2 Timothy 3:1–9

Ministry in the Last Days

3:1 But understand this, that in the last days difficult1 times will come. 3:2 For people2 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 appearance4 of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these.5 3:6 For some of these insinuate themselves6 into households and captivate weak women7 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 Jambres9 opposed Moses, so these people—who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith10—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

1	tn Or perhaps, “dangerous,” “fierce.”
2	tn Grk “men”; but here ἄνθρωποι (anthrōpoi) is generic, referring to both men and women.
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.
4	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).
5	tn Grk “and avoid these,” with the word “people” implied.
6	tn Grk “For from these are those who sneak.”
7	tn Or “silly women.”
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.
9	sn Jannes and Jambres were the traditional names of two of Pharaoh’s magicians who opposed Moses at the time of the Exodus.
10	tn Grk “disapproved concerning the faith.”
11	tn Grk “for they will not progress any more.”
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.