2 Timothy 2:26

King James Version

And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
The devil has trapped them and now makes them do what he wants. But maybe they can wake up to see what is happening and free themselves from the devil's trap.

Revised Standard Version
and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
that they maye come to the selves agayne out of the snare of the devyll which are now taken of him at his will.

Hebrew Names Version
and they may recover themselves out of the devil's snare, having been taken captive by him to his will.

New American Standard Bible
and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

New Century Version
And they may wake up and escape from the trap of the devil, who catches them to do what he wants.

Update Bible Version
and they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to his will.

Webster's Bible Translation
And [that] they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

English Standard Version
and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

World English Bible
and they may recover themselves out of the devil's snare, having been taken captive by him to his will.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And they may awake out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Weymouth's New Testament
and recover sober-mindedness and freedom from the Devil's snare, though they are now entrapped by him to do his will.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and that thei rise ayen fro the snares of the deuel, of whom thei ben holdun prisoneris at his wille.

English Revised Version
and they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by the Lord’s servant unto the will of God.

Berean Standard Bible
Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.

Contemporary English Version
They have been trapped by the devil, and he makes them obey him, but God may help them escape.

Amplified Bible
and that they may come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

American Standard Version
and they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him unto his will.

Bible in Basic English
And so they may get themselves free from the net of the Evil One, being made the prisoners of the Lord's servant, for the purpose of God.

Complete Jewish Bible
come to their senses and escape the trap of the Adversary, after having been captured alive by him to do his will.

Darby Translation
and that they may awake up out of the snare of the devil, [who are] taken by him, for *his* will.

International Standard Version
so that they might escape from the devil's snare, even though they've been held captive by him to do his will.1 Timothy 3:7;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
and be mindful of themselves, and remove from the snare of Satana, by whom they have been entrapped at his will.

Murdock Translation
and may recollect themselves, and may escape out of the snare of Satan, at whose pleasure they have been held ensnared.

King James Version (1611)
And that they may recouer themselues out of the snare of the deuill, who are taken captiue by him at his will.

New Living Translation
Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.

New Life Bible
Then they will know they had been held in a trap by the devil to do what he wanted them to do. But now they are able to get out of it.

New Revised Standard
and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And come to amendement out of that snare of the deuil, of whom they are taken prisoners, to doe his will.

George Lamsa Translation
And come to themselves, and be saved from the trap of Satan, by whom they have been trapped to his will.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And they should wake up to sobriety out of, the adversary's, snare, - though they have been taken alive by him for, that one's, will.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they may recover themselves from the snares of the devil by whom they are held captive at his will.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And that they may come to the selues agayne, out of the snare of the deuyll, which are holden captyue of hym at his wyll.

Good News Translation
And then they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the Devil, who had caught them and made them obey his will.

Christian Standard Bible®
Then they may come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

Lexham English Bible
and they will come to their senses again and escape from the trap of the devil, being held captive by him to do his will.

Literal Translation
and they having regained senses out of the snare of the devil, being captured by him to do the will of that One.

Young's Literal Translation
and they may awake out of the devil's snare, having been caught by him at his will.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and to turne agayne from the snare of the deuell, which are holden in preson of him at his will.

Mace New Testament (1729)
and so they may rouze out of the snare of the devil, who leads them captive at his discretion.

New English Translation
and they will come to their senses and escape the devil's trap where they are held captive to do his will.

New King James Version
and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

Simplified Cowboy Version
The truth is the only thing that can get them out of the devil's snare. Until then, they are his slaves to do whatever he wishes with them.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

Legacy Standard Bible
and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

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

recover: Gr. awake, Luke 15:17, 1 Corinthians 15:34, Ephesians 5:14

out: Psalms 124:7, Isaiah 8:15, Isaiah 28:13, Acts 26:18, 2 Corinthians 2:11, Colossians 1:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, 1 Timothy 3:7, 1 Timothy 6:9, 1 Timothy 6:10, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 20:2, Revelation 20:3

who are: Isaiah 42:6, Isaiah 42:7, Isaiah 49:25, Isaiah 49:26, Isaiah 53:12, Matthew 12:28, Matthew 12:29, Luke 11:21, 2 Peter 2:18-20

taken captive: Gr. Taken alive

at: Job 1:12, Job 2:6, Luke 22:31, Luke 22:32, John 13:2, John 13:27, Acts 5:3, 1 Timothy 1:20

