2 Timothy 1:8
What does 2 Timothy 1:8 mean?
A plain-English look at 2 Timothy 1:8 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 2 Timothy 1:8 means
Paul gives the practical outworking of courage: Timothy must not be ashamed of the Lord’s testimony or of Paul, who calls himself “his prisoner.” Paul’s imprisonment is under Christ’s sovereignty, not Rome’s ultimate control. Timothy is to join in suffering for the gospel, relying on God’s power. The call is not to seek pain but to accept it when fidelity to Christ requires it. Shame often silences; Paul instead urges public identification with Christ and His servants. Suffering is not a failure of the mission; it is part of faithful witness. God’s power, not human resolve alone, enables endurance and keeps the gospel from being compromised by fear of disgrace.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Be not ashamed therefore of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of God;
KJV
King James Version · 1611Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Be not ashamed therefore of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of God;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Have no feeling of shame, then, for the witness of our Lord or for me, his prisoner: but undergo all things for the good news in the measure of the power of God;
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862therefore thou mayest not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but do thou suffer evil along with the good news according to the power of God,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but labour with the gospel, according to the power of God.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but suffer evil along with the glad tidings, according to the power ofGod;
Context
Verse 8 follows the reminder of the Spirit’s provision (verse 7), translating theology into action. It leads into a rich statement of the gospel’s foundation in God’s eternal purpose and grace (verses 9–10). Paul’s personal imprisonment becomes an example and a test: will Timothy stand with the gospel and its messenger? The exhortation establishes the letter’s theme of suffering without shame, which will reappear with Paul’s own testimony (verse 12) and the contrasting examples of desertion and faithfulness (verses 15–18).
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ephesians 4:17
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk, in the vanity of their mind,
- Revelation 1:9
I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patiencewhich arein Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
- Revelation 12:11
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.
- Jude 1:24
Now unto him that is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy,
- 2 Corinthians 11:23
Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I more; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft.
- Philippians 3:10
that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death;
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