2 Timothy 1:3

I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
I	ἔχω echō	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
thank	Χάριν Charin	G5485	graciousness (as gratifying) · noun — accusative singular feminine
God	θεῷ, theō	G2316	figuratively · noun — dative singular masculine, a title
whom	ᾧ hō	G3739	the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun · relative pronoun — dative singular masculine
serve	λατρεύω latreuō	G3000	to minister (to God) · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
from	ἀπὸ apo	G575	"off · preposition
forefathers	προγόνων progonōn	G4269	an ancestor · noun — genitive plural masculine
with	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
pure	καθαρᾷ kathara	G2513	clean (literally or figuratively) · adjective — dative singular feminine
conscience	συνειδήσει, suneidēsei	G4893	co-perception · noun — dative singular feminine
that	ὡς hōs	G5613	which how · particle
ceasing	ἀδιάλειπτον adialeipton	G88	unintermitted · adjective — accusative singular feminine
have	ἔχω echō	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
remembrance	μνείαν mneian	G3417	recollection · noun — accusative singular feminine
of	περὶ peri	G4012	properly · preposition
thee	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
my	μοῦ moû	G3450	of me
prayers	δεήσεσίν deēsesin	G1162	a petition · noun — dative plural feminine
night	νυκτὸς nuktos	G3571	"night" (literally or figuratively) · noun — genitive singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
day	ἡμέρας hēmeras	G2250	day · noun — genitive singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Romans 1:8-9 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Acts 23:1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
Acts 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are…
Acts 22:3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught accordi…
Acts 24:16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.
1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
1 Timothy 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Timothy 1:1-5

Here is, I. The inscription of the epistle Paul calls himself an apostle by the will of God, merely by the good pleasure of God, and by his grace, which he professes himself unworthy of. According to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, or according to the gospel. The gospel is the promise of life in Christ Jesus; life is the end, and Christ the way, Joh 14:6. The life is put into the promise, and both are sure in Christ Jesus the faithful witness; for all the promises of God in Christ Jesus are yea, and all amen, Co2 1:20. He calls Timothy his beloved son. Paul felt the warmest affection for him both because he had been an instrument of his conversion and because as a son with his…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Timothy 1:3

I thank--Greek, "I feel gratitude to God." whom I serve from my forefathers--whom I serve (Rom 1:9) as did my forefathers. He does not mean to put on the same footing the Jewish and Christian service of God; but simply to assert his own conscientious service of God as he had received it from his progenitors (not Abraham, Isaac, &c., whom he calls "the fathers," not "progenitors" as the Greek is here; Rom 9:5). The memory of those who had gone before to whom he is about to be gathered, is now, on the eve of death, pleasant to him; hence also, he calls to mind the faith of the mother and grandmother of Timothy; as he walks in the faith of his forefathers (Act 23:1; Act 24:14; Act 26:6-7; Act…

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Adam Clarke on 2 Timothy 1:3

Whom I serve from my forefathers - Being born a Jew, I was carefully educated in the knowledge of the true God, and the proper manner of worshipping him. With pure conscience - Ever aiming to please him, even in the time when through ignorance I persecuted the Church. Without ceasing I have remembrance of thee - The apostle thanks God that he has constant remembrance of Timothy in his prayers. It is a very rare thing now in the Christian Church, that a man particularly thanks God that he is enabled to pray for Others. And yet he that can do this most must have an increase of that brotherly love which the second greatest commandment of God requires: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. It…

The Church Fathers

Paul says, My whole origin steered me to the worship of God. I devastated the church of Christ not from malevolence but from zeal for the law.
— Pelagius, PELAGIUS'S COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND LETTER TO TIMOTHY

When Paul persecuted the church, he did it for the love of God, not out of malevolence. In this way he served God "in his ancestors" and "from his ancestors," as Levi was served in Abraham, when he gave and accepted tithes from Melchizedek.
— Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND LETTER TO TIMOTHY

We grant that there are some among us who may deny that the God of the Jews is truly God. Yet that is no reason to criticize those who prove from the same Scriptures that there is one and the same God for Jews and Gentiles. So also Paul, who came to Christianity from the Jews, says clearly, "I thank my God whom I serve from my forefathers in a pure conscience."
— Origen of Alexandria, AGAINST CELSUS 5.61

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Prayerfulness · 3:10;5:17; — 3:10;5:17;
Purity · 5:8; — 5:8;
Thanksgiving · Should be accompanied by intercession for others — Should be accompanied by intercession for others

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

2 Timothy 1:3

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Timothy 1:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Timothy 1:3

Adam Clarke on 2 Timothy 1:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Timothy 1:3

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Timothy 1:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Timothy 1:3

Adam Clarke on 2 Timothy 1:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 2 Timothy 1:3

John Calvin on 2 Timothy 1:3-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Timothy 1:3-4