Beaver Valley Chapter
Electronic Books
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Knights of Columbus Beaver Valley Chapter Electronic Books |
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The New Jerusalem Bible with Apocrypha
The Second Letter of Paul to TimothyChapter 1
Greeting and thanksgiving
1From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God in accordance with his promise of life in Christ Jesus, 2to Timothy, dear son of mine. Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord. 3Night and day I thank God whom I serve with a pure conscience as my ancestors did. I remember you in my prayers constantly night and day; 4I remember your tears and long to see you again to complete my joy. 5I also remember your sincere faith, a faith which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure dwells also in you.
The gifts that Timothy has received
6That is why I am reminding you now to fan into a flame the gift of God that you possess through the laying on of my hands. 7God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power and love and self-control. 8So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to our Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but share in my hardships for the sake of the gospel, relying on the power of God 9who has saved us and called us to be holy-not because of anything we ourselves had done but for his own purpose and by his own grace. This grace had already been granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time, 10but it has been revealed only by the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus. He has abolished death, and he has brought to light immortality and life through the gospel, 11in whose service I have been made herald, apostle and teacher. 12That is why I am experiencing my present sufferings; but I am not ashamed, because I know in whom I have put my trust, and I have no doubt at all that he is able to safeguard until that Day what I have entrusted to him. 13Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14With the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, look after that precious thing given in trust. 15As you know, Phygelus and Hermogenes and all the others in Asia have deserted me. 16I hope the Lord will be kind to all the family of Onesiphorus, because he has often been a comfort to me and has never been ashamed of my chains. 17On the contrary, as soon as he reached Rome, he searched hard for me and found me. 18May the Lord grant him to find the Lord's mercy on that Day. You know better than anyone else how much he helped me at Ephesus.
Chapter 2
How Timothy should face hardships
2As for you, my dear son, take strength from the grace which is in Christ Jesus. 2Pass on to reliable people what you have heard from me through many witnesses so that they in turn will be able to teach others. 3Bear with your share of difficulties, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4No one on active service involves himself in the affairs of civilian life, because he must win the approval of the man who enlisted him; 5or again someone who enters an athletic contest wins only by competing in the sports-a prize can be won only by competing according to the rules; 6and again, it is the farmer who works hard that has the first claim on any crop that is harvested. 7Think over what I have said, and the Lord will give you full understanding. 8Remember the gospel that I carry, 'Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David'; 9it is on account of this that I have to put up with suffering, even to being chained like a criminal. But God's message cannot be chained up. 10So I persevere for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they, too, may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11Here is a saying that you can rely on: If we have died with him, then we shall live with him. 12If we persevere, then we shall reign with him. If we disown him, then he will disown us. 13If we are faithless, he is faithful still, for he cannot disown his own self.
The struggle against the immediate danger from false teachers
14Remind them of this; and tell them in the name of God that there must be no wrangling about words: all that this ever achieves is the destruction of those who are listening. 15Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who has no need to be ashamed, but who keeps the message of truth on a straight path. 16Have nothing to do with godless philosophical discussions-they only lead further and further away from true religion. 17Talk of this kind spreads corruption like gangrene, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18the men who have gone astray from the truth, claiming that the resurrection has already taken place. They are upsetting some people's faith. 19However, God's solid foundation-stone stands firm, and this is the seal on it: 'The Lord knows those who are his own' and 'All who call on the name of the Lord *[Nb 16:5; Is 26:13] must avoid evil.' 20Not all the dishes in a large house are made of gold and silver; some are made of wood or earthenware: the former are held in honour, the latter held cheap. 21If someone holds himself aloof from these faults I speak of, he will be a vessel held in honour, dedicated and fit for the Master, ready for any good work. 22Turn away from the passions of youth, concentrate on uprightness, faith, love and peace, in union with all those who call on the Lord with a pure heart. 23Avoid these foolish and undisciplined speculations, understanding that they only give rise to quarrels; 24and a servant of the Lord must not engage in quarrels, but must be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient. 25He must be gentle when he corrects people who oppose him, in the hope that God may give them a change of mind so that they recognise the truth 26and come to their senses, escaping the trap of the devil who made them his captives and subjected them to his will.
Chapter 3
The dangers of the last days
3You may be quite sure that in the last days there will be some difficult times. 2People will be self-centred and avaricious, boastful, arrogant and rude; disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, irreligious; 3heartless and intractable; they will be slanderers, profligates, savages and enemies of everything that is good; 4they will be treacherous and reckless and demented by pride, preferring their own pleasure to God. 5They will keep up the outward appearance of religion but will have rejected the inner power of it. Keep away from people like that. 6Of the same kind, too, are those men who insinuate themselves into families in order to get influence over silly women who are obsessed with their sins and follow one craze after another, 7always seeking learning, but unable ever to come to knowledge of the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres defied Moses, *[In Jewish tradition (but not the Bible) the leaders of the Egyptian magicians, cf. Ex 7:11] so these men defy the truth, their minds corrupt and their faith spurious. 9But they will not be able to go on much longer: their folly, like that of the other two, must become obvious to everybody. 10You, though, have followed my teaching, my way of life, my aims, my faith, my patience and my love, my perseverance 11and the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in places like Antioch, Iconium and Lystra-all the persecutions I have endured; and the Lord has rescued me from every one of them. 12But anybody who tries to live in devotion to Christ is certain to be persecuted; 13while these wicked impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others, and themselves deceived. 14You must keep to what you have been taught and know to be true; remember who your teachers were, 15and how, ever since you were a child, you have known the holy scriptures *[Probably the OT. There is no sign that the NT writings were yet set on the same level.] -from these you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting error, for guiding people's lives and teaching them to be upright. 17This is how someone who is dedicated to God becomes fully equipped and ready for any good work.
Chapter 4
A solemn charge
4Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I charge you, in the name of his appearing and of his kingdom: 2proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, give encouragement-but do all with patience and with care to instruct. 3The time is sure to come when people will not accept sound teaching, but their ears will be itching for anything new and they will collect themselves a whole series of teachers according to their own tastes; 4and then they will shut their ears to the truth and will turn to myths. 5But you must keep steady all the time; put up with suffering; do the work of preaching the gospel; fulfil the service asked of you.
Paul in the evening of his life
6As for me, my life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to depart. 7I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; 8all there is to come for me now is the crown of uprightness which the Lord, the upright judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his appearing.
Final advice
9Make every effort to come and see me as soon as you can. 10As it is, Demas has deserted me for love of this life and gone to Thessalonica, Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia; 11only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you; I find him a useful helper in my work. 12I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas, and the scrolls, especially the parchment ones. 14Alexander the coppersmith has done me a lot of harm; the Lord will repay him as his deeds deserve. *[Ps 28:4] 15Be on your guard against him yourself, because he has been bitterly contesting everything that we say. 16The first time I had to present my defence, no one came into court to support me. Every one of them deserted me-may they not be held accountable for it. 17But the Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed for all the gentiles to hear; and so I was saved from the lion's mouth. *[Ps 22:21] 18The Lord will rescue me from all evil attempts on me, and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Farewells and final good wishes
19Greetings to Prisca and Aquila, and the family of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus stayed behind at Corinth, and I left Trophimus ill at Miletus. 21Make every effort to come before the winter. Greetings to you from Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers. 22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
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The Beaver Valley Chapter of the Knights of Columbus graciously thanks Duquesne University and Father Sean Hogan, C.S.Sp. for sponsoring our Knights of Columbus Beaver Valley Chapter web page. |
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