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Sunday, December 21st, 2025
the Fourth Week of Advent
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Read the Bible

Bible in Basic English

2 Timothy 4:9

Do your best to come to me before long:

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Thompson Chain Reference - Companionship;   Desire;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Paul;   Timothy;   Timothy, letters to;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Episcopacy;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Timothy, the First Epistle to;   Timothy, the Second Epistle to;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Timothy;   2 Timothy;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ephesus;   Jude, Epistle of;   Paul the Apostle;   Timothy;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Ephesus ;   Lion;   Miletus ;   Paul;   Timothy;   Timothy and Titus Epistles to;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Tim'othy;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Pastoral Epistles, the;   Paul, the Apostle;   Timothy;   Tychicus;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Bishop;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for May 14;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Make every effort to come to me soon,
King James Version (1611)
Doe thy diligence to come shortly vnto me:
King James Version
Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
English Standard Version
Do your best to come to me soon.
New American Standard Bible
Make every effort to come to me soon;
New Century Version
Do your best to come to me as soon as you can,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Make every effort to come to me soon;
Legacy Standard Bible
Be diligent to come to me soon,
Berean Standard Bible
Make every effort to come to me quickly,
Contemporary English Version
Come to see me as soon as you can.
Complete Jewish Bible
Do your best to come to me soon.
Darby Translation
Use diligence to come to me quickly;
Easy-to-Read Version
Do your best to come to me as soon as you can.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Make speede to come vnto me at once:
George Lamsa Translation
Make every effort to come to me soon:
Good News Translation
Do your best to come to me soon.
Lexham English Bible
Make haste to come to me quickly.
Literal Translation
Make haste to come to me shortly.
Amplified Bible
Make every effort to come to me soon;
American Standard Version
Give diligence to come shortly unto me:
Hebrew Names Version
Be diligent to come to me soon,
International Standard Version
Do your best to come to me soon.
Etheridge Translation
BE careful to come to me speedily;
Murdock Translation
Exert thyself to come to me quickly.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Do thy diligence to come shortly vnto me.
English Revised Version
Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
World English Bible
Be diligent to come to me soon,
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Do thy diligence to come to me shortly.
Weymouth's New Testament
Make an effort to come to me speedily.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Hyye thou to come to me soone. For Demas, louynge this world, hath forsakun me, and wente to Tessalonyk,
Update Bible Version
Be diligent to come shortly to me:
Webster's Bible Translation
Do thy diligence to come shortly to me:
New English Translation
Make every effort to come to me soon.
New King James Version
Be diligent to come to me quickly;
New Living Translation
Timothy, please come as soon as you can.
New Life Bible
Come to me here as soon as you can.
New Revised Standard
Do your best to come to me soon,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Give diligence to come unto me speedily,
Douay-Rheims Bible
For Demas hath left me, loving this world, and is gone to Thessalonica:
Revised Standard Version
Do your best to come to me soon.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Make spede to come vnto me at once.
Young's Literal Translation
Be diligent to come unto me quickly,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Make spede to come vnto me atonce.
Mace New Testament (1729)
Endeavour to come to me very soon:
THE MESSAGE
Get here as fast as you can. Demas, chasing fads, went off to Thessalonica and left me here. Crescens is in Galatia province, Titus in Dalmatia. Luke is the only one here with me. Bring Mark with you; he'll be my right-hand man since I'm sending Tychicus to Ephesus. Bring the winter coat I left in Troas with Carpus; also the books and parchment notebooks.
Simplified Cowboy Version
Strike a long trot and try to get here quickly.

Contextual Overview

9 Do your best to come to me before long: 10 For Demas has gone away from me, for love of this present life, and has gone to Thessalonica: Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and take him with you; for he is of use to me in the work. 12 Tychicus I sent to Ephesus. 13 The coat which I did not take from Troas and which is with Carpus, get when you come, and the books, specially the papers. 14 Alexander the copper-worker did me much wrong: the Lord will give him the reward of his works: 15 But be on the watch for him, for he was violent in his attacks on our teaching.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

2 Timothy 4:21, 2 Timothy 1:4

Reciprocal: Titus 3:12 - be

Cross-References

Genesis 4:4
And Abel gave an offering of the young lambs of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord was pleased with Abel's offering;
Genesis 4:9
And the Lord said to Cain, Where is your brother Abel? And he said, I have no idea: am I my brother's keeper?
Genesis 4:11
And now you are cursed from the earth, whose mouth is open to take your brother's blood from your hand;
Genesis 4:13
And Cain said, My punishment is greater than my strength.
Genesis 4:14
You have sent me out this day from the face of the earth and from before your face; I will be a wanderer in flight over the earth, and whoever sees me will put me to death.
Genesis 37:32
And they took the coat to their father, and said, We came across this; is it your son's coat or not?
Psalms 9:12
When he makes search for blood, he has them in his memory: he is not without thought for the cry of the poor.
Proverbs 28:13
He who keeps his sins secret will not do well; but one who is open about them, and gives them up, will get mercy.
John 8:44
You are the children of your father the Evil One and it is your pleasure to do his desires. From the first he was a taker of life; and he did not go in the true way because there is no true thing in him. When he says what is false, it is natural to him, for he is false and the father of what is false.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me. From Ephesus, where Timothy was, to Rome, where the apostle was; and this request did not arise purely from a desire of seeing Timothy, as in 2 Timothy 1:4 but rather because he had some things to say to him, relating to the care of the churches and the good of the interest of Christ, which he chose not to write with ink and paper; and he desires the rather that he would use diligence, and hasten his coming to him; partly because winter was coming on, when travelling would not be so safe and comfortable, 2 Timothy 4:21 and partly because the time of his death was at hand, 2 Timothy 4:7 and also because he was almost alone.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me - As soon as possible. Timothy had been Paul’s traveling companion, and was his intimate friend. The apostle was now nearly forsaken, and was about to pass through severe trials. It is not certainly known for what purpose he wished him to come to him, but perhaps he desired to give him some parting counsels; perhaps he wished him to be near him when he died. It is evident from this that he did not regard him as the prelatical “bishop of the church of the Ephesians,” or consider that he was so confined to that place in his labors, that he was not also to go to other places if he was called in the providence of God. It is probable that Timothy would obey such a summons, and there is no reason to believe that he ever returned to Ephseus.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 9. Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me — He appears to have wished Timothy to be present at his death, that he might have his faith confirmed by seeing how a Christian could die; and, as he had but a short time to live, he begs Timothy to hasten his visit, and particularly so as he had scarcely now any companions.


 
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