2 Timothy 3
Lexham English Bible
Difficult Times Ahead in the Last Days
3 But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come, 2 for people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 hardhearted, irreconcilable, slanderous, without self-control, savage, with no interest for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God, 5 maintaining a form of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid these people. 6 For from these are those who slip into houses and captivate foolish women loaded down with sins, led by various kinds of desires, 7 always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 And just as[a] Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these oppose the truth, people corrupted in mind, disqualified concerning the faith. 9 But they will not progress to a greater extent, for their folly will be quite evident to everyone, as also the folly of those two was.
The Value of the Scriptures
10 But you have faithfully followed my teaching, way of life, purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings that happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra, what sort of persecutions I endured, and the Lord delivered me from all of them. 12 And indeed, all those who want to live in a godly manner in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil people and imposters will progress to the worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you continue in the things which you have learned and are convinced of, because you[b] know from whom you learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the holy writings that are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, 17 in order that the person of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
Footnotes
- 2 Timothy 3:8 Literally “in the manner in which”
- 2 Timothy 3:14 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“know”) which is understood as causal
2 Timothy 3
Worldwide English (New Testament)
3 Be sure of this. In the last days hard times will come.
2 People will love themselves. They will love money. They will talk about themselves and be proud. They will say wrong things about people. They will not obey their parents. They will not be thankful. They will not keep anything holy.
3 They will have no love. They will not agree with anybody. They will tell lies about people. They will have no self-control. They will beat people. They will not love anything that is good.
4 They cannot be trusted. They will act quickly, without thinking. They are proud of themselves. They love to have fun more than they love God.
5 They act as if they worshipped God, yet they do not let God's power work in their lives. Keep away from people like that.
6 They are the kind who go quietly into people's houses. There they get foolish women to believe them. These women know that they have done many wrong things. And they want to do many kinds of wrong things.
7 They are always trying to learn, but never able to find out what is really true.
8 Jannes and Jambres were two men who were very much against Moses. In the same way, these men I am talking about are against what is true. They are men who have wrong thoughts in their minds. They do not believe.
9 But these men will not get very far. Everyone will see that they are wrong, just as people saw that Jannes and Jambres were wrong.
10 Timothy, you know my teaching and the way I lived. You know what I want to do and what I believe. You know my patience, my love, and my strength to bear trouble.
11 You know about my troubles. You know what happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra. You know how badly the people treated me. But the Lord brought me safely through it all.
12 Yes, all who want to live a good life in Christ Jesus will be troubled by other people.
13 Bad men and those who fool other people will grow worse and worse. They will fool other people, and other people will fool them.
14 But you, Timothy, must keep on doing the things you have learned. You know they are right. You know who taught them to you.
15 From the time you were a child you knew the holy writings. They showed you how to be saved by believing in Christ Jesus.
16 All that is written in the holy writings comes from the Spirit of God. The holy writings are good for these things: to teach people, to show them when they are wrong, to make them see what is right, to teach them to do what is right.
17 In this way a person who belongs to God has all he needs. He is ready for every kind of good work.
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