And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Among, х dia (G1223)] - through the intervention of many witnesses. namely, the presbyters and others present at his ordination or consecration (1 Timothy 4:14; 1 Timothy 6:12).
Commit - in trust, as a deposit (2 Timothy 4:14). Faithful - the quality needed by those having a trust committed to them. Faithfulness to the truth is the true apostolic succession (cf. note, 1 Timothy 3:2).
Who, х hoitines (G3748)] - 'persons such as shall: competent to teach (them to) others also.' Thus the way is prepared for inculcating faithful endurance (2 Timothy 2:3-13). As a motive to endurance, thou hast not only to keep the deposit for thyself, but to transmit it unimpaired to others, who in their turn shall fulfill the same office. So far from supporting oral tradition now, this teaches how precarious a mode of preserving revealed truth it was, depending, as it did, on the trustworthiness of each individual in the chain of succession (2 Peter 2:1). Blessed be God, He Himself has given us, before the death of the inspired apostles, the written Word, which is exempt from such risk!