Difficult Times Will Come

¹But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

²For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

³unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, without gentleness, without love for good,[#3:3 Or devilish]

⁴treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

⁵holding to a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Keep away from such men as these.[#3:5 Or religion]

⁶For among them are those who enter into households and take captive weak women weighed down with sins, being led on by various desires,[#3:6 Or creep; #3:6 Or idle]

⁷always learning and never able to come to the full knowledge of the truth.[#3:7 Or recognition]

⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, disqualified in regard to the faith.

⁹But they will not make further progress, for their folly will be obvious to all, just as theirs was also.

¹⁰But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,[#3:10 Or steadfastness]

¹¹persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra. What persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!

¹²Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

¹³But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁴But you, continue in the things you learned and became convinced of, knowing from whom you learned them ,

¹⁵and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,[#3:16 Or inspired by God; #3:16 Lit training which is in]

¹⁷so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.