Limitless Word
Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
2 Timothy 4:18 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me for his heavenly Kingdom; to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
  • KJV And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
  • BSB And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
  • NKJV And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!
  • NASB The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

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 expresses confident hope that the Lord will rescue him from every evil and bring him safely into the heavenly Kingdom, then breaks into praise. His assurance rests on God's preserving grace, not on escaping death.

Overview

Aware that his execution is near (4:6-8), Paul's confidence is not that he will avoid martyrdom but that God will keep him for the heavenly Kingdom—a deliverance that transcends death itself. This perseverance is the work of Christ, who preserves his own to the end (John 10:28; Philippians 1:6). The spontaneous doxology, 'to whom be the glory forever,' shows that Paul's hope overflows into worship. It is a fitting climax to a life poured out, grounding final assurance in God's glory rather than human strength.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 31

  • Ps 121:7Yahweh will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul.
  • 2 Th 3:3But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you, and guard you from the evil one.
  • Jude 1:24–25Now to him who is able to keep them from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory in great joy,
  • Matt 6:13Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
  • 1 Th 5:23May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • John 10:28–30I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
  • Ps 73:24You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
  • 1 Pet 1:5who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
  • 2 Tim 1:12For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.
  • 2 Cor 1:10who delivered us out of so great a death, and does deliver; on whom we have set our hope that he will also still deliver us;
  • Heb 13:21make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
  • Ps 37:28For Yahweh loves justice, and doesn’t forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
  • Rom 11:36For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
  • 1 Chr 4:10Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border! May your hand be with me, and may you keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” God granted him that which he requested.
  • Matt 13:43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
  • John 17:15I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one.
  • Ps 92:10But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox. I am anointed with fresh oil.
  • 1 Cor 10:13No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
  • Luke 12:32Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
  • Gen 48:16the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. Let them grow into a multitude upon the earth.”
  • 1 Tim 6:16who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
  • Matt 25:34Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
  • 1 Tim 1:17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
  • Rom 16:27
  • Gal 1:5to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
  • 1 Pet 5:11To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
  • Jude 1:1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
  • 1 Sam 25:39When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed is Yahweh, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil. Yahweh has returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to himself as wife.
  • Luke 11:4Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
  • Jas 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him?
  • Luke 22:29I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 4:18YouTube · 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 4:18 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

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.