Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech, 2 Timothy
Excerpt
Book 55 2 Timothy
001:001 Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of
God,
for proclaiming the
promise of the Life which is in Christ Jesus:
001:002 To Timothy my dearly-loved child. May grace, mercy
and peace
be granted to you
from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
001:003 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure
conscience—as my
forefathers
did—that night and day I unceasingly remember
you in my
prayers,
001:004 being always mindful of your tears, and longing to see
you
that I may be
filled with joy.
001:005 For I recall the sincere faith which is in your
heart—
a faith which dwelt
first in your grandmother Lois and then
in your mother
Eunice, and, I am fully convinced, now dwells
in you
also.
001:006 For this reason let me remind you to rekindle God’s
gift
which is yours
through the laying on of my hands.
001:007 For the Spirit which God has given us is not a spirit of
cowardice,
but one of power
and of love and of sound judgement.
001:008 Do not be ashamed then to bear witness for our Lord and for
me
His prisoner; but
rather share suffering with me in the service
of the Good News,
strengthened by the power of God.
001:009 For He saved us and called us with a holy call, not in
accordance
with our desserts,
but in accordance with His own purpose
and the free grace
which He bestowed on us in Christ Jesus
before the
commencement of the Ages,
001:010 but which has now been plainly revealed through the
Appearing
of our Saviour,
Christ Jesus. He has put an end to death and has
brought Life and
Immortality to light through the Good News,
001:011 of which I have been appointed a preacher, Apostle and
teacher,
to the
Gentiles.
001:012 That indeed is the reason why I suffer as I
do.
But I am not
ashamed, for I know in whom my trust reposes,
and I am confident
that He has it in His power to keep what I
have entrusted to
Him safe until that day.
001:013 Provide yourself with an outline of the sound teaching
which you
have heard from my
lips, and be true to the faith and love
which are in Christ
Jesus.
001:014 That precious treasure which is in your charge, guard
through
the Holy Spirit who
has His home in our hearts.
001:015 Of this you are aware, that all the Christians in Roman
Asia
have deserted
me: and among them Phygelus and Hermogenes.
001:016 May the Lord show mercy to the household of
Onesiphorus;
for many a time he
cheered me and he was not ashamed of my chain.
001:017 Nay, when he was here in Rome, he took great pains to
inquire
where I was living,
and at last he found me.
001:018 (The Lord grant that he may obtain mercy at His hands on
that day!)
And you yourself
well know all the services which he rendered
me in
Ephesus.
002:001 You then, my child, must be strong in the grace that
is
in Christ
Jesus.
002:002 All that you have been taught by me in the hearing of many
witnesses,
you must hand on to
trusty men who shall themselves, in turn,
be competent to
instruct others also.
002:003 As a good soldier of Christ Jesus accept your share of
suffering.
002:004 Every one who serves as a soldier keeps himself from
becoming
entangled in the
world’s business—so that he may satisfy
the officer who
enlisted him.
002:005 And if any one takes part in an athletic contest, he
gets
no prize unless he
obeys the rules.
002:006 The harvestman who labours in the field must be the first
to get
a share of the
crop.
002:007 Mark well what I am saying: the Lord will give
you
discernment in
everything.
002:008 Never forget that Jesus Christ has risen from among the
dead
and is a descendant
of David, as is declared in the Good News
which I
preach.
002:009 For preaching the Good News I suffer, and am even put in
chains,
as if I were a
criminal: yet the word of God is not imprisoned.
002:010 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of
God’s own people;
so that they also
may obtain salvation—even the salvation
which is in Christ
Jesus—and with it eternal glory.
002:011 Faithful is the saying: “If we died with Him,
we shall
also live with
Him;
002:012 “If we patiently endure pain, we shall also share His
Kingship; “If we
disown Him, He will
also disown us;
002:013 “And even if our faith fails, He remains
true—He cannot
prove false to
Himself.”
002:014 Bring all this to men’s remembrances, solemnly
charging
them in the
presence of God not to waste time in wrangling
about mere words, a
course which is altogether unprofitable
and tends only to
the ruin of the hearers.
002:015 Earnestly seek to commend yourself to God as a servant
who,
because of his
straightforward dealing with the word of truth,
has no reason to
feel any shame.
002:016 But from irreligious and frivolous talk hold aloof, for
those
who indulge in it
will proceed from bad to worse in impiety,
002:017 and their teaching will spread like a running
sore.
Hymenaeus and
Philetus are men of that stamp.
002:018 In the matter of the truth they have gone astray, saying
that
the Resurrection is
already past, and so they are overthrowing
the faith of
some.
002:019 Yet God’s solid foundation stands unmoved, bearing
this inscription,
“The Lord
knows those who really belong to Him.”
And this also,
“Let every one who names the Name of the Lord
renounce all
wickedness.”
002:020 Now in a great house there are not only articles of
gold
and silver, but
also others of wood and of earthenware;
and some are for
specially honourable, and others for common use.
002:021 If therefore a man keeps himself clear of these latter, he
himself
will be for
specially honourable use, consecrated, fit for
the Master’s
service, and fully equipped for every good work.
