A | 9. Diligence. Come. Spoudason. Elthein.

B1 | 10. Desertion and Absences. |

Demas, Thessalonica.

Crescens, Galatia.

Titus, Dalmatia.

C1 | 11-13. Helpers and Helps. |

Luke. Mark. Tychicus.

Carpus (cloke, books and parchments).

C2 | 14-18. Opposition and Help. |

Alexander. evil, kaka.

No one stood with me, sumparaginomai.

The Lord stood with me, parestano.

Deliverance. evil, poneros.

B2 | 19, 20. Salutation and Absences. |

Prisca, Aquila, House of Onesiphorus.

Erastus, Corinth.

Trophimus, Miletum.

A | 21. Diligence. Come. Spoudason. Elthein.

B3 | 21. Salutation and Brethren. |

Eubulus, Pudens, Linus and Claudia.

All the brethren.

C3 | 22. THE Helper. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

By the time we reached this section in our book "The Testimony of the Lord's

Prisoner" our available space was well nigh filled, and we contended ourselves with a

very formal presentation of the structure of this closing section. As we are not limited to

one or more articles in the present series, we have felt it incumbent upon us to turn to the

passage afresh and to recast the analysis in more useful form.

The section opens with a call to Timothy to exercise diligence in coming to the

apostle, and almost at the close this note is struck again. The remainder of the section is a

series of alternations between Desertion and Fellowship, Absentees and Close friendship,

Oppositions and Divine Help, and with the prayer for Divine help the section closes.

"Do thy diligence." spoudazo.  The word means to act with expedition and haste.

We must however exclude the secondary and degenerate meaning of "haste" from the

word, for "Raw haste is half sister to Delay".

Speudo from which spoudazo and spoude are derived is translated "haste" in its six

occurrences in the N.T. (Luke 2: 16; 19: 5, 6; Acts 20: 16; 22: 18; II Pet. 3: 12). In

no case however is there the idea of precipitous haste, flurry or fluster; rather does the

haste proceed in five cases out of the six from eagerness to attain.

From this conception of eagerness comes the idea of diligence, in which no time will

be wasted in the pursuit of the goal. The word has already met us in II Timothy, namely