Misinterpretations often claim this verse disproves the power of faith healing or prayer since Paul, who healed others previously, abandoned Trophimus to sickness, ignoring God's sovereign purposes in allowing illness, the distinction between apostolic miracles for authentication and everyday providence, or using it to argue that healing gifts ceased, which overlooks the passage's contextual role as mere itinerary details rather than a theological treatise on healing.
II Timothy 4:20
King James Version (1769)
20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.
Paul provides a brief personal update to Timothy about his traveling companions, noting that Erastus stayed behind in Corinth while Trophimus was left sick in Miletus, illustrating the practical challenges and human frailties encountered in early Christian ministry, such as illness disrupting travel, yet affirming Paul's unwavering commitment to spreading the gospel amid his own imprisonment and trials.