002:022 Keep a strong curb, however, on your youthful
cravings;
and strive for
integrity, good faith, love, peace, in company
with all who pray
to the Lord with pure hearts.
002:023 But avoid foolish discussions with ignorant men,
knowing—as you do—
that these lead to
quarrels;
002:024 and a bondservant of the Lord must not quarrel, but
must
be inoffensive
towards all men, a skilful teacher,
and patient under
wrongs.
002:025 He must speak in a gentle tone when correcting the
errors
of opponents, in
the hope that God will at last give them repentance,
for them to come to
a full knowledge of the truth
002:026 and recover sober-mindedness and freedom from the
Devil’s snare,
though they are now
entrapped by him to do his will.
003:001 But of this be assured: in the last days grievous
times
will set
in.
003:002 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money,
boastful, haughty,
profane. They will be disobedient
to parents,
thankless, irreligious,
003:003 destitute of natural affection, unforgiving,
slanderers.
They will have no
self-control, but will be brutal,
opposed to
goodness,
003:004 treacherous, headstrong, self-important. They will
love pleasure
instead of loving
God,
003:005 and will keep up a make-believe of piety and yet live in
defiance
of its power.
Turn away from people of this sort.
003:006 Among them are included the men who make their way
into
private houses and
carry off weak women as their prisoners—
women who, weighed
down by the burden of their sins, are led
by ever-changing
caprice,
003:007 and are always learning something new, and yet are never
able
to arrive at real
knowledge of the truth.
003:008 And just as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so also
these
false teachers
withstand the truth—being, as they are,
men of debased
intellects, and of no real worth so far
as faith is
concerned.
003:009 But they will have no further success; for their folly
will
be as clearly
manifest to all men, as that of the opponents
of Moses came to
be.
003:010 But you have intimately known my teaching, life, aims,
faith,
patience, love,
resignation,
003:011 and the persecutions and sufferings which I have
endured;
the things which
happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra.
You know the
persecutions I endured, and how the Lord delivered
me out of them
all.
003:012 And indeed every one who is determined to live a godly
life
as a follower of
Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
003:013 But bad men and impostors will go on from bad to
worse,
misleading and
being misled.
003:014 But you must cling to the things which you have learnt and
have
been taught to
believe, knowing who your teachers were,
003:015 and that from infancy you have known the sacred
writings
which are able to
make you wise to obtain salvation through
faith in Christ
Jesus.
003:016 Every Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for
teaching,
for convincing, for
correction of error, and for instruction
in right
doing;
003:017 so that the man of God may himself be complete and may
be
perfectly equipped
for every good work.
004:001 I solemnly implore you, in the presence of God and
of
Christ Jesus who is
about to judge the living and the dead,
and by His
Appearing and His Kingship:
004:002 proclaim God’s message, be zealous in season and out
of season;
convince, rebuke,
encourage, with the utmost patience
as a
teacher.
004:003 For a time is coming when they will not tolerate
wholesome
instruction, but,
wanting to have their ears tickled, they will
find a multitude of
teachers to satisfy their own fancies;
004:004 and will turn away from listening to the truth and will
turn
aside to
fables.
004:005 But as for you, you must exercise habitual
self-control,
and not live a
self-indulgent life, but do the duty of an
evangelist and
fully discharge the obligations of your office.
004:006 I for my part am like a drink-offering which is already
being
poured out; and the
time for my departure is now close at hand.
004:007 I have gone through the glorious contest; I have run the
race;
I have guarded the
faith.
004:008 From this time onward there is reserved for me the
crown
of righteousness
which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will award to me on
that day, and not only to me, but also
to all who love the
thought of His Appearing.
004:009 Make an effort to come to me speedily.
004:010 For Demas has deserted me—loving, as he does,
the present age—
and has gone to
Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia,
and Titus to
Dalmatia.
004:011 Luke is the only friend I now have with me. Call for
Mark
on your way and
bring him with you, for he is a great help
to me in my
ministry.
004:012 Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.
004:013 When you come, bring with you the cloak which I
left
behind at Troas at
the house of Carpus, and the books,
but especially the
parchments.
004:014 Alexander the metal-worker showed bitter hostility towards
me:
the Lord will
requite him according to his doings.
004:015 You also should beware of him; for he has
violently
opposed our
preaching.
004:016 At my first defence I had no one at my side, but all
deserted me.
May it not be laid
to their charge.
004:017 The Lord, however, stood by me and filled me with inward
strength,
that through me the
Message might be fully proclaimed
and that all the
Gentiles might hear it; and I was rescued
from the
lion’s jaws.
004:018 The Lord will deliver me from every cruel attack and
will
keep me safe in
preparation for His heavenly Kingdom.
To Him be the glory
until the Ages of the Ages! Amen.
004:019 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of
Onesiphorus.
004:020 Erastus stayed in Corinth; Trophimus I left behind
me
at Miletus,
ill.
004:021 Make an effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets
you,
and so do Pudens,
Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren.
004:022 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you
all.
