I. Address

Greeting.* 1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of Goda for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,* 2to Timothy, my dear child: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thanksgiving. 3bI am grateful to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,* as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day. 4*I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, 5as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that I am confident lives also in you.c

II. Exhortations to Timothy

The Gifts Timothy Has Received. 6For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God* that you have through the imposition of my hands.d 7For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.e 8So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,* nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.f

9*He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,g 10but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,h 11*for which I was appointed preacher and apostlei and teacher. 12*On this account I am suffering these things; but I am not ashamed,j for I know him in whom I have believed and am confident that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day. 13Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.k 14Guard this rich trust with the help of the holy Spirit that dwells within us.l

Paul’s Suffering. 15*mYou know that everyone in Asia deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16*May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorusn because he often gave me new heart and was not ashamed of my chains. 17But when he came to Rome, he promptly searched for me and found me. 18May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord* on that day. And you know very well the services he rendered in Ephesus.o