The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit,.... To counsel and advise in every difficult matter; to comfort under every distress; to supply with all grace in every time of need; and to strengthen and fit for every part and branch of duty.
Grace be with you, Amen: which is the apostle's common salutation in all epistles. The Syriac version renders it, "grace be with thee"; but the Greek copies read in the plural, "with you"; which shows that the epistle was designed for the use of the whole church, as well as of Timothy.
The subscription follows, which is not in many ancient copies, and is not to be depended on.The second epistle unto Timotheus; so far is right; this is certainly the second epistle to Timothy:ordained the first bishop of the church of the Ephesians: this is omitted in the Syriac version; nor is it likely, much less certain, that he ever was bishop of Ephesus, or ordained as a bishop of any place, but was rather an evangelist, 2Ti 4:5,was written from Rome: this is evident from his being a prisoner when he wrote it, 2Ti 1:8.
And yet in the Alexandrian copy it is said to be written from Laodicea:when Paul was brought before Nero the second time; but whether he was before Nero at all is a question, or only before a Roman governor or judge.