10.htm">Galatians 1:10</a>; <a href="/philippians/1-1.htm">Philippians 1:1</a>; <a href="/titus/1-1.htm">Titus 1:1</a>), as do also the apostles James, Peter, Jude, and John (<a href="/james/1-1.htm">James 1:1</a>; <a href="/2_peter/1-1.htm">2 Peter 1:1</a>; <a href="/jude/1-1.htm">Jude 1:1</a>; <a href="/revelation/1-1.htm">Revelation 1:1</a>). The term seems, therefore, especially (though not exclusively, <a href="/ephesians/6-6.htm">Ephesians 6:6</a>; <a href="/1_peter/2-16.htm">1 Peter 2:16</a>; <a href="/revelation/19-2.htm">Revelation 19:2, 5</a>; <a href="/revelation/22-3.htm">Revelation 22:3</a>) to describe those whose office it is to preach the gospel, either as apostles or as ministers (<a href="/colossians/4-12.htm">Colossians 4:12</a>). <span class="cmt_word">Must not strive</span> (<span class="greek">μάχεσθαι</span>); a conclusive reason against engaging in those foolish and ignorant questionings which necessarily engender strife. <span class="cmt_word">Gentle</span> (<span class="greek">ἤπιον</span>); only here and in <a href="/1_thessalonians/2-7.htm">1 Thessalonians 2:7</a>, where we see how St. Paul carried this precept into practice. A nurse does not meet the child's waywardness by blows or threats, but by gentleness and love. It is a classical word. <span class="cmt_word">Apt to teach</span> (see <a href="/1_timothy/3-2.htm">1 Timothy 3:2</a>, note). <span class="cmt_word">Forbearing</span> (<span class="greek">ἀνεξίκακον</span>); only here in the New Testament, not found in the LXX., and only in late Greek. It means literally "bearing up against ill treatment," patiently enduring it. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-25.htm">2 Timothy 2:25</a></div><div class="verse">In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 25.</span> - <span class="accented">Correcting them</span> for <span class="accented">instructing those</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">peradventure God</span> for <span class="accented">God peradventure</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">may</span> for <span class="accented">will</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">unto the knowledge</span> for <span class="accented">to the acknowledging</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">Correcting</span> (<span class="greek">παιδεύοντα</span>), <span class="greek">παιδεύειν</span> means properly to "educate," "bring up," or "train" a child. Hence sometimes the idea of <span class="accented">teaching</span> predominates, sometimes that of <span class="accented">correcting</span> or chastising. Here the context shows that the idea of <span class="accented">teaching</span> is pre-dominant - partly because the word suggests something contrary to the <span class="greek">ἀπαίδευτοι ζητήσεις</span> of ver. 23, and partly because the end of this <span class="greek">παιδεία</span> is to bring them to the knowledge of God's truth. The A.V. "instructing" is therefore the right word here. Them that oppose themselves (<span class="greek">τοὺς ἀντιδιατιθέμενους</span>); only here in the New Testament or the LXX., or in classical Greek. Literally, <span class="accented">those who arrange</span> or <span class="accented">set themselves in opposition</span>; or, in one word, "opponents," referring, no doubt, chiefly to such <span class="greek">ἀντιλέγοντες</span> as are mentioned in the very similar passage, <a href="/titus/1-9.htm">Titus 1:9</a> (see too <a href="/titus/2-8.htm">Titus 2:8</a>). If peradventure (<span class="greek">μήποτε</span>). "<span class="greek">Μήποτε</span>, in later Greek, loses its aversative meaning ('lest at any time'), and is almost equivalent to <span class="greek">εἴποτε</span> (Alford, <span class="accented">in loc.</span>) - <span class="accented">equivalent</span> to "in case God should," etc. <span class="cmt_word">Repentance</span> (<span class="greek">μετανοία</span>); such a change of mind as shall lead them to embrace the truth. <span class="cmt_word">Knowledge</span> (<span class="greek">ἐπίγνωσις</span>); almost invariably used of the knowledge of God or of God's truth (ch. 3:7; <a href="/romans/1-28.htm">Romans 1:28</a>; <a href="/ephesians/1-17.htm">Ephesians 1:17</a>; <a href="/ephesians/4-13.htm">Ephesians 4:13</a>; <a href="/colossians/1-9.htm">Colossians 1:9, 10</a>; <a href="/colossians/3-10.htm">Colossians 3:10</a>; <a href="/titus/1-1.htm">Titus 1:1</a>; <a href="/hebrews/10-26.htm">Hebrews 10:26</a>, etc.). <span class="cmt_word">The truth</span>; that truth which before they set themselves to oppose, disputing against it and resisting it. The servant of the Lord must never despair of any one, never throw an additional obstacle in any one's way by roughness or harsh speech, and never allow unkind feelings to be roused in his own breast by the perverseness or unreasonableness of them that oppose themselves to him. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_timothy/2-26.htm">2 Timothy 2:26</a></div><div class="verse">And <i>that</i> they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 26.