Remember does not necessarily imply having forgotten something but indicates paying greater attention to something, hence “bear in mind” (compare Contemporary English Version “Keep your mind on Jesus Christ!”). Another way to express this is “Think about.” This is one of the few cases in the Pastorals where the order Jesus Christ appears (see 1 Tim 1.16; 6.3; 6.14; also Titus 1.1; 2.13; 3.6 for other occurrences). The usual order is “Christ Jesus,” which occurs twenty-two times in these letters.

Two aspects about Jesus are mentioned as the focus of attention, namely, his lineage and his resurrection. One should note that in the Greek text the resurrection is mentioned ahead of lineage. Chronologically, of course, lineage is prior to the resurrection, but the resurrection has priority in terms of importance. In languages where chronological ordering is important, this may need to be restructured to reflect the correct chronological sequence (compare Contemporary English Version “He was from the family of David and was raised from death”).

It is possible for the text to be read in such a way as to relate Remember to these two aspects of Jesus and not to Jesus himself; this is reflected in some translations (for example, King James Version “Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead…”); it is also possible to relate Remember to the gospel itself (for example, Revised English Bible “Remember the theme of my gospel: Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, born of David’s line”; also New Jerusalem Bible “Remember the gospel that I carry…”). Most other translations, however, relate Remember to Jesus himself.

Risen from the dead is a typical New Testament way of referring to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The passive here can be interpreted as a passive of divine avoidance. The death of Jesus is taken very seriously, so that he does not rise from the dead, but his resurrection is made possible as a direct act of God. So in some languages it will be more natural style to say “whom God raised from death.” This verse is the only place where the resurrection is referred to in the Pastoral Letters. This is rather strange in some ways, since in other New Testament letters the resurrection is often the most important feature, because of the central position it had in early Christian preaching (see, for example, 1 Cor 15.4, 12-20).

Descended from David is literally “of the seed of David.” “Seed” is used in some parts of the Bible to refer to descendants (see, for example, Gal 3.16 [translated “offspring”]; Rom 1.3 [literally “of the seed of David”]). This reference to Jesus as a descendant of David achieves two things: it accents Jesus’ humanity (compare Rom 1.3), and it reaffirms Jesus’ messiahship. The Jews believe that the Messiah will come from the lineage of David and will reestablish David’s kingdom. It is therefore significant that “Son of David” is one of the titles used in the Gospels to describe Jesus. Descended from David (Good News Translation “a descendant from David”) may be expressed in differing ways; for example, “whose forefather was David,” “whose great ancestor was David,” “who was a distant grandchild of David,” or even “who was a later man in David’s family.” In certain languages where there is a royal level of the language, it will be important to designate David as King and say, for example, “who continues the name line of King David.”

These two facts about Jesus are not inventions or fabrications of Paul’s fertile imagination; on the contrary, they are an integral part of the gospel itself. As preached in my gospel is literally “according to my gospel.” The gospel of course neither originates from Paul nor belongs to him; on the contrary, it belongs to God. This statement must therefore be restructured to indicate this fact; for example, “according to the Good News that I preach (or, proclaim),” or “according to the Good News that God has commissioned me to proclaim.”

Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• Think about Jesus Christ! God raised him from death, and his great forefather (or, ancestor) was King David. This is what I preach in the Good News.

Or:
• Think about Jesus Christ! He was from David’s family, and God raised him from death….

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 .