¹You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,²and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.³Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.⁴No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.⁵An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.⁶It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.⁷Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,⁹for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!¹⁰Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

¹¹The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

¹²if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;

¹³if we are faithless, he remains faithful--for he cannot deny himself.¹⁴Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.

¹⁵Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.¹⁶But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,¹⁷and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,¹⁸who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.¹⁹But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."²⁰Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.²¹Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

²²So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.²³Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.²⁴And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,²⁵correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,²⁶and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.