2 Timothy 4:11 (KJV)

Passage

Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

Nearby Context

2 Timothy 4:9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:

2 Timothy 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

2 Timothy 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

2 Timothy 4:12 And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.

2 Timothy 4:13 The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "only", "luke", "take", "mark", "bring", "thee", "profitable", and "ministry". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "only" and "luke", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "For Demas hath forsaken me having loved..." into verse 12's "And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus...", so "only" and "luke" belong inside that flow. In 2 Timothy context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "only" and "luke" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.