</span> - <span class="accented">They</span> for <span class="accented">that they</span>, A.V.; <span class="accented">having been taken captive by the Lord's servant unto the will of God</span> for <span class="accented">who are taken captive by him at his will</span>, A.V. <span class="cmt_word">Having been taken captive,</span> etc. This is undoubtedly a difficult passage. We will first take the individual words, and then turn to the general meaning. <span class="cmt_word">Recover themselves</span> (<span class="greek">ἀνανήψωσιν</span>); only found here in the New Testament, and never in the LXX. In classical Greek, where it is, however, uncommon, it means literally "to recover from drunkenness," hence, "to come to one's self," "to come to a right mind" (see Steph., 'Thes.'). <span class="cmt_word">Snare</span> (<span class="greek">παγίς</span>); as <a href="/1_timothy/3-7.htm">1 Timothy 3:7</a>; <a href="/1_timothy/6-9.htm">1 Timothy 6:9</a>. Compare the use of <span class="greek">παγιδεύω</span> (<a href="/matthew/22-15.htm">Matthew 22:15</a>). <span class="cmt_word">Having been taken captive</span> (<span class="greek">ἐζωγρήμενοι</span>); only found in the New Testament in <a href="/luke/5-10.htm">Luke 5:10</a> besides this place, but common in the LXX. and in classical Greek, in the sense of "to take alive," of prisoners of war, who, if not ransomed, always became slaves of the conqueror. Here, therefore, the meaning is "having been captured and enslaved." <span class="cmt_word">By him</span> (margin), (<span class="greek">ὑπ αὐτοῦ</span>); <span class="accented">i.e.</span> of course the devil, who had just been named as having ensnared them. <span class="cmt_word">Unto the will of him</span> (margin), (<span class="greek">ἐκείνου θέλημα</span>). The difficulty of the passage lies in the word <span class="greek">ἐκείνου</span>, which at first sight seems to indicate a different antecedent from the antecedent of <span class="greek">αὐτοῦ</span>. This grammatical difficulty has led to the strange rendering of the R.V., and to the wholly unjustifiable intrusion into the text of the words, "the Lord's servant" and of "God," producing altogether a sentence of unparalleled awkwardness and grotesqueness, and utter improbability. But there is no real difficulty in referring <span class="greek">ἐκείνου</span> to the same person as <span class="greek">αὐτοῦ</span> (meaning in both cases the devil), as in the passage from Plato's 'Cratylus,' cited by Huther, after De Wette, the cause of the use of <span class="greek">ἐκείνου</span> being that St. Paul was at the moment emphasizing the fact of these captives being deprived of their own will, and made subservient to the will of another. The passage may be paraphrased: "If peradventure God may give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth, so as to recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, after they had been led captive by him, so as to be no longer their own masters, but obliged to do his will." The implied contrast is <span class="greek">οὐ τὸ ἑαυτῶν ἀλλ</span> <span class="greek">ἐκείνου θέλημα</span>, just as in the passage from the 'Cratylus,' p. 430 (vol. 4. p. 306, Bekker's edit.), <span class="greek">ἐκείνου</span> is contrasted with <span class="greek">γυναικός</span>. The full passage is <span class="greek">Δεῖξαι αὐτῷ α}ν μὲν τύχῃ</span> <span class="greek">ἐκείνου εἰκόνα α}ν δὲ τύχῃ γυναικός</span>. Another example of the transition from <span class="greek">αὐτός</span> to <span class="greek">ἐκεῖνος</span> is in <a href="/john/1-7.htm">John 1:7, 8</a>, <span class="greek">Οῦτος η΅λθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν</span>, <span class="greek">ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτὸς ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσι δι αὐτοῦ οὐκ η΅ν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς, κ.τ.λ.</span>, where there is a contrast between John as the witness and Christ as the true Light (compare, too, <a href="/john/4-25.htm">John 4:25</a>, where <span class="greek">ἐκείνος</span> has the force of "not you, but he"). For the general turn of phrase, comp. <a href="/2_corinthians/10-5.htm">2 Corinthians 10:5</a>, "Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ," where <span class="greek">αἰχμαλωτίζοντες</span> (see <a href="/2_timothy/3-6.htm">2 Timothy 3:6</a>) corresponds to <span class="greek">ἐζωγρημένοι</span> and <span class="greek">εἰς τὴν ὑπακοὴν τοῦ Ξριστοῦ</span> to <span class="greek">εἰς τὸ ἐκείνου θέλημα</span>. It should be noted further that the sentence is certainly rather a peculiar one, from the use of such uncommon words as <span class="greek">ἀνανήφω</span> and <span class="greek">ζωγρέω</span>, and the mixture of metaphors. But the sense of the A.V. is fully borne out. The interpretation preferred by Bishop Ellicott is "they may recover themselves from the snare of the devil unto his will (viz. God's), having (previously) been led captive by him (viz. the devil)." <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> </div></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. 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