2 Timothy 4:2 (ASV)

Passage

preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Nearby Context

2 Timothy 4:1 I charge [thee] in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:

2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts;

2 Timothy 4:4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "preach", "word", "urgent", "season", "reprove", "rebuke", and "exhort". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "preach" and "word", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "I charge thee in the sight of..." into verse 3's "For the time will come when they...", so "preach" and "word" 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 "preach" and "word" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.