2 Timothy 2:21

2 Timothy 2:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
• New International Version (NIV)Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

Context of 2 Timothy 2:21

19But the group of true believers remains strong, like the foundation under a building. God has written his message there. It says, ‘The Lord knows who his own people are.’ It also says, ‘Everyone who says that he belongs to the Lord must stop doing bad things.’ 20In a big house, there are different kinds of dishes. There are some dishes that people have made from gold or from silver. They see those dishes as valuable things. There are also dishes that people have made from wood or from clay. Those dishes are not special things and they may get dirty. It is like that with people who serve God as their Master. People who keep themselves clean from those bad things will be like valuable dishes. Their master can use them for a special purpose. They will be ready for him to use them for every kind of good work. 22Be careful not to do the kind of bad things that young people often want to do. Instead, always try to do what is right and fair. Continue to trust God. Love other people and live in peace with them. Join with people who are clean inside and who pray to the Lord. 23Do not join with people who want to argue about silly things that do not mean anything. You know that silly things like that only cause people to quarrel.

2 Timothy 2:21 word by word

ἐὰν οὖν τις ἐκκαθάρῃ ἑαυτὸν ἀπὸ τούτων, ἔσται σκεῦος εἰς τιμὴν ἡγιασμένον εὔχρηστον τῷ δεσπότῃ, εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἡτοιμασμένον.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• a manτιςtis · oneG5100
• thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• purgeἐκκαθαίρωekkathairō · to cleanseG1571
• himselfἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• theseοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• he shall beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• a vesselσκεῦοςskeuos · vesselG4632
• untoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• honourτιμήtimē · honorG5092
• sanctifiedἁγιάζωhagiazō · to sanctifyG37
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• meet forεὔχρηστοςeuchrēstos · helpfulG2173
• the master’sὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the master’sδεσπότηςdespotēs · masterG1203
• preparedἑτοιμάζωhetoimazō · to make readyG2090
• everyπᾶςpas · allG3956
• goodἀγαθόςagathos · goodG18
• workἔργονergon · workG2041

Cross-references for 2 Timothy 2:21

• Psalms 119:9How can a young man live a clean life? He must be careful to obey your message.
• Isaiah 1:25I will turn against you, Jerusalem. I will make you pure again. But you will be like metal that burns in a very hot fire to remove all the dirt.
• Isaiah 52:11Leave! Leave! Go out from there. Do not touch anything that is unclean. Leave that foreign place! The people who carry the Lord's special things must keep themselves pure.
• Jeremiah 15:19So the Lord said this to me: ‘If you turn back to me, I will help you to be strong. Then you can continue to serve me. Speak valuable words instead of useless words. Then you can speak on my behalf. These people must change to be like you have been. You must not change to become like them.
• Malachi 3:3He will work like a man who uses a hot fire to make gold and silver pure. He will make the Levites clean and pure. He will remove their dirt. Then they can offer proper sacrifices to the Lord.
• 1 Corinthians 5:7The yeast in the flour is like one person who does wrong things. You must remove this old yeast from among you. Then you will be like a new loaf of bread. You are really like a loaf which has no yeast in it. You are pure, because Christ died as a sacrifice on our behalf. He is like the lamb that the Israelites killed for their Passover meal.
• 2 Corinthians 7:1So, my friends, God has promised these things to us. So we must keep ourselves clean from everything that makes our bodies or our spirits unclean. We must respect and obey God. Then we will become more and more like him.
• 1 Peter 1:22You have obeyed God's true message. As a result, you have become clean inside, and now you can really love other believers. So continue to love each other very well, with honest thoughts.
• 1 John 3:3Christ is completely good. So all of us who hope to see him then must keep ourselves clean from sin.
• 2 Timothy 2:20In a big house, there are different kinds of dishes. There are some dishes that people have made from gold or from silver. They see those dishes as valuable things. There are also dishes that people have made from wood or from clay. Those dishes are not special things and they may get dirty.
• 1 Peter 1:7The purpose of these troubles is to show whether you really trust God. When you believe in Jesus, that is more valuable even than gold. People put gold into a hot fire to see if it is really good. And even gold will come to an end one day. But if you continue to trust God in your troubles, he will be very happy. On the day when Jesus Christ returns and appears to everyone, God will praise you. He will say that you have done well. That will be great!
• Acts 9:15But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go now to Saul! I have chosen him to work for me. He will go to those who are not Jews and to their rulers. He will tell them about me. He will also tell the people of Israel about me.
• 2 Timothy 3:17As a result, people who want to serve God can know how to live properly. They will be people who are ready to do all kinds of good things.
• Ephesians 2:10It is God who has worked in us to make us what we are. He has given us a new life because we are united with Christ Jesus. He saved us so that now we can do good things in our lives. Those are good things that he has already prepared for us to do.

Commentaries on 2 Timothy 2:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21If a man therefore purge himself from these - He that takes heed to his ways and to his doctrines, and walks with God, will separate himself, not only from all false doctrine, but from all wicked men, and thus be sanctified and proper to be employed by the Master in every good word and work. The apostle has not made the application of these different similes, and it is very difficult to tell what he means.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour - If a man “cleanse” or “purify” himself; compare the notes on John 15:2. The word “these” refers, here, to the persons represented by the vessels of wood and of earth - the vessels made to dishonor, as mentioned in the previous verse 2 Timothy 2:20. The idea is, that if one would preserve himself from the corrupting influence of such men, he would be fitted to be a vessel of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-21Verses 14-21 Those disposed to strive, commonly strive about matters of small moment. But strifes of words destroy the things of God. The apostle mentions some who erred. They did not deny the resurrection, but they corrupted that true doctrine. Yet nothing can be so foolish or erroneous, but it will overturn the temporary faith of some professors. This foundation has two writings on it. One speaks our comfort. None can overthrow the faith of any whom God…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-21Building on 2:19, the apostle Paul uses imagery of vessels in a wealthy home (see Romans 9:21). In God's household, Christians should strive to be like a valuable and useful vessel, not a cheap or useless one.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. If a man ... purge himself from these--The Greek expresses "If one (for example, thou, Timothy) purify himself (so as to separate) from among these" (vessels unto dishonor). sanctified--set apart as wholly consecrated to the Lord. and meet--Some oldest manuscripts omit "and." the master's--the Lord's. Paul himself was such a vessel: once one among those of earth, but afterwards he became by grace one of gold. prepared unto every good work--(2Ti 3:17…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Timothy 2:21

• Holiness
• Minister, Christian
• Parables
• Purity
• Righteous
• Sanctification
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Acknowledge
• Approved
• Commit
• Deny
• Eat
• Endure
• Entangle
• Eternal
• Faithful
• Foolish

Commentaries on 2 Timothy 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings