2 Timothy 3
3
Ministry in the Last Days
1 But understand this, that in the last days difficult#tn Or perhaps, “dangerous,” “fierce.” times will come. 2 For people#tn Grk “men”; but here ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is generic, referring to both men and women. will be lovers of themselves,#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. lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. 5 They will maintain the outward appearance#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). of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these.#tn Grk “and avoid these,” with the word “people” implied. 6 For some of these insinuate themselves#tn Grk “For from these are those who sneak.” into households and captivate weak women#tn Or “silly women.” who are overwhelmed with sins and led along by various passions. 7 Such women are always seeking instruction,#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. yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 And just as Jannes and Jambres#sn Jannes and Jambres were the traditional names of two of Pharaoh’s magicians who opposed Moses at the time of the Exodus. opposed Moses, so these people – who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith#tn Grk “disapproved concerning the faith.” – also oppose the truth. 9 But they will not go much further,#tn Grk “for they will not progress any more.” for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres.#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
10 You, however,#sn There is a strong emphasis on the pronoun you in contrast to the people described in vv. 2-9. have followed my teaching, my#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. way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance, 11 as well as the persecutions and sufferings#tn Grk “persecutions, sufferings,” as a continuation of the series from v. 10. that happened to me in Antioch,#map For location see JP1-E2; JP2-E2; JP3-E2; JP4-E2. in Iconium, and in Lystra.#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 I endured these persecutions and the Lord delivered me from them all. 12 Now in fact all who want to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse,#tn Grk “will advance to the worse.” deceiving others and being deceived themselves.#tn Grk “deceiving and being deceived.” 14 You, however, must continue#tn Grk “but you, continue,” a command. in the things you have learned and are confident about. You know#tn Grk “knowing,” giving the reasons for continuing as v. 14 calls for. who taught you#tn Grk “those from whom you learned.” 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 Every scripture#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.” is inspired by God#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.” and useful for teaching, for reproof,#tn Or “rebuke,” “censure.” The Greek word implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction. for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the person dedicated to God#tn Grk “the man of God,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is most likely used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women. may be capable#tn This word is positioned for special emphasis; it carries the sense of “complete, competent, able to meet all demands.” and equipped for every good work.
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1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC
2 Timothy 3
3
The Last Days
1Remember this! There will be many troubles in the last days. 2In those times people will love only themselves and money. They will brag and be proud. They will say evil things against others. They will not obey their parents. People will not be thankful or be the kind of people God wants. 3They will not have love for others. They will refuse to forgive others and will speak bad things. They will not control themselves. They will be cruel and will hate what is good. 4In the last days, people will turn against their friends. They will do foolish things without thinking. They will be conceited and proud. They will love pleasure. They will not love God. 5They will continue to act as if they serve God, but they will not really serve God. Stay away from those people. 6Some of them go into homes and get control of weak women who are full of sin. They are led to sin by the many evil desires they have. 7Those women always try to learn new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth fully. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres were against Moses, these people are against the truth. They are people whose thinking has been confused. They have failed in trying to follow the faith. 9But they will not be successful in what they do. Everyone will see that they are foolish. That is what happened to Jannes and Jambres.
Obey the Teachings
10But you know all about me. You know what I teach and the way I live. You know my goal in life. You know my faith, my patience, and my love. You know that I never stop trying. 11You know how I have been hurt and have suffered. You know all that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know the hurts I suffered in those places. But the Lord saved me from all those troubles. 12Everyone who wants to live the way God wants, in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted. 13People who are evil and cheat other people will go from bad to worse. They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves.
14But you should continue following the teachings that you learned. You know that these teachings are true. And you know you can trust those who taught you. 15You have known the Holy Scriptures since you were a child. The Scriptures are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching how to live right. 17Using the Scriptures, the person who serves God will be ready and will have everything he needs to do every good work.
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