2 Timothy 3
New King James Version
Perilous Times and Perilous Men
3 But know this, that (A)in the last days [a]perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, [b]unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 (B)traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 (C)having a form of godliness but (D)denying its power. And (E)from such people turn away! 6 For (F)of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able (G)to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 (H)Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: (I)men of corrupt minds, (J)disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, (K)as theirs also was.
The Man of God and the Word of God
10 (L)But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me (M)at Antioch, (N)at Iconium, (O)at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And (P)out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yes, and (Q)all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 (R)But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must (S)continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known (T)the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 (U)All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, (V)and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for [c]instruction in righteousness, 17 (W)that the man of God may be complete, (X)thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Footnotes
- 2 Timothy 3:1 times of stress
- 2 Timothy 3:3 irreconcilable
- 2 Timothy 3:16 training, discipline
2 Timothy 3
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
3 But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].
2 For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.
3 [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good.
4 [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God.
5 For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them].
6 For among them are those who worm their way into homes and captivate silly and weak-natured and spiritually dwarfed women, loaded down with [the burden of their] sins [and easily] swayed and led away by various evil desires and seductive impulses.
7 [These weak women will listen to anybody who will teach them]; they are forever inquiring and getting information, but are never able to arrive at a recognition and knowledge of the Truth.
8 Now just as [a]Jannes and Jambres were hostile to and resisted Moses, so these men also are hostile to and oppose the Truth. They have depraved and distorted minds, and are reprobate and counterfeit and to be rejected as far as the faith is concerned.(A)
9 But they will not get very far, for their rash folly will become obvious to everybody, as was that of those [magicians mentioned].
10 Now you have closely observed and diligently followed my teaching, conduct, purpose in life, faith, patience, love, steadfastness,
11 Persecutions, sufferings—such as occurred to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, persecutions I endured, but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
12 Indeed all who delight in piety and are determined to live a devoted and godly life in Christ Jesus will meet with persecution [will be made to suffer because of their religious stand].
13 But wicked men and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and leading astray others and being deceived and led astray themselves.
14 But as for you, continue to hold to the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced, knowing from whom you learned [them],
15 And how from your childhood you have had a knowledge of and been acquainted with the sacred Writings, which are able to instruct you and give you the understanding for salvation which comes through faith in Christ Jesus [through the [b]leaning of the entire human personality on God in Christ Jesus in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].
16 Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action),
17 So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Footnotes
- 2 Timothy 3:8 Neither of these men is mentioned in the Old Testament, but according to Jewish tradition they were the Egyptian court magicians who opposed Moses.
- 2 Timothy 3:15 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon.
2 Timothy 3
Living Bible
3 You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money; they will be proud and boastful, sneering at God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them, and thoroughly bad. 3 They will be hardheaded and never give in to others; they will be constant liars and troublemakers and will think nothing of immorality. They will be rough and cruel, and sneer at those who try to be good. 4 They will betray their friends; they will be hotheaded, puffed up with pride, and prefer good times to worshiping God. 5 They will go to church,[a] yes, but they won’t really believe anything they hear. Don’t be taken in by people like that.
6 They are the kind who craftily sneak into other people’s homes and make friendships with silly, sin-burdened women and teach them their new doctrines. 7 Women of that kind are forever following new teachers, but they never understand the truth. 8 And these teachers fight truth just as Jannes and Jambres fought against Moses. They have dirty minds, warped and twisted, and have turned against the Christian faith.
9 But they won’t get away with all this forever. Someday their deceit will be well known to everyone, as was the sin of Jannes and Jambres.
10 But you know from watching me that I am not that kind of person. You know what I believe and the way I live and what I want. You know my faith in Christ and how I have suffered. You know my love for you, and my patience. 11 You know how many troubles I have had as a result of my preaching the Good News. You know about all that was done to me while I was visiting in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, but the Lord delivered me. 12 Yes, and those who decide to please Christ Jesus by living godly lives will suffer at the hands of those who hate him. 13 In fact, evil men and false teachers will become worse and worse, deceiving many, they themselves having been deceived by Satan.
14 But you must keep on believing the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know that you can trust those of us who have taught you. 15 You know how, when you were a small child, you were taught the holy Scriptures; and it is these that make you wise to accept God’s salvation by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 The whole Bible[b] was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. 17 It is God’s way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone.
Footnotes
- 2 Timothy 3:5 They will go to church, literally, “Having a form of godliness.”
- 2 Timothy 3:16 The whole Bible, literally, “Every Scripture.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.