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2 Timothy Contemporary English Version (CEV)
chapter 1
1From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus.
God himself chose me to be an apostle, and he gave me the promised life that Jesus Christ makes possible.
2Timothy, you are like a dear child to me. I pray that God our Father and our Lord Christ Jesus will be kind
and merciful to you and will bless you with peace!
Do Not Be Ashamed of the Lord
3Night and day I mention you in my prayers. I am always grateful for you, as I pray to the God my ancestors
and I have served with a clear conscience. 4I remember how you cried, and I want to see you, because that
will make me truly happy. 5I also remember the genuine faith of your mother Eunice. Your grandmother Lois
had the same sort of faith, and I am sure that you have it as well. 6So I ask you to make full use of the gift
that God gave you when I placed my hands on you. Use it well. 7God's Spirit doesn't make cowards out of us.
The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control. 8Don't be ashamed to speak for our Lord. And don't be
ashamed of me, just because I am in jail for serving him. Use the power that comes from God and join with me
in suffering for telling the good news.
9God saved us and chose us
to be his holy people.
We did nothing
to deserve this,
but God planned it
because he is so kind.
Even before time began
God planned for Christ Jesus
to show kindness to us.
10Now Christ Jesus has come
to show us the kindness
of God.
Christ our Savior defeated death
and brought us
the good news.
It shines like a light
and offers life
that never ends.
11My work is to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. 12That's why I am suffering now. But I am not
ashamed! I know the one I have faith in, and I am sure that he can guard until the last day what he has
trusted me with. 13Now follow the example of the correct teaching I gave you, and let the faith and love of
Christ Jesus be your model. 14You have been trusted with a wonderful treasure. Guard it with the help of the
Holy Spirit, who lives within you. 15You know that everyone in Asia has turned against me, especially
Phygelus and Hermogenes.
16I pray that the Lord will be kind to the family of Onesiphorus. He often cheered me up and wasn't ashamed
of me when I was put in jail. 17Then after he arrived in Rome, he searched everywhere until he found me. 18I
pray that the Lord Jesus will ask God to show mercy to Onesiphorus on the day of judgment. You know how
much he helped me in Ephesus.
chapter 2
A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus
1Timothy, my child, Christ Jesus is kind, and you must let him make you strong. 2You have often heard me
teach. Now I want you to tell these same things to followers who can be trusted to tell others.
3As a good soldier of Christ Jesus you must endure your share of suffering. 4Soldiers on duty don't work at
outside jobs. They try only to please their commanding officer. 5No one wins an athletic contest without
obeying the rules. 6And farmers who work hard are the first to eat what grows in their field. 7If you keep in
mind what I have told you, the Lord will help you understand completely.
8Keep your mind on Jesus Christ! He was from the family of David and was raised from death, just as my good
news says. 9And because of this message, I am locked up in jail and treated like a criminal. But God's good
news isn't locked in jail, 10and so I am willing to put up with anything. Then God's special people will be
saved. They will be given eternal glory because they belong to Christ Jesus. 11Here is a true message:
"If we died with Christ,
we will live with him.
12If we don't give up,
we will rule with him.
If we deny
that we know him,
he will deny
that he knows us.
13If we are not faithful,
he will still be faithful.
Christ cannot deny
who he is."
An Approved Worker
14Don't let anyone forget these things. And with God as your witness, you must warn them not to argue
about words. These arguments don't help anyone. In fact, they ruin everyone who listens to them. 15Do your
best to win God's approval as a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed and who teaches only the true
message. 16Keep away from worthless and useless talk. It only leads people farther away from God. 17That
sort of talk is like a sore that won't heal. And Hymenaeus and Philetus have been talking this way 18by
teaching that the dead have already been raised to life. This is far from the truth, and it is destroying the
faith of some people.
19But the foundation that God has laid is solid. On it is written, "The Lord knows who his people are. So
everyone who worships the Lord must turn away from evil."
20In a large house some dishes are made of gold or silver, while others are made of wood or clay. Some of
these are special, and others are not. 21That's also how it is with people. The ones who stop doing evil and
make themselves pure will become special. Their lives will be holy and pleasing to their Master, and they will
be able to do all kinds of good deeds.
