2 Timothy 3:14-17

3:14 You, however, must continue ¹  in the things you have learned and are confident about. You know ²  who taught you ³  3:15 and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 3:16 Every scripture ⁴  is inspired by God ⁵  and useful for teaching, for reproof, ⁶  for correction, and for training in righteousness, 3:17 that the person dedicated to God ⁷  may be capable ⁸  and equipped for every good work.

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¹ tn Grk “but you, continue,” a command.

² tn Grk “knowing,” giving the reasons for continuing as v. 14 calls for.

³ tn Grk “those from whom you learned.”

⁴ tn Or “All scripture.”

sn There is very little difference in sense between every scripture (emphasizing the individual portions) and “all scripture” (emphasizing the composite whole). The former option is preferred, because it fits the normal use of the word “all/every” in Greek (πᾶς, pas) as well as Paul’s normal sense for the word “scripture” in the singular without the article, as here. So every scripture means “every individual portion of scripture.”

⁵ sn Inspired by God. Some have connected this adjective in a different way and translated it as “every inspired scripture is also useful.” But this violates the parallelism of the two adjectives in the sentence, and the arrangement of words makes clear that both should be taken as predicate adjectives: “every scripture is inspired…and useful.”

⁶ tn Or “rebuke,” “censure.” The Greek word implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.

⁷ tn Grk “the man of God,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is most likely used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

⁸ tn This word is positioned for special emphasis; it carries the sense of “complete, competent, able to meet all demands.”