Translation & Notes

14 σὺ δὲ μένε ἐν οἷς ἔμαθες καὶ ἐπιστώθης, εἰδὼς παρὰ τίνων ἔμαθες,

But you, remain in what you learned and have been convinced of, knowing from whom you learned (it),

σὺ δὲ or “but you” occurs three times in this section of 2 Timothy (and five times in the Pastorals as a whole). The phrase serves to mark Timothy as distinct from the false teachers that were addressed as evil people and imposters in 2 Timothy 3:13.

μένε ἐν οἷς ἔμαθες καὶ ἐπιστώθης or “remain in what you learned and have been convinced of” again contrasts Timothy with the evil imposters who progress from bad to worse in their deception (3:13). Timothy, in contrast, is to remain or continue in what he learned and in the truth of which he had been convinced. There is an implication here for the pastor battling false teaching. The only hope for dealing with false teachers is not to find new techniques and trends, but to continue in the long-established truth of God’s Word.

εἰδὼς παρὰ τίνων ἔμαθες or “knowing from whom you learned (it)” is the first of two reasons that Paul should remain in what he had learned. Timothy knew two things. First he knew from whom he had learned these things. “From whom” could include both Paul and Timothy’s mother and grandmother (1:5).

15 καὶ ὅτι ἀπὸ βρέφους [τὰ] ἱερὰ γράμματα οἶδας, τὰ δυνάμενά σε σοφίσαι εἰς σωτηρίαν διὰ πίστεως τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ.

and that from infancy you knew the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

καὶ ὅτι ἀπὸ βρέφους [τὰ] ἱερὰ γράμματα οἶδας or “and that from infancy you knew the sacred writings” is the second thing that Timothy knew and the second reason for him to remain or continue in what he had learned.

τὰ δυνάμενά σε σοφίσαι εἰς σωτηρίαν or “which are able to make you wise for salvation” points to the power of the Old Testament Scriptures to bring about salvation in those who hear. This phrase serves as a reminder that the Old Testament, rightly interpreted, points to the salvation that is found in Christ.

διὰ πίστεως τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ or “through faith which is in Christ Jesus” serves as a reminder that though the Old Testament points to the salvation that is found in Christ, that salvation comes by faith, the kind of faith that is “in Christ Jesus.”

16 πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ ὠφέλιμος πρὸς διδασκαλίαν, πρὸς ἐλεγμόν, πρὸς ἐπανόρθωσιν, πρὸς παιδείαν τὴν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ,

All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness,

πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ ὠφέλιμος or “All Scripture is God- breathed and useful” can be translated in several different ways. “God-breathed” could serve as an adjective for Scripture, as in “every God-breathed Scripture is also useful.” Or “God-breathed” could be a compound predicate with “useful,” as in “all Scripture is God-breathed and useful.” The word πᾶσα could also be translated as “every” or “all,” as in every single text of Scripture is God-breathed or as in all the Scriptures as a whole are God-breathed.

Here we have favored the translation “all Scripture is God-breathed and useful.” There are two implications of this very important phrase. First, the Old Testament Scriptures specifically (and by extension the New Testament Scriptures) have God as their source. Because of this, second, they are useful for the following four reasons addressed below. As Paul was writing to Timothy, this phrase served as a reminder that the Scriptures were useful for fulfilling the task to which Timothy had been appointed, namely dealing with false teachers. In 1 and 2 Timothy, we see Paul engaging in a dispute over the proper use of the Old Testament, and so these words serve as a reminder that as much as the Old Testament might have been abused by the false teachers, it was that same Old Testament that was to be used by Timothy in fulfilling his ministry.

Given that Paul quoted as Scripture what we have recorded for us in Luke 10:7, “the worker is worthy of his wages” (1 Timothy 5:18), we have good reason for extending this statement about the usefulness of the Old Testament Scriptures to the New Testament as well.

πρὸς διδασκαλίαν, πρὸς ἐλεγμόν or “for teaching, for rebuke” are the first two of four tasks for which the inspired Old Testament Scriptures are useful. In the Pastorals, we see a focus on both right teaching and right living. These first two terms focus on right teaching. The first is the term for teaching, and the second is a term for rebuke, which here focuses especially on correcting false teaching. In Titus 1:13, Titus was to rebuke the false teachers in Crete that they might be sound in the faith.” Without drawing too fine of a line, Paul’s first emphasis seems to be on teaching what is right and correcting or rebuking those who are in the wrong (such as the false teachers).

πρὸς ἐπανόρθωσιν, πρὸς παιδείαν τὴν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ or “for correction, for training in righteousness” focuses more specifically on right living. The Scriptures not only are useful for teaching what is right and correcting what is wrong, but they are also useful for correcting wrong patterns of living and for training people in godly patterns of living.

17 ἵνα ἄρτιος ᾖ ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος, πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἐξηρτισμένος.

So that the man of God might be competent, equipped for every good work.

 ἵνα ἄρτιος ᾖ ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος or “so that the man of God might be competent” shows the desired end of the Scriptures. “The man of God” refers here as of first order to Timothy. Timothy, as he uses the inspired and useful Scriptures, will be found competent to fulfill the ministry that he has been given, especially in opposition to these false teachers. This verse serves as a reminder to the pastor that it is the Scriptures that equip us for the task to which we have been called.

πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἐξηρτισμένος or “equipped for every good work” serves as a general description of how the competent man of God would then live. Again, these good works stand in stark contrast to the people Timothy was to avoid in 2 Timothy 3:2-5.