Passage

2 Timothy 1.13

Book: 2 Timothy · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

11. whereunto I was appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher. 12. For which cause I suffer also these things: yet I am not ashamed; for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed unto him against that day.

13. Hold the pattern of sound words which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

That good thing which was committed unto thee guard through the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us. 15. This thou knowest, that all that are in Asia turned away from me; of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. (2 Timothy 1:11-15, ASV)

WEB

11. For this, I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12. For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.

13. Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 15. This you know, that all who are in Asia turned away from me; of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. (2 Timothy 1:11-15, WEB)

KJV

11. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. ^{believed: or, trusted}

13. Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. 15. This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. (2 Timothy 1:11-15, KJV)

YLT

11. to which I was placed a preacher and an apostle, and a teacher of nations, 12. for which cause also these things I suffer, but I am not ashamed, for I have known in whom I have believed, and have been persuaded that he is able that which I have committed to him to guard, to that day.

13. The pattern hold thou of sound words, which from me thou didst hear, in faith and love that [is] in Christ Jesus;

the good thing committed guard thou through the Holy Spirit that is dwelling in us; 15. thou hast known this, that they did turn from me, all those in Asia, of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes; (2 Timothy 1:11-15, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Paul, who names himself in the opening line (1:1) and writes as a prisoner (1:8; 2:9). Authorship of the three Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus) is disputed. Many critical scholars hold that a later follower wrote them in Paul's name, pointing to differences of vocabulary and style from the undisputed letters and to a more settled church order. Others defend Paul's authorship, among them Luke Timothy Johnson (Anchor Bible, 2001), William Mounce (Word Biblical Commentary, 2000) and Philip Towner (NICNT, 2006), citing the letter's many personal details.
Audience: Timothy, "my beloved child" (1:2), whose "unfeigned faith" dwelt first in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (1:5). He is probably still at Ephesus: Paul reminds him of Onesiphorus's service there, which Timothy "knowest very well" (1:18), and greets Prisca and Aquila (4:19). Paul urges him to come to Rome quickly (4:9, 21).
Location: Rome, where Paul is in chains; Onesiphorus "sought me diligently, and found me" there (1:16-17).
Time period: on Pauline authorship, Paul's final imprisonment, usually dated c. AD 64-67, shortly before his death; he writes, "the time of my departure is come" (4:6). Scholars who regard the letter as pseudonymous usually place it late in the first century or early in the second. The reading below does not depend on the choice.
Literary context: part of the charge to guard the gospel (1:13-14), which follows Paul's own testimony of unashamed suffering (1:11-12) and precedes the account of those who deserted him in Asia (1:15).

Theological reading

"Hold the pattern of sound words which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 1:13, ASV)

A pattern. "Pattern" (hypotypōsis) means an outline or model sketch. Paul uses the same word of himself in the first letter, saved as "an ensample of them that should thereafter believe" (1 Timothy 1:16). Timothy is to keep to the outline of teaching he received from Paul, not reshape it. The teaching has a recognizable form that can be held, passed on, and checked against (compare 2:2).

Sound, that is, healthy. "Sound" translates a participle of hygiainō, "to be healthy", the root of the English "hygiene". The image runs through the Pastoral Epistles: "the sound doctrine" (1 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:3), "sound words" (1 Timothy 6:3), and the overseer who is to "exhort in the sound doctrine" (Titus 1:9). By contrast, false teaching "will eat as doth a gangrene" (2:17). Doctrine, on this picture, is not a matter of taste; it produces health or disease in those who receive it. See 2 Timothy 4.3-4.

Held in faith and love. The manner matters as much as the content. Timothy is to hold the pattern "in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus". Orthodoxy held without love, or contended for without faith, misses the point of the words being guarded. The next verse names the power that makes the guarding possible: "the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us" (1:14). See 2 Timothy 1.14.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

None of the words in this verse has its own lexicon entry yet.

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.