2 Timothy 2:12
What does 2 Timothy 2:12 mean?
A plain-English look at 2 Timothy 2:12 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 2 Timothy 2:12 means
The saying continues: if we endure, we will also reign with Christ; if we deny him, he also will deny us. Perseverance leads to participation in Christ’s royal rule in the coming kingdom; quitting forfeits that honor. The sober warning echoes Jesus’ own teaching that public denial brings divine denial. This is not a threat to trembling saints but a reality check: allegiance matters. Endurance is not earning salvation but the evidence of genuine faith. Paul wants Timothy to see that present fidelity, sustained by grace, has eternal significance. Conversely, apostasy is not trivial; to repudiate Christ is to be repudiated by him, with all the weight that carries.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000if we endure, we shall also reign with him: if we shall deny him, he also will deny us:
KJV
King James Version · 1611If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901if we endure, we shall also reign with him: if we shall deny him, he also will deny us:
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949If we go on to the end, then we will be ruling with him: if we say we have no knowledge of him, then he will say he has no knowledge of us:
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862if we do endure together--we shall also reign together; if we deny <FI>him<Fi> , he also shall deny us;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890if we endure, we shall also reign together; if we deny, he also will deny us;
Context
This verse gives both promise and warning within the “faithful saying” (vv.11–13). It builds on living with Christ (v.11) by showing that endurance leads to shared reign, then balances it with the gravity of denial. The next line (v.13) will qualify the tone by affirming God’s faithfulness to himself even when humans are faithless, not to lessen the warning, but to magnify God’s unchanging character. Together, these lines shape Timothy’s resolve to endure rather than shrink back.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 1 John 2:22
Who is the liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, even he that denieth the Father and the Son.
- 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 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
- Revelation 2:13
I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s throne is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth.
- Matthew 19:28
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
- Jude 1:4
For there are certain men crept in privily, even they who were of old written of beforehand unto this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
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