The expression the Lord’s servant appears only here in the New Testament, although “servant of Jesus Christ” appears in many of the New Testament letters (for example, Rom 1.1; James 1.1; 2 Peter 1.1; Jude 1), and in Titus 1.1 Paul calls himself “a servant of God.” In some languages “God’s servant” will be a good model. Some suggest that the Lord’s servant is used here in a technical sense to refer to those in the ministry, in contrast to the laity. The term of course is used of Timothy but has a wider application to include other church leaders as well. In that case it will be possible to translate this first phrase as “God’s servants must not…” and continue using the plural pronoun through verse 25.

As is common in lists found in these letters, there is mention of at least one negative trait to be avoided and several traits to be emulated. The negative trait in this case is quarrelsome, for which see previous verse; the Lord’s servant thus contrasts in behavior with those who quarrel in verse 23. This could of course be understood to mean that Timothy should not confront the false teachers at all, a misunderstanding that is corrected by the positive traits. In kindly to every one the false teachers are included. Kindly translates a word that occurs only here in the New Testament and primarily means “gentle” in the sense of not being harsh or cruel, hence “kind.” An apt teacher translates one Greek word that is also one of the qualities of a bishop (see 1 Tim 3.2). Forbearing translates a word that occurs nowhere else in the New Testament and characterizes someone who is able to endure any difficulty without complaining, hence “patient.” One should note that Good News Translation makes patience a quality of teaching, hence “a good and patient teacher.” This is possible, but of course it is also possible to list patience as a separate virtue; for example, “and they must be good teachers and very patient” (Contemporary English Version).

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• God’s servants must not quarrel with other people. Instead they should be kind toward everyone. They should also be good teachers and very patient.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .