Funeral reading
2 Timothy 4:6–8
King James Bible
“2 Timothy 4:6–8” (King James Bible) is a scripture reading read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about 35 seconds read aloud, usually by a guest reader. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
Where it comes from
The letter is addressed by Paul “to Timothy, my dearly beloved son”, and in this chapter Paul writes that the time of his departure is at hand.
What it says
I am ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Now there is a crown of righteousness waiting, which the Lord will give on that day, and not to me only but to all who have loved his appearing. It is a calm look back over a life, by someone who expects to die soon.
"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course." Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: a good fight · finishing the course · a long life · a life of faith · very short.
Who it suits
The funeral of someone who lived a long, full and faithful life and died ready. It suits runners, athletes and soldiers because of the race and the fight. It is a fitting reading for a minister, missionary or person of deep faith.
Where it goes in the ceremony
Near the end, as the last reading before the commendation. Often read by a grandchild, or by someone the person mentored.
Reading it aloud
The text on this page is 70 words. At a ceremony pace of about 130 words a minute, which is slower than conversation, that comes to about 30 seconds of reading.
- Read it in the first person, as if the person who died were saying it, quietly and without strain.
- “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” is three short claims. Give each its own breath.
- The last line widens out to everyone. Look up at the room.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “2 Timothy 4:6–8” take to read aloud?
“2 Timothy 4:6–8” takes about 35 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “2 Timothy 4:6–8”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “2 Timothy 4:6–8” runs about 35 seconds, which is a manageable amount to hand to a friend or family member. Give them a printed copy of their own, in a size they can read without their glasses, and tell them where to stand and how you will introduce them.
Can “2 Timothy 4:6–8” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the life, the remembrances, the committal — and knowing what comes next. Answer some questions about them and get the whole service, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- Deuteronomy 31:6–855 secondsAn old leader handing on to the next generation
- Hebrews 11:1–2, 13–16a minute and a halfPeople who died in faith
- Crossing the Bar55 secondsA poem about a calm departure
- Psalm 90:1–6, 10, 12a minute and a halfKing James Bible
- Matthew 11:28–3025 secondsKing James Bible
- Revelation 14:1320 secondsKing James Bible