2:4–6
In 2:4–6, Paul compared the Christian to three types of people. Then in 2:7 he advised Timothy to think deeply about the meaning of these three comparisons. This shows that the point of comparison in Paul’s illustrations would not be immediately clear even to Timothy. He needed to think about what Paul wrote to him. Because of this, you should avoid making the points of comparison explicit in your translation.
2:4a
A soldier: This refers to a soldier on active duty.
entangling himself: This phrase is the translation of one Greek verb. It occurs only here and in 2 Peter 2:20. It means “to get entangled in” or “to get mixed up with.”
in civilian affairs: This phrase is literally “matters/affairs of life.” It can refer to any matter in general, or more specifically, to a business or job that is not a military job. A soldier may have brief times when he is not actually working as a soldier, but even during those times he is not free to start working at some other kind of job.
Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
everyday matters (New Century Version)
-or-
non-military activities (God’s Word)
2:4b
in order to: In the Greek text, the conjunction hina (in order to) connects 2:4a and 2:4b. There are several ways to show this connection.
• Make the conjunction implicit. The New International Version (2011 Revision) uses a dash to indicate the connection between these two verse parts.
4aNo one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—4bhe wants to please his commanding officer.
Other translations (God’s Word, Contemporary English Version) begin a new sentence at 2:4b.
4aSoldiers on duty don’t work at outside jobs. 4bThey try only to please their commanding officer. (Contemporary English Version)
• Make the conjunction explicit like the Berean Standard Bible and and New American Standard Bible do. For example, the New American Standard Bible says:
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
• State 2:4b negatively like the NET Bible does.
No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who recruited him.
See also New Living Translation (2004 Revision), and Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.
• Reorder 2:4a and 2:4b.
4bA soldier wants to please his commanding officer, 4aso he does not get involved in civilian affairs.
You should use the option that is most natural in your language.
the one who enlisted him: In Greek, this is literally “the one having enlisted (him).” The Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, and NET Bible translate this literally. However, a literal translation like “the enlistment officer” may give the wrong impression. In Paul’s time, each officer gathered together (or enlisted) the men he later commanded. This was different than many of today’s armies where the enlistment officer is a completely different person than the commanding officer. Therefore, a term like “commanding officer” or “commander” may be more appropriate.
General Comment on 2:4
The Christian’s commanding officer is Christ. The point of the comparison between a soldier and a person who serves Christ is that the soldier and the Christian must each completely commit himself to his commander, doing whatever the commander tells him to do.
However, the point of comparison should not be made explicit in the translation because in 2:7, Paul asked Timothy to think about what he was saying and said that the Lord would help Timothy to understand it. Therefore, Paul was not trying to be completely explicit.
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.