Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Timothy 2:26

"and they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him unto his will." — 2 Timothy 2:26 (ASV)

That they may recover themselves.—The literal meaning of the Greek word rendered “that they may recover themselves” is: that they may awake from drunkenness. The English version, however, accurately conveys the meaning. Those taken in the snare of the devil are represented as not only captives in that snare, but also as helplessly wrapped in slumber.

The deadly peril of all “captives of sin” is vividly portrayed here. These unfortunate individuals, before they can free themselves from the toils of the evil one, must awaken from the deep slumber in which they are wrapped; in other words, they must first be conscious of their awful danger.

Who are taken captive by him at his will.—These words have been variously interpreted by commentators. The interpretation that, on the whole, seems most satisfactory suggests that the captive to sin, waking up from his deathly slumber and escaping the toils of the evil one, does so in order to carry out God’s will in the future. The rendering of the whole verse would be as follows: “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil—being held captive by him—to do His (God’s) will.”

It must be remembered that the first pronoun in this sentence, “being held captive by him,” refers to the devil, and the second pronoun, “to do His will,” refers to God. These are represented in Greek by two distinct words: the first by αὐτοῦ, and the second by ἐκείνου.