Bible Strands
2 Timothy 4:5
But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul writes to Timothy from a Roman prison, knowing his execution is near (v.6). He is handing over the work of the ministry.
The words — νῆφε (nēphe), "be sober," is a rare NT verb, a direct command for mental clarity under pressure. κακοπαθέω (kakopathēson) compounds "bad" with "suffer," literally "endure bad things," and carries the heaviest imperative in the verse.
The thread — The same sober endurance recurs in 2 Timothy 1:8 and 2:3, where Paul frames suffering as the cost of the gospel. 1 Peter 1:13 pairs sobriety with fixed hope, showing the pattern extends beyond Paul's letters.
Why it lands — It is not encouragement but a task list: stay clear, stay in it, do the work, finish the job. The reader is addressed as the one who must carry it forward, not the one who gets comforted.
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
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Cross-references
- 2 Timothy 1:8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.
- 2 Timothy 2:3 Join me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
- 1 Peter 1:13 Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Colossians 4:17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
- 2 Timothy 3:10 You, however, have observed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my perseverance,
- 1 Timothy 4:15 Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.
- 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.
- Acts 21:8 Leaving the next day, we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6 So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.
- Ephesians 4:11 And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,