2 Timothy 3:11
What does 2 Timothy 3:11 mean?
A plain-English look at 2 Timothy 3:11 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 2 Timothy 3:11 means
Paul names specific sufferings at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—places where he faced serious opposition. Mentioning them grounds the exhortation in history, not theory. Yet the key note is deliverance: “out of them all the Lord delivered me.” Deliverance here doesn’t mean Paul avoided pain; rather, God preserved his life and caused the gospel to advance despite hardship. This testimony aims to fortify Timothy. The same Lord who sustained Paul will sustain all who suffer for His name. Courage is born not from denial of danger, but from remembering God’s faithful interventions in past trials.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000persecutions, sufferings; what things befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: and out of them all the Lord delivered me.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901persecutions, sufferings; what things befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: and out of them all the Lord delivered me.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949My punishments and pain; the things which came to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; the cruel attacks made on me: and the Lord made me free from them all.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862the persecutions, the afflictions, that befell me in Antioch, in Iconium, in Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of all the Lord did deliver me,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Persecutions, afflictions: such as came upon me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra: what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord delivered me.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890persecutions, sufferings: what [sufferings] happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, in Lystra; what persecutions I endured; and the Lord delivered me out of all.
Context
Verse 11 adds texture to verse 10’s general commendation by recalling concrete persecutions and the Lord’s rescue. This paves the way for verse 12’s broader principle that all who live godly in Christ Jesus will face persecution. The flow moves from Paul’s personal example to a universal reality, preparing Timothy to interpret his own hardships as part of the normal Christian path rather than an exception or failure.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Isaiah 41:14
Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith Jehovah, and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
- Acts 26:22
Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand unto this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses did say should come;
- Acts 20:19
serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me by the plots of the Jews;
- 2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith:
- Romans 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
- Acts 23:12
And when it was day, the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
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