2 Timothy 2:4

2 Timothy 2:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
• New International Version (NIV)No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.
• New King James Version (NKJV)No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.

Context of 2 Timothy 2:4

2and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

2 Timothy 2:4 word by word

οὐδεὶς στρατευόμενος ἐμπλέκεται ταῖς τοῦ βίου πραγματείαις, ἵνα τῷ στρατολογήσαντι ἀρέσῃ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• No manοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
• that warrethστρατεύωstrateuomai · to battleG4754
• entangleth himselfἐμπλέκωemplekō · to entangle/involveG1707
• with the affairs ofπραγματείαpragmateia · affairsG4230
• lifeβίοςbios · lifeG979
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• he may pleaseἀρέσκωareskō · to pleaseG700
• him who hath chosen him to be a soldierστρατολογέωstratologeō · to enlistG4758

Cross-references for 2 Timothy 2:4

• Deuteronomy 20:5Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying, 'Is there any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it.
• Luke 9:59To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
• 2 Timothy 4:10For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
• Luke 8:14And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
• 1 Corinthians 9:25Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
• 1 Timothy 6:9But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
• 2 Peter 2:20For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
• 1 Corinthians 7:22For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ.
• 2 Corinthians 5:9So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:4but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

Commentaries on 2 Timothy 2:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4No man that warreth entangleth, etc. - It is well remarked by Grotius, on this passage, that the legionary soldiers among the Romans were not permitted to engage in husbandry, merchandise, mechanical employments, or any thing that might be inconsistent with their calling. Many canons, at different times, have been made to prevent ecclesiastics from intermeddling with secular employments. The who will preach the Gospel thoroughly, and wishes to give full…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life - Having alluded to the soldier, and stated one thing in which the Christian minister is to resemble him, another point of resemblance is suggested to the mind of the apostle. Neither the minister nor the soldier is to be encumbered with the affairs of this life, and the one should not be more than the other. This is always a condition in becoming a soldier. He gives up his own business…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-7Paul quickly quotes a series of sayings about hard work, struggle, and reward.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. "No one while serving as a soldier." the affairs of (this) life--"the businesses of life" [Alford]; mercantile, or other than military. him who hath chosen him--the general who at the first enlisted him as a soldier. Paul himself worked at tent-making (Ac 18:3). Therefore what is prohibited here is, not all other save religious occupation, but the becoming entangled, or over-engrossed therewith.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Timothy 2:4

• Care
• Minister, Christian
• Parables
• Righteous
• Self-Denial
• War
• Worldliness

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