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2 Timothy 1 · a question people ask

"and was not ashamed of my chain" (1:16). Where was the letter's I held?

In the text

The letter doesn't say. Its I tells Timothy not to be ashamed "of me his prisoner" (1:8), and speaks of "my chain" (1:16). Of Onesiphorus it says, "but when he was in Rome, he sought me diligently and found me" (1:17). It doesn't say where the I was held, or for how long, and these notes say nothing about it beyond the letter's own words.

The verses

“Therefore don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God,”
2 Timothy 1:8 · World English Bible
“May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain, but when he was in Rome, he sought me diligently and found me”
2 Timothy 1:16-17 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 2 Timothy 1

2 Timothy 1: Not ashamed

In 2 Timothy 1, ashamed in "don’t be ashamed" (1:8), "Yet I am not ashamed" (1:12) and "was not ashamed of my chain" (1:16) is one Greek verb. And the power of "but of power, love, and self-control" (1:7) is the same noun as "the power of God" in the very next verse (1:8).

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions