Bible Strands
1 Timothy 6:20
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called “knowledge,”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to Timothy in Ephesus, delivering a final charge just before the benediction of the letter (6:21). The tone is urgent and personal, addressing the young overseer by name.
The words — parathēkēn (G3866) is a commercial term for goods stored in a warehouse, implying a fixed, countable deposit rather than a vague idea. phulaxon (G5442) is a military aorist imperative: guard it now, decisively, as a sentry would.
The thread — 2 Timothy 2:14 repeats the same parathēkēn / phulassō pairing; 2 Timothy 2:16 and Colossians 2:8 target the same "empty" intellectualism. 1 Timothy 6:21 names the concrete result: swerving from the faith.
Why it lands — The command is not to add to the deposit but to refuse what is pressed against it: the claim that human "knowledge" (gnōsis) supersedes what was handed down. It asks the reader to treat received truth as a fixed quantity under threat, not a starting point for revision.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
Cross-references
- Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
- 2 Timothy 2:16 But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,
- 2 Timothy 1:12 For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.
- Romans 3:2 Much in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.
- Colossians 2:18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind.
- 2 Timothy 3:14 But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.
- 1 Timothy 6:14 Keep this commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ,
- 2 Thessalonians 1:4 That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.
- 1 Timothy 1:6 Some have strayed from these ways and turned aside to empty talk.