6:18a

Instruct them to do good: Paul also told Timothy to instruct rich believers to do good. In this context do good refers to helping others in practical ways.

6:18b

to be rich in good works: This verse part emphasizes 6:18a. Paul wanted the rich believers not only to do good (6:18a) but to do so “richly.” That is, he wanted them to do many good deeds.

rich: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rich literally means “wealthy.” It was used in this literal way in 6:17a. Here the word is used figuratively (as in 6:17e) to mean “generous,” or “abundant.”

In both Greek and English the word rich can have both this literal and figurative meaning. In many languages it is not possible to use the same word in both ways. If this is true in your language, you should not try to use the same word but translate the meaning clearly.

6:18c

generous: Paul wanted the rich believers to be generous. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as generous refers to someone who gladly gives his money or possessions to other people when they need them.

6:18d

ready to share: Paul also wanted the rich believers to be willing to share their possessions with others.

General Comment on 6:18c–d

These two words translated “generous” and “ready to share” mean almost the same thing. In some languages it may be necessary to combine these two terms into one expression.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

6:19a

treasuring up for themselves: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as treasuring up means “to keep safe that which is of great value; to treasure up, to keep safe.” (Louw and Nida (65.11) on apothēsaurizō) When a person uses his possessions to do good, it is like he is saving up and storing away something of great value. This will happen for rich people if they will obey Paul’s command in 6:17–18.

a firm foundation: Paul described this treasure as a firm foundation. A foundation is the base on which a house is built so that it will be stable. A foundation is the most stable part of a building. See the note on foundation in 3:15d. The stability of a foundation contrasts with what Paul said about riches on this earth, which easily disappear (6:17b).

Paul was saying here that when a rich person does good deeds, it is like that person is storing treasure. These good deeds act as a strong foundation upon which the person could build or base the future.

Jesus used a similar figure of speech in Matthew 6:20; Luke 12:33, 18:22.

for the future: In this context, Paul was referring to the life that a believer would enjoy forever after death. Paul used the same phrase with the same sense in 4:8c and Ephesians 1:21.

6:19b

so that: The Greek word hina that the Berean Standard Bible translates as so that introduces the purpose for which Paul exhorted rich people to obey his commands.

take hold of that which is truly life: This is the purpose for which Paul told rich people to obey his commands in 6:17–18. Living a life which is truly life means living life fully. This is something that a believer can only do in heaven with God. Life with God is true, real life.

take hold of: Paul was saying that when a person uses his possessions to help others, he can begin to experience eternal life. Paul was not saying that people earn their salvation by helping others. See the note on 6:12b.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

Paragraph 6:20a–21b

In this final paragraph, Paul was once more giving commands to Timothy himself.

6:20a

O Timothy: Paul addressed Timothy by name in this final paragraph of his letter. In Greek and in English, it is natural to place this name at the beginning of the sentence. However, in other languages, it may be more natural to place it at the end or in the middle. You should place Timothy’s name where it is most natural in your language.

guard what has been entrusted to you: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as guard what has been entrusted to you is a command to care for someone else’s possessions and make sure they are safe.

Here, Paul was not talking about an object that Timothy was to guard. He was talking about a task that God had entrusted to Timothy. This was probably the task of teaching God’s message. God had given this responsibility to Timothy. See the note on 1:11b and 1:18a.

6:20b

Avoid: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Avoid literally means to physically “swerve to avoid something.” Here Paul used the verb in a figurative way. He was telling Timothy to avoid certain types of conversation. In other words, he was not to listen to such ideas and he was to make sure that they did not influence what he taught.

irreverent: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as irreverent here and in 4:7a was translated as “profane” in 1:9e. Other translation possibilities for it are “godless,” “vile,” or “impure.”

empty chatter: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as empty chatter means “empty, worthless talk.” Paul was telling Timothy to avoid getting involved in conversations that were meaningless.

Paul used the same expression “godless” chatter in 2 Timothy 2:16.

6:20c

the opposing arguments: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as opposing arguments refers to something that contradicts something else. Scholars understand this in two ways:

(1) Paul was referring to ideas that opposed, or contradicted, the true teaching about God.

(2) Paul was referring to false teaching that contradicted itself and so was inconsistent and foolish. The Good News Translation translates it as “foolish arguments.”

It is not clear which of these interpretations many English versions follow. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

so-called “knowledge”: Paul wanted Timothy to know the difference between true knowledge and what some people claimed to be knowledge. That is, the false teachers claimed that the false teaching was true. Paul made it clear here to Timothy that these opposing arguments were not real knowledge.

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

6:21a

which some have professed: This verse part is closely connected to 6:20b. Some people had accepted the false teaching and also claimed that it was true. These people had been members of the Christian community but were no longer members.

6:21b

and thus: That is, in accepting the false teaching.

swerved away from the faith: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as swerved away from originally meant “to miss the mark.” Later it came to mean “to miss, fail, deviate, and depart.” Here it is figurative language. It means that the believers who had accepted the false teaching had stopped following their faith. See the notes on 1:6a and 6:10b.

Paragraph 6:21c

6:21c

Grace: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Grace means “favor, good will, kindness.” Paul wanted God to show kindness and favor to Timothy. The same Greek word occurs in 1:2c with the same meaning. Try to use the same term here as you used in 1:2c.

you all: This is the one place in the letter where the word you in Greek is plural. Paul may have meant for more people than Timothy to read the letter, or he expected Timothy to pass on his greetings to the other believers.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.