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2 Timothy 1:4

in 2 Timothy 1

Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

longing to see thee, remembering thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;

KJV

Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;

This verse in 2 Timothy 1

Commentary

10 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Being mindful of thy tears - Whether the apostle refers to the affecting parting with the Ephesian Church, mentioned Act 20:37, or to the deep impressions made on Timothy’s heart when he instructed him in the doctrine of Christ crucified, or to some interview between themselves, it is not certainly known. The mention of this by the apostle is no small proof of his most affectionate regards for Timothy, whom he appears to have loved as a father loves his only son.

This site's exposition

with a clear conscience

on 2 Timothy 1:3-4

Paul serves God with a clear conscience as did my forefathers, owning his Jewish heritage as the apostle to the Gentiles. He remembers Timothy night and day in my prayers.

This site's exposition

Recalling your tears

Clarke leaves open which tears are meant: the Ephesian elders' parting (Acts 20:37), Timothy's tears when he first heard of Christ, or another meeting. Barnes thinks this longing is why the letter was written, and 4:9 and 4:21 repeat the call to come.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Oecumenius

COMMENTARY ON 2 TIMOTHY · Written before 550.

proposed

I give thanks to God, whom I have served from my ancestors with a pure conscience, that I unceasingly remember you in my prayers day and night, longing to see you, mindful of your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. Do you …

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on 2 Timothy 1 · Written before 407.

proposed

"I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I might be filled with joy." "'I thank God,' he says, 'that I remember thee,' so much do I love thee." This is a mark of excessive love, when a man glories in his affection from loving so much. "I thank God," he says, "Whom I serve": and how? "With a pure conscience," for he had not violated his conscience. And here he speaks of his blameless life, for he everywhere calls his life his conscience. Or because I never gave up any good that I purposed, for any human cause, not even when I was a persecutor. Wherefore he says, "I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief" (1 Tim. i. 13); all but saying, "Do not suspect that it was done of wickedness." He properly commends his own disposition, that his love may appear sincere. For what he says is in fact, "I am not false, I do not think one thing and profess another." So in the book of Acts we read he was compelled to praise himself. For when they slandered him as a seditious man and an innovator, he said in his own defense, "Ananias said to me, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee that thou shouldest know His will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard." (Acts xxii. 14, Acts xxii. 15) In the same manner here, that he may not, as if he had been forgetful, have the character of one void of friendship and conscience, he justly praises himself, saying, that "without ceasing I have remembrance of thee," and not simply that, but "in my prayers." That is, it is the business of my prayers, that which I constantly continue to perform. […]

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on 2 Timothy · Written before 1107.

proposed

Arrange the words thus: longing to see you, that I may be filled with joy; then the middle words "remembering your tears." For even if I were by nature utterly unfriendly, your tears, having come to my memory, would still be sufficient to incline me …

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on 2 Timothy · Written before 1274.

proposed

Again from desire; thus he says, desiring to see you for our mutual consolation: for I long to see you (Rom 1:11). Then when he says, being mindful of your tears, he shows the good that was in Timothy: first, he recalls his love for …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Greatly desiring to see thee,....
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

desiring--Greek, "with yearning as for one much missed." mindful of thy tears--not only at our parting (Ac 20:37), but also often when under pious feelings. that I may be filled with joy--to be joined with "desiring to see thee" (Ro 1:11, 12;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens

Greatly desiring to see thee; - see 2Ti 4:9, 2Ti 4:21. It was probably on, account of this earnest desire that this Epistle was written. He wished to see him, not only on account of the warm friendship which he had for him, but because he would be useful to him in his present circumstances; see the introduction, Section 3. Being mindful of thy tears - Alluding probably to the tears which he shed at parting from him. The occasion to which he refers is not mentioned; but nothing is more probable than that Timothy would weep when separated from such a father and friend. It is not wrong thus to weep, for religion is not intended to make us stoics or savages. That I may be filled with joy - By seeing you again. It is easy to imagine what joy it would give Paul, then a prisoner, and forsaken by nearly all his friends, and about to die, to see a friend whom he loved as he did this young man. Learn hence, that there may be very pure and warm friendship between an old and young man, and that the warmth of true friendship is not diminished by the near prospect of death.

The words behind it

10 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Thessalonians 2:17

    Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense.

    it leads to

    • Colossians 2:5

      For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ.

    • 1 Corinthians 5:3

      Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.

    • 1 Thessalonians 3:6

      But just now, Timothy has returned from his visit with the good news about your faith, your love, and the fond memories you have preserved, longing to see us just as we long to…

    • 1 Thessalonians 3:10–11

      Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking from your faith.

    • Romans 1:13

      I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting until now), in order that I might have a harvest among…

  • Through

    Philippians 1:8

    God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

    it leads to

    • Romans 1:9

      God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

    • Philippians 4:1

      Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

    • 1 Thessalonians 2:8

      We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Timothy

Saint Timothy in the Temple, Willem Drost, 1648. Public domain.
Saint Timothy in the Temple, Willem Drost, 1648. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on 2 Timothy 1; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Oecumenius, COMMENTARY ON 2 TIMOTHY; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 Timothy and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 2 Timothy.