13 vited, and of which thou hast made a good profession before many witnesses. I charge thee in the presence of God, who 14 giveth life to all, and of Christ Jesus who witnessed before Pontius Pilate the good confession, to keep thyself, in respect to this command, unspotted, irreprehensible, until the appear. 15 ance of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, in his own proper times 16 will be displayed by him, who is the blessed and only poten tate, the king of kings and the lord of lords, who alone hath immortality, who inhabiteth light inaccessible, whom no man hath seen, or can see, to whom be honour and everlasting dominion. Amen.

17

Charge them who are rich in this present state not to be high minded; not to trust in uncertain riches, but in the liv. 18 ing God who imparteth to us richly all things for enjoyment; 19 to be beneficent; to be rich in good works, ready to distribute;

20

willing to communicate, laying up for themselves a good deposit for the time to come, that they may obtain the life everlasting.

O Timothy keep this deposit, avoiding the profane empty declamations, and the antitheses of that falsely called science, which some making a profession of, have, in respect to this belief, wandered from the mark.

The favor be with thee. Amen.

་་

THE SECOND EPISTLE

OF THE

APOSTLE PAUL,

ΤΟ

TIMOTHY.

I.

P

PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, ac2 cording to the promise of life which is by Christ Jesus; to Timothy, a beloved son, be favour, mercy, peace from God our Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with a 4 pure conscience, that I have so uninterruptedly the remem

brance of thee in my prayers, night and day, earnestly desir5 ing (when I call to mind thy tears) to see thee that I may be filled with joy, recollecting that unfeigned belief in thee, which 6 dwelt first in thy grand mother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in thee also: for which cause I remind thee to kindle up that gift of God which is in thee by the lay7 ing on of my hands. For God hath not given us a spirit of cow8 ardice, but of power, and love, and a sound mind. Be not

therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me who am a prisoner on his account; but share with me in af9 fliction for the glad tidings, according to the power of God, who hath saved us, and called us with a holy invitation, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose, and the favour which was granted to us in Christ Jesus, before 10 the times composed of ages, and which hath now been manifested by the appearance of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath put a stop to the operations of death, and hath brought 11 life and incorruption to light by the glad tidings, for which I

have been appointed a herald, and an apostle, and a teacher of 12 nations. For which cause also I suffer these things, but am not

ashamed; for I know in whom I have trusted, and am persuaded, that he is able to keep that which I have deposited with him till that day.

13 Use the form of sound words, which thou hast heard from 14 me, with faith and the love in Christ Jesus. Keep that good 15 deposit by means of a holy spirit which dwelleth in us. This

thou knowest, that all the Asiatics have withdrawn from me, 16 of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant

mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often re17 freshed me and was not ashamed of this chain of mine; but 18 when he was at Rome, sought me out diligently and found

me. The Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord in that day! Indeed, on how many occasions he ministered to me at

II. Ephesus, thou thyself knowest very well. Do thou, there2 fore, my son, strengthen thyself with the favour which is in Christ Jesus; and what thou hast heard from me, in the presence of many witnesses, commit thou to faithful men, who 3 will be able to teach others. Do thou therefore endure hard4 ships as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one going to war

entangleth himself with worldly affairs, that he may please him 5 who hath inlisted him. And if a man combateth in the public

games, he is not crowned, unless he combat according to the 6 rules prescribed. The husbandman must labour before he 7 partaketh of the fruits. Consider what I say, and may the 8 Lord grant thee understanding in all things. Remember Jesus

Christ, of the seed of David, raised from the dead according to 9 these glad tidings of mine for which I suffer even to bonds, as 10 a malefactor; but the word of God is not bound. For this

cause I bear all things patiently for the sake of the chosen, that they also may obtain that salvation which is by Christ 11 Jesus, with everlasting glory. This is a faithful word. For if 12 we have died with him, we shall also live with him. If we suf13 fer, we shall indeed reign with him. If we deny him, he will 14 deny us. If we are unfaithful, he will continue faithful; he cannot deny himself. Bring these things to remembrance, giving a solemn charge in the presence of the Lord not to dispute about words. It answereth no useful purpose. It tendeth to

15 the subversion of the hearers. Study diligently to present thyself approved before God, a workman that needeth not to be 16 ashamed; handling rightly the word of truth. And repress those 17 profane empty declamations; for they will proceed on to far

ther impiety; and like a gangrene the word of these men will 18 spread, of whom are Hymeneus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection is already 19 past; and subvert the belief of some. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth firm, having this inscription- "The Lord knoweth them who are his;" and "Let every one who nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

20

Now, in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and potter's clay; and some indeed 21 for honourable uses and some for meaner purposes. If any one

therefore purify himself from these he will be a vessel for ho22 nour, set apart and suitable for the master, ready prepared for every good work. Fly then the passions of youth and pursue righteousness, fidelity, love, peace with them who invoke the 23 Lord with a pure heart. And avoid foolish and ignorant de24 bates, knowing that they generate strifes. Now, the servant!

of the Lord ought not to be at strife; but ought to be gentle 25 towards all, ready to teach, patient of ills, with meekness in

structing opposers: perhaps God may grant them a change of 26 mind so as to acknowledge the truth, and they who have been captivated by the devil for his pleasure, may rouse and escape from his snare.

III. But know this, that in the last days there will be grievous 2 times. For the men will be selfish, avaricious, vain, haughty, 3 addicted to slander, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

void of natural affection, perfidious, false accusers, intempe4 rate, fierce, destitute of love for goodness, betrayers, head5 strong, puffed up with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of religion but denying the 6 power of it. From such turn away; for of such sort are they

who insinuate themselves into families, and lead captive 7 weak women laden with sin, led aside by various lusts, always learning, but never able to come to a knowledge of 8 truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these men withstand the truth, having their minds corrupted,

10

being, with respect to this belief, such as cannot stand the test. 9 But they shall not advance much further; for the folly of these shall be exposed to the world, as that of those was.

Now as for thee, thou hast traced accurately my doctrine, my manner of life, my purpose, my belief, my long suffering, 11 my love, my patience, my persecutions, my sufferings, what befel me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I 12 endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Indeed 13 all who wish to live holy in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, and wicked men and impostors will grow worse and worse, 14 deceiving and being deceived. But as for thee, continue thou

in what thou hast learned; and in the belief of which thou 15 hast been confirmed, knowing from whom thou hast learned them; and that, from thy childhood, thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise for salvation by 16 trusting in Christ Jesus. All scripture, given by divine inspiration, is indeed profitable for doctrine, for conviction, for reformation, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly fitted for every good work. IV.. I therefore charge thee in the presence of the God, and 2 the Lord Jesus Christ, who is about to judge living and dead at his glorious appearance and reign, proclaim the word; be intent thereon, in season and out of season; convince, rebuke, 3 exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For a time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine: But when they have an itch of hearing they will, according to their own 4 desires, heap up for themselves teachers, who will turn their 5 attention from the truth, and they will be turned aside to fa

bles. Be thou therefore watchful on all occasions. Endure 6 hardships: perform the work of a publisher of the glad tidings.

Discharge thy ministerial office completely. For I am now about to be poured out as a libation;† and the time of my de7 parture is at hand. I have maintained the good combat. I have 8 finished the course; I have kept the faith. As to what remaineth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and

* Or as in many manuscripts-"The God and Lord Jesus Christ," as in 1 Tim. 5. 21. See Phil. 2. 17.