Reciprocal: Exodus 23:33 - it will surely Joshua 23:13 - snares Judges 5:12 - lead Nehemiah 9:24 - as they would Job 18:8 - he is cast Psalms 25:15 - out Psalms 31:4 - Pull Psalms 80:7 - we shall Psalms 91:3 - snare Proverbs 29:6 - the transgression Ecclesiastes 9:12 - as the fishes Isaiah 61:1 - to proclaim Jeremiah 36:3 - may be Matthew 4:17 - Repent Matthew 9:13 - but Matthew 11:20 - because Matthew 13:15 - and should be Mark 1:15 - repent Mark 6:12 - preached Luke 5:32 - General Luke 8:29 - caught Luke 13:16 - whom Luke 15:5 - he layeth Luke 15:15 - he went John 8:32 - and the John 17:17 - word Acts 5:31 - to give Acts 8:22 - Repent Acts 11:18 - granted Acts 20:21 - repentance Acts 26:20 - repent Romans 7:23 - and 2 Corinthians 7:10 - repentance Hebrews 6:1 - repentance 1 Peter 3:15 - with 2 Peter 2:19 - overcome Revelation 2:22 - except

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And that they may recover themselves,.... Or "awake", and come to themselves, and appear to be sober, and in their right mind: the metaphor is taken from drunken men, who are overcharged, and are not in their senses, and being stupified fall asleep; and like these are persons intoxicated with errors and heresies, who when their minds are enlightened, and they are convinced of their evil tenets, repent of them, come to themselves, and acknowledge the truth, and so escape

out of the snare of the devil; for as carnal lusts and pleasures are the snares and nets, in which Satan, who may be compared to a fowler, catches some; so errors and heresies are those with which he ensnares others: "who are taken captive", or "alive",

by him at his will; such are taken in his nets and snares, as creatures are taken alive, by fowlers, and huntsmen; and they are held fast, and become his captives, and his slaves, and do his will, being led by him to whatsoever he pleases; he works powerfully in them, and they readily comply with him, and obey his lusts. Though some understand this, not of the will of the devil, but of the will of God; and that the sense is, that such persons are held captive by Satan, as long as it is the pleasure of God, and no longer; when the prey is taken from the mighty, and the lawful captive is delivered; and so it is an encouragement to the ministers of the word to go on in instructing, hoping this may be the case. Others connect this phrase, "to his will" or "according to his will", as they differently render it, with the word, "recover": and then the meaning is, that such, repenting of their errors, might escape out of the snare of Satan, in which they were taken alive; that so they might do the will of God, by professing and holding fast his truths; or that their repentance, recovery, and escape out of Satan's snare and captivity, are according to the will of God, and his sovereign good pleasure.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And that they may recover themselves - Margin, “awake.” The word which is rendered “recover” in the text, and “awake” in the margin - ἀνανήψωσιν ananēpsōsin - occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It properly means, to become sober again, as from inebriation; to awake from a deep sleep, and then, to come to a right mind, as one does who is aroused from a state of inebriety, or from sleep. The representation in this part of the verse implies that, while under the influence of error, they were like a man intoxicated, or like one in deep slumber. From this state they were to be roused as one is from sleep, or as a man is recovered from the stupor and dullness of intoxication.

Out of the snare of the devil - The snare which the devil has spread for them, and in which they have become entangled. There is a little confusion of metaphor here, since, in the first part of the verse, they are represented as asleep, or intoxicated; and, here, as taken in a snare. Yet the general idea is clear. In one part of the verse, the influence of error is represented as producing sleep, or stupor; in the other, as being taken in a snare, or net; and, in both, the idea is, that an effort was to be made that they might be rescued from this perilous condition.

Who are taken captive by him at his will - Margin, “alive.” The Greek word means, properly, to take alive; and then, to take captive, to win over Luke 5:10; and then, to ensnare, or seduce. Here it means that they had been ensnared by the arts of Satan “unto (εἰς eis) his will;” that is, they were so influenced by him, that they complied with his will. Another interpretation of this passage should be mentioned here, by which it is proposed to avoid the incongruousness of the metaphor of “awaking” one from a “snare.” It is adopted by Doddridge, and is suggested also by Burder, as quoted by Rosenmuller, “A. u. n. Morgenland.” According to this, the reference is to an artifice of fowlers, to scatter seeds impregnated with some intoxicating drugs, intended to lay birds asleep, that they may draw the snare over them more securely. There can be no doubt that such arts were practiced, and it is possible that Paul may have alluded to it. Whatever is the allusion, the general idea is clear. It is an affecting representation of those who have fallen into error. They are in a deep slumber. They are as if under the fatal influence of some stupefying potion. They are like birds taken alive in this state, and at the mercy of the fowler. They will remain in this condition, unless they shall be roused by the mercy of God; and it is the business of the ministers of religion to carry to them that gospel call, which God is accustomed to bless in showing them their danger. That message should be continually sounded in the ears of the sinner, with the prayer and the hope that God will make it the means of arousing him to seek his salvation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Timothy 2:26. And that they may recover themselves — The construction of this verse is extremely difficult, though the sense given by our translation is plain enough. I shall set down the original, and the principal English translations: -

Και ανανηψωσιν εκ της του διαβολου παγιδος, εζωγρημενοι ὑπ' αυτου εις εκεινου θελημα.

