Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Timothy 2:9

"wherein I suffer hardship unto bonds, as a malefactor; but the word of God is not bound." — 2 Timothy 2:9 (ASV)

In which I suffer trouble as an evildoer. As if I were a violator of the laws. That is, I am treated as if I were a criminal.

Even to chains. As if I were one of the worst kind of malefactors (See Barnes on Ephesians 6:20).

During the apostle's first imprisonment at Rome, he was permitted to dwell in his own hired house, though guarded by a soldier, and probably chained to him (See Barnes on Acts 28:16, 30).

We have no means of knowing with certainty what his condition was in his second imprisonment, during which this epistle was written. It is probable, however, that he was subjected to much more rigid treatment than he had been in the first instance. The tradition is that he and Peter were together in the Mamertine prison at Rome, and the place is still shown where it is said they were confined.

The Mamertine prisons are of great antiquity. According to Livy, they were constructed by Ancus Martius and enlarged by Servius Tullius. The lower prison is supposed to have been a quarry once and, at one time, to have been occupied as a granary. These prisons are on the descent of the Capitoline Mount, towards the Forum.

They consist of two apartments, one over the other, built with large, uncemented stones. There is no entrance to either, except by a small aperture in the roof and by a small hole in the upper floor leading to the cell below, without any staircase to either. The upper prison is twenty-seven feet long by twenty wide; the lower one is elliptical and measures twenty feet by ten.

In the lower one is a small spring, which is said at Rome to have arisen at Peter's command, enabling him to baptize his keepers, Processus and Martianus, with forty-seven companions whom he converted. No certain reliance can be placed on any part of this tradition, though in itself there is no improbability in supposing that these prisons may have been used for confining Christians, and the apostle Paul among others. Dr. Burton says that a more horrible place for the confinement of a human being can scarcely be conceived.

But the word of God is not bound. This is one of Paul's happy turns of thought . The meaning is plain: the gospel prospered. It could not be fettered and imprisoned. It circulated with freedom, even when he who was appointed to preach it was in chains .

Since this was the most important thing, his own imprisonment was of comparatively little consequence. What may befall us is of secondary importance. The grand thing is the triumph of truth on the earth; and we may well bear privations and sorrows if the gospel moves on in triumph.