22Run from temptations that capture young people. Always do the right thing. Be faithful, loving, and easy to
get along with. Worship with people whose hearts are pure. 23Stay away from stupid and senseless
arguments. These only lead to trouble, 24and God's servants must not be troublemakers. They must be kind
to everyone, and they must be good teachers and very patient.
25Be humble when you correct people who oppose you. Maybe God will lead them to turn to him and learn the
truth. 26They have been trapped by the devil, and he makes them obey him, but God may help them escape.
chapter 3
What People Will Be Like in the Last Days
1You can be certain that in the last days there will be some very hard times. 2People will love only
themselves and money. They will be proud, stuck-up, rude, and disobedient to their parents. They will also be
ungrateful, godless, 3heartless, and hateful. Their words will be cruel, and they will have no self-control or
pity. These people will hate everything that is good. 4They will be sneaky, reckless, and puffed up with pride.
Instead of loving God, they will love pleasure. 5Even though they will make a show of being religious, their
religion won't be real. Don't have anything to do with such people.
6Some men fool whole families, just to get power over those women who are slaves of sin and are controlled
by all sorts of desires. 7These women always want to learn something new, but they never can discover the
truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, these people are enemies of the truth. Their minds are
sick, and their faith isn't real. 9But they won't get very far with their foolishness. Soon everyone will know the
truth about them, just as Jannes and Jambres were found out.
Paul's Last Instructions to Timothy
10Timothy, you know what I teach and how I live. You know what I want to do and what I believe. You have
seen how patient and loving I am, and how in the past I put up with 11trouble and suffering in the cities of
Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. Yet the Lord rescued me from all those terrible troubles. 12Anyone who belongs
to Christ Jesus and wants to live right will have trouble from others. 13But evil people who pretend to be
what they are not will become worse than ever, as they fool others and are fooled themselves.
14Keep on being faithful to what you were taught and to what you believed. After all, you know who taught
you these things. 15Since childhood, you have known the Holy Scriptures that are able to make you wise
enough to have faith in Christ Jesus and be saved. 16Everything in the Scriptures is God's Word. All of it is
useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. 17The
Scriptures train God's servants to do all kinds of good deeds.
chapter 4
1When Christ Jesus comes as king, he will be the judge of everyone, whether they are living or dead. So with
God and Christ as witnesses, I command you 2to preach God's message. Do it willingly, even if it isn't the
popular thing to do. You must correct people and point out their sins. But also cheer them up, and when you
instruct them, always be patient. 3The time is coming when people won't listen to good teaching. Instead,
they will look for teachers who will please them by telling them only what they are itching to hear. 4They will
turn from the truth and eagerly listen to senseless stories. 5But you must stay calm and be willing to suffer.
You must work hard to tell the good news and to do your job well.
6Now the time has come for me to die. My life is like a drink offering being poured out on the altar. 7I have
fought well. I have finished the race, and I have been faithful. 8So a crown will be given to me for pleasing
the Lord. He judges fairly, and on the day of judgment he will give a crown to me and to everyone else who
wants him to appear with power.
Personal Instructions
9Come to see me as soon as you can. 10Demas loves the things of this world so much that he left me and
went to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke has stayed
with me.
Mark can be very helpful to me, so please find him and bring him with you. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
13When you come, bring the coat I left at Troas with Carpus. Don't forget to bring the scrolls, especially the
ones made of leather. 14Alexander, the metalworker, has hurt me in many ways. But the Lord will pay him
back for what he has done. 15Alexander opposes what we preach. You had better watch out for him.
16When I was first put on trial, no one helped me. In fact, everyone deserted me. I hope it won't be held
against them. 17But the Lord stood beside me. He gave me the strength to tell his full message, so that all
Gentiles would hear it. And I was kept safe from hungry lions. 18The Lord will always keep me from being
harmed by evil, and he will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. Praise him forever and ever! Amen.
Final Greetings
19Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and to the family of Onesiphorus.
20Erastus stayed at Corinth.
Trophimus was sick when I left him at Miletus.
21Do your best to come before winter.
Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia send you their greetings, and so do the rest of the Lord's followers.
22I pray that the Lord will bless your life and will be kind to you.