Verse Lens · Context pointer
2 Timothy 2:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
This verse invites Timothy to share hardship and introduces the soldier image.
Read It With
- 2 Timothy 2:1–7
Read 2 Timothy 2:3 with 2:1–7. This verse invites Timothy to share hardship and introduces the soldier image. The complete unit establishes this movement: Timothy is to be strengthened by grace, entrust heard teaching to reliable people able to teach others, share hardship, and reflect on the focused soldier, rule-observing athlete, and hardworking farmer.
Read 2 Timothy 2:1–7 together
Why these verses belong together: Grace-enabled transmission is illuminated by soldier focus, athlete integrity, farmer labor, and reflective understanding.
Verse 1. 1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Verse 2. 2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Verse 3. 3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Verse 4. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Verse 5. 5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
Verse 6. 6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
Verse 7. 7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Timothy 2:1–7 — Grace Strengthens Faithful TransmissionSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 2 Timothy 2:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, morphology targets, and base text for original-language discussion.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/2Tim.txt, 2:1–7
Open the 2 Timothy Greek text file ↗