And thei rise agein fro snaaris of the debyl, of whome thei ben holde captyffis at his wille. - WICLIF. First translation into English, 1378.

And to turne agayne from the snare of devell, which are holden in prison of him at his will. - COVERDALE. First printed English Bible, 1535

That they may come to themselves agayne out of the snare of the devyll, which are now taken of him at hys will. - EDWARD VIth's Bible, by Becke, 1549.

And they may recover their senses to perform his will, after being rescued alive by the servant of the Lord out of the snare of the devil. - WAKEFIELD; who refers αυτου, him, to the servant of the Lord, 2 Timothy 2:24.

And being caught alive by him out of the snare of the devil, they may awake to do his will. - MACKNIGHT; who remarks that αυτου, the relative, means the servant of the Lord; and εκεινου, the demonstrative, refers to God, mentioned 2 Timothy 2:15.

I leave these different translations with the reader.

I HAVE referred, in the preceding notes, to inscriptions which appear on the buildings and coins of the Asiatics; such inscriptions are, in general, very curious, and carry with them a considerable show of piety to God, in the acknowledgment of his providence and mercy. I shall quote one merely as a curiosity, without supposing it to be immediately applicable to the illustration of the text.

There is extant a gold circular coin of the Great Mogul Shah Jehan, struck at Delhi, A. H. 1062, A. D. 1651, five inches and a half in diameter; on each side of this coin is a square, the angles of which touch the periphery; within this square, and in the segments, there are the following inscriptions: -

1. Within the square, on one side,

The bright star of religion, Mohammed (a second Sahib Kiran) Shah Jehan, the victorious emperor.

2. In the segment on the upper side of the square,

The impression upon this coin of 200 mohurs, was struck through the favour of God.

3. On the lateral segment to the left,

By the second Sahib Kiran, Shah Jehan, the defender of the faith.

4. On the bottom segment,

May the golden countenance from the sculpture of this coin enlighten the world.

5. On the lateral segment to the right,

As long as the splendid face of the moon is illuminated by the rays of the sun!

1. On the reverse, within the square,

There is no god but God; and Mohammed is the prophet of God. Struck in the capital of Shah Jehanabad, A.H. 1062.

2. On the top of the square,

Religion was illuminated by the truth of Abu Beker.

3. On the left hand compartment,

The faith was strengthened by the justice of Omar.

4. On the bottom compartment,

Piety was refreshed by the modesty and mildness of Othman.

5. On the right hand compartment,

The world was enlightened by the learning of Aly.

On these inscriptions it may be just necessary to observe that Abu Beker, Omar, Othman, and Aly, were the four khalifs who succeeded Mohammed. Abu Beker was the father of Ayesha, one of Mohammed's wives. Othman was son-in-law of Mohammed, having married his two daughters, Rakiah, and Omal-Calthoom. And Aly, son of Abi Taleb, Mohammed's uncle, was also one of the sons-in-law of Mohammed, having married Fatima, the daughter of his favourite wife, Ayesha. The Ottoman empire was not so called from Othman, the third khalif, but from Ottoman, the successful chief, who conquered a small part of the Grecian empire in Asia, and thus laid the foundation for the Turkish.

Grotius and others have supposed that the apostle alludes to the custom of putting an inscription on the foundation stone of a city or other building, giving an account of the time in which it was founded, built, c. Sometimes engraved stones were placed over the principal gates of cities and fortresses, particularly in the east, specifying the date of erection, repairs, c., and containing some religious sentiment or verse from the Koran. But I do not think it likely that the apostle refers to any thing of this kind. There appears to be an allusion here to the rebellion of Korah and his company against the authority of Moses, Numbers 16:5, where, it is said: The Lord will show who are his: here the words of the Septuagint are nearly the same that the apostle uses in this verse, εγνω ὁ Θεος τους οντας αὑτου· God knoweth or approveth of them that are his. And the words in Numbers 16:26, Depart from the tents of these wicked men, are similar to those of the apostle, Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. We may therefore take it for granted that those false teachers, the chief of whom were Hymeneus and Philetus, had risen up against the authority of St. Paul and he, in effect, informs Timothy here that God will deal with them as he did with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and their company. And as the true Israelites were to separate themselves from the tents of those wicked men, so he and the believers at Ephesus were to hold no sort of communion with those workers of iniquity. This subject he farther illustrates by a contract between two parties, each of which sets his seal to the instrument, the seal bearing the motto peculiar to the party. This I conceive to be the meaning but the common mode of interpretation will, it is probable, be most commonly followed.