II Timothy 2:4
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A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who enlisted him.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
"No one while serving as a soldier." the affairs of (this) life--"the businesses of life" [ALFORD]; mercantile, or other than military. him who hath chosen him--the general who at the first enlisted him as a soldier. Paul himself worked at tent-making (Act 18:3). Therefore what is prohibited here is, not all other save religious occupation, but the becoming entangled, or over-engrossed therewith.
Open source ↗2:4-7 In rapid-fire sequence, Paul quotes maxims about single-minded struggling and laboring.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts.
The seeds that fell among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does not mature.
If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.
So we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it.
because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.