the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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2 Timothy 2:26
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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.
