2 Timothy 2:24

King James Version

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
As a servant of the Lord, you must not argue. You must be kind to everyone. You must be a good teacher, and you must be patient.

Revised Standard Version
And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to every one, an apt teacher, forbearing,

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
But the servaunt of the lorde must not stryve: but must be peasable vnto all men and apte to teache and one that can suffre:

Hebrew Names Version
The Lord's servant must not quarrel, but be gentle towards all, able to teach, patient,

New American Standard Bible
The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, skillful in teaching, patient when wronged,

New Century Version
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient.

Update Bible Version
And the Lord's slave must not strive, but be gentle toward all, apt to teach, forbearing,

Webster's Bible Translation
And the servant of the Lord must not contend; but be gentle to all [men], apt to teach, patient,

English Standard Version
And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,

World English Bible
The Lord's servant must not quarrel, but be gentle towards all, able to teach, patient,

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And a servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle toward all men,

Weymouth's New Testament
and a bondservant of the Lord must not quarrel, but must be inoffensive towards all men, a skilful teacher, and patient under wrongs.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But it bihoueth the seruaunt of the Lord to chide not; but to be mylde to alle men, able to teche,

English Revised Version
And the Lord’s servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing,

Berean Standard Bible
And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.

Contemporary English Version
and God's servants must not be troublemakers. They must be kind to everyone, and they must be good teachers and very patient.

Amplified Bible
The servant of the Lord must not participate in quarrels, but must be kind to everyone [even-tempered, preserving peace, and he must be], skilled in teaching, patient and tolerant when wronged.

American Standard Version
And the Lord's servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing,

Bible in Basic English
For it is not right for the Lord's servant to make trouble, but he is to be gentle to all, ready in teaching, putting up with wrong,

Complete Jewish Bible
and a slave of the Lord shouldn't fight. On the contrary, he should be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and not resentful when mistreated.

Darby Translation
And a bondman of [the] Lord ought not to contend, but be gentle towards all; apt to teach; forbearing;

International Standard Version
A servantslave">[fn] of the Lord must not argue. Instead, he must be kind to everyone, teachable,able to teach">[fn] willing to suffer wrong,1 Timothy 3:2-3; Titus 1:9; 3:2;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
24 But a servant of the Lord oweth not to strive [fn] but to be gentle towards every man, and teaching, and long-suffering,

Murdock Translation
And a servant of our Lord ought not to contend, but to be mild towards every one, and instructive, and patient;

King James Version (1611)
And the seruant of the Lord must not striue: but bee gentle vnto all men, apt to teach, patient,

New Living Translation
A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.

New Life Bible
A servant owned by God must not make trouble. He must be kind to everyone. He must be able to teach. He must be willing to suffer when hurt for doing good.

New Revised Standard
And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient,

Geneva Bible (1587)
But the seruant of ye Lord must not striue, but must be gentle toward all men, apt to teache, suffering the euill,

George Lamsa Translation
A servant of our LORD must not quarrel; but be gentle to all men, apt at teaching and patient,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, a servant of the Lord, ought not to strive, but to be, gentle, towards all, apt in teaching, ready to endure malice, -

Douay-Rheims Bible
But the servant of the Lord must not wrangle: but be mild toward all men, apt to teach, patient,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the seruaunt of the Lorde must not striue: but be gentle vnto all men, apt to teache, sufferyng euyll in mekenesse,

Good News Translation
As the Lord's servant, you must not quarrel. You must be kind toward all, a good and patient teacher,

Christian Standard Bible®
The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient,

Lexham English Bible
And the slave of the Lord must not quarrel, but be kind toward everyone, skillful in teaching, tolerant,

Literal Translation
But a slave of the Lord ought not to quarrel, but to be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing,

Young's Literal Translation
and a servant of the Lord it behoveth not to strive, but to be gentle unto all, apt to teach, patient under evil,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The seruaunt of the LORDE ought not to stryue, but to be gentle vnto euery man: apte to teach, one that can forbeare

Mace New Testament (1729)
a christian must not be litigious, but easy to all men, qualify'd to instruct,

New English Translation
And the Lord's slave must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient,

New King James Version
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,

Simplified Cowboy Version
A real cowboy doesn't engage fools, but is kind to all, able to instruct, and patient—especially with difficult people.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,

Legacy Standard Bible
And the Lord's slave must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,

