2 Timothy 2:17

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:14-18

Having thus encouraged Timothy to suffer, he comes in the next place to direct him in his work. I. He must make it his business to edify those who were under his charge, to put them in remembrance of those things which they did already know; for this is the work of ministers; not to tell people that which they never knew before, but to put them in mind of that which they do know, charging them that they strive not about words. Observe, Those that are disposed to strive commonly strive about... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 Timothy 2:15-18

2:15-18 Put out every effort to present yourself to God as one who has stood the test, as a workman who has no need to be ashamed, as one who rightly handles the word of truth. Avoid these godless chatterings, for the people who engage in them only progress further and further into ungodliness, and their talk eats its way into the Church like an ulcerous gangrene. Amongst such people are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who, as far as the truth is concerned, have lost the way, when... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 Timothy 2:15-18

Amongst the false teachers Paul numbers especially Hymenaeus and Philetus. Who these men were we do not know. But we get a brief glimpse of their teaching in at least one of its aspects. They said that the resurrection had already happened. This of course does not refer to the Resurrection of Jesus; it refers to the resurrection of the Christian after death. We do know two false views of the resurrection of the Christian which had some influence in the early Church. (i) It was claimed that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:17

And their word will eat as doth a cancer ,.... Or "gangrene", which gnaws and feeds upon the flesh, inflames and mortifies as it goes, and spreads swiftly, and endangers the whole body; and is therefore to be speedily taken notice of, and stopped. It is better rendered "gangrene", as in the marginal reading, than "cancer". "The word "gangrene" is Greek F7 See Chambers's Cyclopedia in the word "Gangrene". , and is derived by some authors from the Paphlagonian "gangra", a goat; it... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Timothy 2:17

Their word will eat as doth a canker - Ὡς γαγγραινα· As a gangrene; i.e. as a mortification in the flesh, where the circulation is entirely stopped, and putrefaction takes place, which continues to corrupt all the circumjacent flesh, spreading more and more till death takes place, unless stopped by a timely and judicious application of medicine. Such is the influence of false doctrine; it fixes its mortal seed in the soul, which continues to corrupt and assimilate every thing to itself,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Timothy 2:17

Verse 17 17And their word will eat as a gangrene I have been told by Benedict Textor, a physician, that this passage is badly translated by Erasmus, who, out of two diseases quite different from each other, has made but one disease; for, instead of “gangrene,” he has used the word “cancer.” Now Galen, in many passages throughout his writings, and especially where he lays down definitions in his small work “On unnatural swellings,” distinguishes the one from the other. Paul Aegineta, too, on the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:14-26

Conduct in view of heresy appearing in the Church. I. METHOD OF THE HERETICS . "Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them in the sight of the Lord, that they strive not about words, to no profit, to the subverting of them that hear." The method of the heretics called for solemn warning from Timothy. Its essential character was word fighting. It dealt with the form, and not with the reality; and so it came to be controversial. The word is not unimportant, but it has... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:15-26

The skilful workman. Besides the concentration of purpose, and the willingness to endure, which are necessary to the faithful minister of Christ, two other qualifications are no less needed. The one is skill in his work; the other is gentleness and patience in dealing with those that oppose themselves. By skill in his work we mean both the knowing what to avoid and shun, and the effective handling of the Word of truth. The minister of Christ who wastes his time, and spends his strength in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:16-18

A warning against vain babblings,with there tendency to heresy and impiety. "But shun profane babblings." I. THE DUTY OF THE MINISTER TOWARD SUCH BABBLINGS . He is to shun them, because they are profitless—a mere sound of words, without solid meaning; great swelling words of vanity, not only unprofitable, but contrary to the doctrine that is according to godliness. The minister must shun, discourage, and repudiate them in the interests of truth and piety. II. THE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:17

Gangrene for canker, A.V. Their word; as opposed to "the Word of truth" in 2 Timothy 2:15 . Will eat ( νομὴν ἕξει ); i.e. spread, like a gangrene, which gradually enlarges its area, corrupting the flesh that was sound before. So these heretical opinions spread in the body of the Church which is affected by them. νομή is literally "pasture" ( John 10:9 ), "grazing of flocks," and hence is applied to fire (Polybius), which as it were feeds upon all around it, and, in... read more

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