2 Timothy 3:1-13

Ministry in the Last Days

3:1 But understand this, that in the last days difficult ¹  times will come. 3:2 For people ²  will be lovers of themselves, ³  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 ⁴  of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these. ⁵  3:6 For some of these insinuate themselves ⁶  into households and captivate weak women ⁷  who are overwhelmed with sins and led along by various passions. 3:7 Such women are always seeking instruction, ⁸  yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 3:8 And just as Jannes and Jambres ⁹  opposed Moses, so these people – who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith ¹⁰  – also oppose the truth. 3:9 But they will not go much further, ¹¹  for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres. ¹² 

Continue in What You Have Learned

3:10 You, however, ¹³  have followed my teaching, my ¹⁴  way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance, 3:11 as well as the persecutions and sufferings ¹⁵  that happened to me in Antioch, ¹⁶  in Iconium, and in Lystra. ¹⁷  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, ¹⁸  deceiving others and being deceived themselves. ¹⁹ 

[3:1]  ¹ tn Or perhaps, “dangerous,” “fierce.”

[3:2]  ² tn Grk “men”; but here ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is generic, referring to both men and women.

[3:2]  ³ 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.

[3:5]  ⁴ tn Or “form.”

[3:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “and avoid these,” with the word “people” implied.

[3:6]  ⁶ tn Grk “For from these are those who sneak.”

[3:6]  ⁷ tn Or “silly women.”

[3:7]  ⁸ 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.

[3:8]  ⁹ sn Jannes and Jambres were the traditional names of two of Pharaoh’s magicians who opposed Moses at the time of the Exodus.

[3:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “disapproved concerning the faith.”

[3:9]  ¹¹ tn Grk “for they will not progress any more.”

[3:9]  ¹² 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.

[3:10]  ¹³ sn There is a strong emphasis on the pronoun you in contrast to the people described in vv. 2-9.

[3:10]  ¹⁴ 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.

[3:11]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “persecutions, sufferings,” as a continuation of the series from v. 10.

[3:11]  ¹⁶ map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2; JP4 E2.

[3:11]  ¹⁷ sn In Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra. See Acts 13-14 for the account of these persecutions.

[3:13]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “will advance to the worse.”

[3:13]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “deceiving and being deceived.”