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That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
2 Timothy 1:14 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
  • BSB Guard the treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
  • NKJV That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
  • NASB Protect, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
  • NLT Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.

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

Timothy must guard the good deposit entrusted to him through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Preserving sound truth is a Spirit-empowered task, not merely human effort.

Overview

The 'good thing' committed to Timothy is the gospel and sound doctrine he is to protect from corruption. Crucially, this guarding is done not by human resolve alone but 'through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.' Faithful transmission of the truth depends on God's own power working within his servants.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 21

  • John 14:17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
  • Rom 8:13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
  • 1 Tim 6:20O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
  • Rom 8:9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
  • 1 Cor 3:16Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
  • 2 Tim 1:12For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
  • 1 Pet 1:22Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
  • 1 Th 5:19Quench not the Spirit.
  • Eph 5:18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
  • Eph 2:22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
  • 1 Tim 1:11According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
  • 2 Cor 5:19–20To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
  • 1 Cor 9:17For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
  • 2 Tim 2:2And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
  • Col 4:11And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.
  • Rom 3:2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
  • Gal 2:7But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;
  • 1 Cor 6:19What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
  • Rom 8:11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
  • 2 Cor 5:16Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
  • Luke 16:11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Timothy videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Timothy 1:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 TimothyMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Christ Jesus 'abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel' — the risen Lord whose word and kingdom endure to the end.

How 2 Timothy 1:14 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.