Passage

2 Timothy 1.3

Book: 2 Timothy · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus, 2. to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers in a pure conscience, how unceasing is my remembrance of thee in my supplications, night and day

longing to see thee, remembering thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; 5. having been reminded of the unfeigned faith that is in thee; which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and, I am persuaded, in thee also. (2 Timothy 1:1-5, ASV)

WEB

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus, 2. to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3. I thank God, whom I serve as my forefathers did, with a pure conscience. How unceasing is my memory of you in my petitions, night and day

longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy; 5. having been reminded of the sincere faith that is in you; which lived first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, in you also. (2 Timothy 1:1-5, WEB)

KJV

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, 2. To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;

Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; ^{Greatly: or, remembering thy tears, I greatly desire to see thee that} 5. When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. (2 Timothy 1:1-5, KJV)

YLT

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, through the will of God, according to a promise of life that [is] in Christ Jesus, 2. to Timotheus, beloved child: Grace, kindness, peace, from God the Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord!

3. I am thankful to God, whom I serve from progenitors in a pure conscience, that unceasingly I have remembrance concerning thee in my supplications night and day,

desiring greatly to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that with joy I may be filled, 5. taking remembrance of the unfeigned faith that is in thee, that dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that also in thee. (2 Timothy 1:1-5, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Paul, writing under his own name
Audience: Timothy, Paul's delegate at Ephesus
Location: written from imprisonment at Rome to Timothy at Ephesus
Time period: c. AD 64-67, traditionally Paul's last letter, written from a second Roman imprisonment shortly before his execution

Theological reading

"Whom I serve from my forefathers in a pure conscience" is a significant claim from a man who had persecuted the church. Paul does not describe his conversion as a change of gods. He presents his service of the God of Israel as continuous with his ancestors, which is his consistent position: Acts 24:14 says he serves the God of his fathers, believing all things according to the law and written in the prophets, and Romans 11:1 insists he is himself an Israelite.

The apologetic weight is real. Christianity is not presented in the New Testament as a new religion replacing Judaism but as the fulfillment of what Israel was promised, and the claim is made most forcefully by the apostle to the Gentiles. The mention of unceasing remembrance in his prayers "night and day" is the standard language of Paul's letters and here comes from a prison cell._

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; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G4893 - syneidesis, syneidesis, Strong's G4893
G5485 - charis, charis, Strong's G5485
G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316

Quoted in

Lexicon:

G4893 - syneidesis

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.