Passage
2 Timothy 2.22
Book: 2 Timothy · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
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ASV
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. 21. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work.
22. But flee youthful lusts, and follow after righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
- But foolish and ignorant questionings refuse, knowing that they gender strifes. 24. And the Lord's servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing, (2 Timothy 2:20-24, ASV)
WEB
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. 21. If anyone therefore purges himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, and suitable for the master’s use, prepared for every good work.
22. Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
- But refuse foolish and ignorant questionings, knowing that they generate strife. 24. The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but be gentle towards all, able to teach, patient, (2 Timothy 2:20-24, WEB)
KJV
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. 21. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
22. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
- But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. 24. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, patient: or, forbearing (2 Timothy 2:20-24, KJV)
YLT
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: 21. if, then, any one may cleanse himself from these, he shall be a vessel to honour, sanctified and profitable to the master, to every good work having been prepared,
22. and the youthful lusts flee thou, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those calling upon the Lord out of a pure heart;
- and the foolish and uninstructed questions be avoiding, having known that they beget strife, 24. and a servant of the Lord it behoveth not to strive, but to be gentle unto all, apt to teach, patient under evil, (2 Timothy 2:20-24, 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
"Flee youthful lusts: but follow after righteousness, faith, love, peace." The instruction is two-directional and the second half is usually dropped in quotation. Fleeing alone leaves a vacuum; Paul pairs every flight with a pursuit, as at 1 Timothy 6:11.
"Youthful" is worth noting, since Timothy was not a boy; 1 Timothy 4:12 tells him not to let anyone despise his youth, which in context means a man young for the responsibility he carries. The desires in view need not be limited to sexual ones, and the chapter's own concerns suggest otherwise: verses 14, 16 and 23 warn against word-battles, profane babblings, and foolish questionings that gender strifes. The final clause, "with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart," attaches the whole pursuit to company. It is not framed as a solitary discipline._
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.
- G1343 - dikaiosyne, dikaiosyne, Strong's G1343
- G0026 - agape, agape, Strong's G0026
- G2588 - kardia, kardia, Strong's G2588
- G4102 - pistis, pistis, Strong's G4102
- G2962 - kyrios, kyrios, Strong's G2962
Quoted in
Arguments and defeaters:
Lexicon:
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.