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For people[a] will be lovers of themselves,[b] lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. They will maintain the outward appearance[c] of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these.[d] For some of these insinuate themselves[e] into households and captivate weak women[f] who are overwhelmed with sins and led along by various passions. Such women are always seeking instruction,[g] yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. And just as Jannes and Jambres[h] opposed Moses, so these people—who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith[i]—also oppose the truth. But they will not go much further,[j] for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres.[k]

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Timothy 3:2 tn Grk “men,” but here ἄνθρωποι (anthrōpoi) is generic, referring to both men and women.
  2. 2 Timothy 3:2 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.
  3. 2 Timothy 3:5 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).
  4. 2 Timothy 3:5 tn Grk “and avoid these,” with the word “people” implied.
  5. 2 Timothy 3:6 tn Grk “For from these are those who sneak.”
  6. 2 Timothy 3:6 tn Or “silly women.”
  7. 2 Timothy 3:7 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.
  8. 2 Timothy 3:8 sn Jannes and Jambres were the traditional names of two of Pharaoh’s magicians who opposed Moses at the time of the Exodus.
  9. 2 Timothy 3:8 tn Grk “disapproved concerning the faith.”
  10. 2 Timothy 3:9 tn Grk “for they will not progress any more.”
  11. 2 Timothy 3:9 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.