Bible Strands
2 Timothy 2:22
Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses Timothy, extending the immediate instruction on spiritual readiness and the rejection of divisive speculation. The directive functions as a practical boundary for maintaining holy conduct within the community.
The words — φεῦγε (pheuge) means flee, and διώκε (diōke) means pursue. These imperatives structure the verse as a dual command to abandon specific behaviors and actively chase spiritual virtues.
The thread — The instruction to flee fleshly desires and pursue righteousness aligns with 1 Peter 2:11 and 1 Corinthians 6:18, while the pursuit of peace mirrors 1 Peter 3:11. These passages collectively establish flight from sin and active pursuit of holiness as consistent apostolic teaching.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate action against destructive impulses and deliberate association with believers who worship God sincerely. It requires the reader to actively choose spiritual disciplines and community alignment over natural inclinations.
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
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.
- 1 Peter 3:11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
- 1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
- 1 Timothy 6:11 But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
- Psalms 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your word.
- Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
- 1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
- Psalms 66:18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
- 1 Corinthians 10:14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
- 1 Timothy 1:5 The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.