2 Timothy 3:2-13

3:2 For people ¹  will be lovers of themselves, ²  lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3:3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, 3:4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. 3:5 They will maintain the outward appearance ³  of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these. ⁴  3:6 For some of these insinuate themselves ⁵  into households and captivate weak women ⁶  who are overwhelmed with sins and led along by various passions. 3:7 Such women are always seeking instruction, ⁷  yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 3:8 And just as Jannes and Jambres ⁸  opposed Moses, so these people – who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith ⁹  – also oppose the truth. 3:9 But they will not go much further, ¹⁰  for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres. ¹¹ 

Continue in What You Have Learned

3:10 You, however, ¹²  have followed my teaching, my ¹³  way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance, 3:11 as well as the persecutions and sufferings ¹⁴  that happened to me in Antioch, ¹⁵  in Iconium, and in Lystra. ¹⁶  I endured these persecutions and the Lord delivered me from them all. 3:12 Now in fact all who want to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 3:13 But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, ¹⁷  deceiving others and being deceived themselves. ¹⁸ 

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¹ tn Grk “men”; but here ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is generic, referring to both men and women.

² tn Or “self-centered.” The first two traits in 2 Tim 3:2 and the last two in 3:4 are Greek words beginning with the root “lovers of,” and so bracket the list at beginning and end.

³ tn Or “form.”

sn Outward appearance. Paul’s contrast with power in 3:5b shows that he regards this “form” to be outward, one of appearance rather than reality (cf. 1 Cor 4:19-20; 1 Thess 1:5).

⁴ tn Grk “and avoid these,” with the word “people” implied.

⁵ tn Grk “For from these are those who sneak.”

⁶ tn Or “silly women.”

⁷ tn Grk “always learning,” continuing the description of the women from v. 6. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁸ sn Jannes and Jambres were the traditional names of two of Pharaoh’s magicians who opposed Moses at the time of the Exodus.

⁹ tn Grk “disapproved concerning the faith.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “for they will not progress any more.”

¹¹ tn Grk “as theirs came to be,” referring to the foolishness of Jannes and Jambres. The referent of “theirs” (Jannes and Jambres) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² sn There is a strong emphasis on the pronoun you in contrast to the people described in vv. 2-9.

¹³ tn The possessive “my” occurs only at the beginning of the list but is positioned in Greek to apply to each of the words in the series.

¹⁴ tn Grk “persecutions, sufferings,” as a continuation of the series from v. 10.

¹⁵ map For location see JP1-E2; JP2-E2; JP3-E2; JP4-E2.

¹⁶ sn In Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra. See Acts 13-14 for the account of these persecutions.

map For location see JP1-E2; JP2-E2; JP3-E2

¹⁷ tn Grk “will advance to the worse.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “deceiving and being deceived.”