Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to 2 Timothy · About this commentary
Rightly Handling the Word of Truth
2 Timothy 2:14-15
14 Remind them of these things, charging them in the sight of the Lord that they don’t argue about words to no profit, to the subverting of those who hear. · WEB
Two opposite ways of dealing with words: fighting over them, or cutting a straight road through them.
Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord that they don't argue about words to no profit. The verb describes fighting over terms, and the verdict on it is practical rather than moral — it profits nothing, and it does active harm, subverting those who hear. Bystanders are damaged by arguments they did not join.
Verse 15 gives the alternative, and every word of it is chosen. Give diligence to present yourself approved by God — the audience is named first, and it is not the congregation. A workman who doesn't need to be ashamed; the shame theme of chapter 1 arrives at the workbench.
And then the phrase the verse is known for: rightly handling the word of truth. The verb is orthotomeō G3718, found nowhere else in Scripture, and its parts mean cutting straight. Whatever trade the image comes from — a road driven straight, a furrow ploughed true — the picture is of work that goes where it should without wandering.
Set against the previous verse, the contrast is exact. Quarrelling about words treats them as territory to be defended; handling them rightly treats them as a road to be cut for someone else to walk.
settled What this mark means