Contextual Overview

²² Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. ²⁴ And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, ²⁵ In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; ²⁶ And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the servant: Deuteronomy 34:5, Joshua 1:1, 2 Chronicles 24:6, Daniel 6:20, 1 Timothy 6:11, Titus 1:1, Titus 3:2, James 1:1

must: Matthew 12:19, Acts 15:2, 2 Corinthians 10:4, Philippians 2:3, Philippians 2:14, 1 Timothy 3:3, Titus 1:7, James 1:19, James 1:20, Jude 1:3

strive: John 6:52, Acts 7:26, Acts 23:9, James 4:2,*Gr.

but: Isaiah 40:11, 2 Corinthians 10:1, Galatians 5:22, 1 Thessalonians 2:7, Titus 3:2, James 3:17, 1 Peter 3:8

apt: 1 Timothy 3:2, 1 Timothy 3:3, Titus 1:9

patient: or, forbearing, Ephesians 4:2, Colossians 3:13

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 18:12 - Moses Nehemiah 8:13 - to understand the words of the law Psalms 36:1 - servant Proverbs 3:30 - General Proverbs 17:14 - leave Proverbs 26:17 - passeth Isaiah 42:2 - General Ezekiel 44:23 - General Daniel 11:33 - understand Malachi 2:7 - the priest's Acts 27:23 - and Romans 12:7 - or he 1 Corinthians 13:7 - endureth 2 Corinthians 1:24 - that 2 Corinthians 5:11 - we persuade Colossians 1:28 - teaching Colossians 3:8 - anger 1 Thessalonians 5:14 - be 1 Thessalonians 5:15 - and 1 Timothy 1:6 - turned 1 Timothy 2:1 - all men 1 Timothy 5:1 - entreat 2 Timothy 2:2 - who

Cross-References

Genesis 2:1
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

Genesis 2:2
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Genesis 2:3
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Genesis 2:4
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

Genesis 2:6
But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

Genesis 2:7
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Genesis 2:9
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:10
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

Genesis 2:11
The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

Genesis 2:12
And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the servant of the Lord must not strive,.... By "the servant of the Lord" is not meant any believer in common, but a minister of the word, as Timothy was; such an one ought not to strive about words to no profit, about mere words, and in a litigious, quarrelsome manner, and for mastery and not truth; though he may, and ought to strive for the faith of the Gospel; this is praiseworthy in him:

but be gentle unto all men; not only to troubled minds, and wounded consciences, by supplying them with the precious promises and truths of the Gospel; and to backsliders, by restoring them in a spirit of meekness; but even to those who contradict the truth, and themselves, by mild and kind instructions.

Apt to teach, showing a willingness to instruct the ignorant and obstinate, and making use of abilities given for that purpose, notwithstanding all discouragements; for it follows,

patient, or "bearing evil"; not only the infirmities of weak brethren in the church, and the reproaches and persecutions of profane men in the world; but also the contradictions and oppositions of the adversaries of truth, so as not to be irritated and provoked, or to be discouraged, and desist from the defence of the Gospel.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And the servant of the Lord - Referring here primarily to the Christian minister, but applicable to all Christians; for all profess to be the servants of the Lord.

Must not strive - He may calmly inquire after truth; he may discuss points of morals, or theology, if he will do it with a proper spirit; he may “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints” Jude 1:3; but he may not do that which is here mentioned as strife. The Greek word - μάχεσθαι machesthai - commonly denotes, “to fight, to make war, to contend.” In John 6:52; Acts 7:26; 2 Timothy 2:24;, it is rendered “strove,” and “strive;” in James 4:2, “fight.” It is not elsewhere used in the New Testament. The meaning is, that the servant of Christ should be a man of peace. He should not indulge in the feelings which commonly give rise to contention, and which commonly characterize it. He should not struggle for mere victory, even when endeavoring to maintain truth; but should do this, in all cases, with a kind spirit, and a mild temper; with entire candor; with nothing designed to provoke and irritate an adversary; and so that, whatever may be the result of the discussion, “the bond of peace” may, if possible, be preserved; compare the notes at Romans 12:18.

But be gentle unto all men; - see the notes at 1 Thessalonians 2:7. The word rendered “gentle,” does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. It means that the Christian minister is to be meek and mild toward all, not disputatious and quarrelsome.

Apt to teach; - see the notes at 1 Timothy 3:2.

Patient - Margin, “forbearing.” The Greek word here used does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It means, patient under evils and injuries. Robinson, Lexicon. Compare the Ephesians 4:2 note; Colossians 3:13 note.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 24. The servant of the Lord must not strive — See on 1 Timothy 3:2; 1 Timothy 3:3.