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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
• 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.

Context of 2 Timothy 2:4

2The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful people who will be able to teach others also. 3Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him. 5And if someone likewise competes as an athlete, he is not crowned as victor unless he competes according to the rules. 6The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his 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

• Noοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
• soldierστρατεύωstrateuomai · to battleG4754
• entanglesἐμπλέκωemplekō · to entangle/involveG1707
• the affairsπραγματείαpragmateia · affairsG4230
• of everydayβίοςbios · lifeG979
• soἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• he may pleaseἀρέσκωareskō · to pleaseG700
• the one who enlistedστρατολογέωstratologeō · to enlistG4758

Cross-references for 2 Timothy 2:4

• Deuteronomy 20:5The officers also shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Who is the man that has built a new house but has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would dedicate it.
• Luke 9:59And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
• 2 Timothy 4:10for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
• Luke 8:14And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity.
• 1 Corinthians 9:25Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
• 1 Timothy 6:9But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge people into ruin and destruction.
• 2 Peter 2:20For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
• 1 Corinthians 7:22For the one who was called in the Lord as a slave, is the Lord’s freed person; likewise the one who was called as free, is Christ’s slave.
• 2 Corinthians 5:9Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:4but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not intending to please people, but to please God, who examines 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