Passage

2 Timothy 2.17-18

Book: 2 Timothy · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"15. Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth. 16. But shun profane babblings: for they will proceed further in ungodliness,"

"17. and their word will eat as doth a gangrene: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18. men who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some."

"19. Howbeit the firm foundation of God standeth, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his: and, Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness. 20. Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor." (2 Timothy 2:15-20, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"15. Give diligence to present yourself approved by God, a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed, properly handling the Word of Truth. 16. But shun empty chatter, for it will go further in ungodliness,"

"17. and those words will consume like gangrene, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18. men who have erred concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past, and overthrowing the faith of some."

"19. However God’s firm foundation stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.” 20. Now in a large house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of clay. Some are for honor, and some for dishonor." (2 Timothy 2:15-20, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"15. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness."

"17. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; ^{canker: or, gangrene} 18. Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some."

"19. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. ^{sure: or, steady} 20. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour." (2 Timothy 2:15-20, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"15. be diligent to present thyself approved to God, a workman irreproachable, rightly dividing the word of the truth; 16. and the profane vain talkings stand aloof from, for to more impiety they will advance,"

"17. and their word as a gangrene will have pasture, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18. who concerning the truth did swerve, saying the rising again to have already been, and do overthrow the faith of some;"

"19. sure, nevertheless, hath the foundation of God stood, having this seal, 'The Lord hath known those who are His,' and 'Let him depart from unrighteousness, every one who is naming the name of Christ.' 20. And in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honour, and some to dishonour:" (2 Timothy 2:15-20, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

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.

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Quoted in

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.