2 Timothy 2:13

ESV if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.

NIV if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

NASB If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

CSB if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

NLT If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

KJV If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

NKJV If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

What does 2 Timothy 2:13 mean?

The final phrase in this hymn ends on a word of hope: God can hold us, even if we fail. Those who are saved (2 Timothy 2:11) and endure will reign with the Lord (2 Timothy 2:12). Those who reject Him will be rejected by Him. Those believers who struggle, or are "faithless," are still held by God. He remains faithful, even when His people are not. This theme is consistent with God's faithfulness to His people Israel in the Old Testament. Though they often rejected Him, He continued to keep His promises to them.

The final phrase "for he cannot deny himself," reveals that the audience in mind in this last verse involves believers. We are clothed in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:1–5) and cannot be separated from His love: "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38–39).

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