Ministry in the Last Days

¹But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come.[#tn Or perhaps, “dangerous,” “fierce.”]

²For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,[#tn Grk “men”; but here ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is generic, referring to both men and women.; #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.]

³unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good,

⁴treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God.

⁵They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these.[#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).; #tn Grk “and avoid these,” with the word “people” implied.]

⁶For some of these insinuate themselves into households and captivate weak women who are overwhelmed with sins and led along by various passions.[#tn Grk “For from these are those who sneak.”; #tn Or “silly women.”]

⁷Such women are always seeking instruction, yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.[#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.]

⁸And just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these people – who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith – also oppose the truth.[#sn Jannes and Jambres were the traditional names of two of Pharaoh’s magicians who opposed Moses at the time of the Exodus.; #tn Grk “disapproved concerning the faith.”]

⁹But they will not go much further, for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres.[#tn Grk “for they will not progress any more.”; #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.]

Continue in What You Have Learned

¹⁰You, however, have followed my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance,[#sn There is a strong emphasis on the pronoun you in contrast to the people described in vv. 2-9.; #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.]

¹¹as well as the persecutions and sufferings that happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra. I endured these persecutions and the Lord delivered me from them all.[#tn Grk “persecutions, sufferings,” as a continuation of the series from v. 10.; #map For location see JP1-E2; JP2-E2; JP3-E2; JP4-E2.; #sn In Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra. See Acts 13-14 for the account of these persecutions.map For location see JP1-E2; JP2-E2; JP3-E2]

¹²Now in fact all who want to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

¹³But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.[#tn Grk “will advance to the worse.”; #tn Grk “deceiving and being deceived.”]

¹⁴You, however, must continue in the things you have learned and are confident about. You know who taught you[#tn Grk “but you, continue,” a command.; #tn Grk “knowing,” giving the reasons for continuing as v. 14 calls for.; #tn Grk “those from whom you learned.”]

¹⁵and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,[#tn Or “All scripture.”sn There is very little difference in sense between every scripture (emphasizing the individual portions) and “all scripture” (emphasizing the composite whole). The former option is preferred, because it fits the normal use of the word “all/every” in Greek (πᾶς, pas) as well as Paul’s normal sense for the word “scripture” in the singular without the article, as here. So every scripture means “every individual portion of scripture.”; #sn Inspired by God. Some have connected this adjective in a different way and translated it as “every inspired scripture is also useful.” But this violates the parallelism of the two adjectives in the sentence, and the arrangement of words makes clear that both should be taken as predicate adjectives: “every scripture is inspired…and useful.”; #tn Or “rebuke,” “censure.” The Greek word implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.]

¹⁷that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.[#tn Grk “the man of God,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is most likely used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.; #tn This word is positioned for special emphasis; it carries the sense of “complete, competent, able to meet all demands.”]