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

2And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well. 3Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who recruited him. 5Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he will not be crowned as the winner unless he competes according to the rules. 6The farmer who works hard 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 20:5Moreover, the officers are to say to the troops, “Who among you has built a new house and not dedicated it? He may go home, lest he die in battle and someone else dedicate it.
• Luke 9:59Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
• 2 Timothy 4:10For Demas deserted me, since he loved the present age, and he went to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia.
• Luke 8:14As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
• 1 Corinthians 9:25Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.
• 1 Timothy 6:9Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
• 2 Peter 2:20For if after they have escaped the filthy things of the world through the rich knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again get entangled in them and succumb to them, their last state has become worse for them than their first.
• 1 Corinthians 7:22For the one who was called in the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. In the same way, the one who was called as a free person is Christ’s slave.
• 2 Corinthians 5:9So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please him.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:4but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but 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