This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight,
Parallel translations
- WEB This instruction I commit to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which led the way to you, that by them you may wage the good warfare;
- KJV This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
- BSB Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command in keeping with the previous prophecies about you, so that by them you may fight the good fight,
- NKJV This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
- NLT Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul charges Timothy, in line with prophecies spoken over him, to fight the good fight. It frames ministry as a spiritual battle requiring resolve.
Overview
Paul entrusts his charge to Timothy, recalling earlier prophecies that pointed to Timothy's calling. He urges him to 'wage the good warfare,' picturing faithful ministry as spiritual combat. Timothy is to draw courage from God's prior confirmation of his call.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 1 Tim 4:14Don’t neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the elders.
- 1 Tim 6:20Timothy, guard that which is committed to you, turning away from the empty chatter and oppositions of what is falsely called knowledge;
- 2 Tim 4:1–3I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom:
- 2 Tim 2:1–5You therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
- 2 Cor 10:3–4For though we walk in the flesh, we don’t wage war according to the flesh;
- 2 Tim 4:7I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.
- Phil 2:22But you know the proof of him, that, as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News.
- Eph 6:12–18For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
- 1 Tim 6:12–14Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you confessed the good confession in the sight of many witnesses.
- 1 Tim 1:11–12according to the Good News of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
- 1 Tim 1:2to Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
- 2 Tim 1:2to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
- 1 Tim 4:4For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving.
- Phlm 1:10I beg you for my child, whom I have become the father of in my chains, Onesimus,
- Titus 1:4to Titus, my true child according to a common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
There is 'one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all' — the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh.
How 1 Timothy 1:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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