He admonishes him to stir up the grace he received by his ordination and not to be discouraged at his sufferings, but to hold firm the sound doctrine of the gospel.

¹ Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, in accord with the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus,

² to Timothy, most beloved son. Grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.

³ I give thanks to God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a pure conscience. For without ceasing I hold the remembrance of you in my prayers, night and day,

⁴ desiring to see you, recalling your tears so as to be filled with joy,

⁵ calling to mind the same faith, which is in you unfeigned, which also first dwelt in your grandmother, Lois, and in your mother, Eunice, and also, I am certain, in you.

⁶ Because of this, I admonish you to revive the grace of God, which is in you by the imposition of my hands.

⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of virtue, and of love, and of self-restraint.¹

1. 1:7The term ‘sobrietatis’ has a more general meaning in Latin than its counterpart in English. It does not refer merely to refraining from alcohol, but to self-restraint more generally.(Conte)

⁸ And so, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner. Instead, collaborate with the Gospel in accord with the virtue of God,

⁹ who has freed us and has called us to his holy vocation, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus, before the ages of time.

¹⁰ And this has now been made manifest by the illumination of our Savior Jesus Christ, who certainly has destroyed death, and who has also illuminated life and incorruption through the Gospel.¹

1. 1:10By the illumination: That is, by the bright coming and appearing of our Saviour.(Challoner)

¹¹ Of this Gospel, I have been appointed a preacher, and an Apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

¹² For this reason, I also suffer these things. But I am not confounded. For I know in whom I have believed, and I am certain that he has the power to preserve what was entrusted to me, unto that day.

¹³ Hold to the kind of sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴ Guard the good entrusted to you through the Holy Spirit, who lives within us.

¹⁵ Know this: that all those who are in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phigellus and Hermogenes.¹

1. 1:15The term ‘all’ is used here in the general sense, referring to the group as a whole. As the subsequent verses indicate, one or more individuals are exceptions to the general statement, not having turned away from Paul.(Conte)

¹⁶ May the Lord have mercy on the house of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me, and he has not been ashamed of my chains.

¹⁷ Instead, when he had arrived in Rome, he anxiously sought me and found me.

¹⁸ May the Lord grant to him to obtain mercy from the Lord in that day. And you know well in how many ways he has ministered to me at Ephesus.