2 Timothy 3

1 But of this be assured: in the last days grievous times will set in.

Be aware that there will be troubled times in the last days.

2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, profane. They will be disobedient to parents, thankless, irreligious,

People will love themselves and love money. They will be boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, and without God in their lives.

3 destitute of natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers. They will have no self-control, but will be brutal, opposed to goodness,

Heartless and unforgiving, they'll commit slander and have no self-control. Brutal people who hate what's good,

4 treacherous, headstrong, self-important. They will love pleasure instead of loving God,

they will betray others and be totally thoughtless. They are absurdly full of themselves, living so much for pleasure that they don't care about loving God.

5 and will keep up a make-believe of piety and yet live in defiance of its power. Turn away from people of this sort.

They may give an outward impression of being religious, but they don't actually believe it works. Stay away from these people!

6 Among them are included the men who make their way into private houses and carry off weak women as their prisoners--women who, weighed down by the burden of their sins, are led by ever-changing caprice,

They're the kind of people that slip into homes and take control of vulnerable women who are burdened down by the guilt of sin and distracted by all kinds of desires.

7 and are always learning something new, and yet are never able to arrive at real knowledge of the truth.

These women are always trying to learn but they're never able to understand the truth!

8 And just as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so also these false teachers withstand the truth--being, as they are, men of debased intellects, and of no real worth so far as faith is concerned.

Just like Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, these teachers also oppose the truth. They are people with corrupted minds whose supposed trust in God is a lie.

9 But they will have no further success; for their folly will be as clearly manifest to all men, as that of the opponents of Moses came to be.

But they won't get far. Their stupidity will be obvious to everyone, just like that of Jannes and Jambres.

10 But you have intimately known my teaching, life, aims, faith, patience, love, resignation,

But you know all about my teaching and behavior, and my aim in life. You know my trust in God and my love. You know what I've had to endure—

11 and the persecutions and sufferings which I have endured; the things which happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. You know the persecutions I endured, and how the Lord delivered me out of them all.

how I've been persecuted and what I've suffered. You know what happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—the troubles I had and how the Lord rescued me from all of them.

12 And indeed every one who is determined to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Of course it's true that everyone who wants to live a life devoted to God in Christ Jesus will experience persecution,

13 But bad men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.

while wicked people and frauds will do well, going from bad to worse, deceiving others and deceiving themselves too.

14 But you must cling to the things which you have learnt and have been taught to believe, knowing who your teachers were,

But you must hold onto the things you've learned and are convinced are true. You know who taught you.

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

From your childhood you've known the holy Scriptures which can give you understanding for salvation by trusting in Christ Jesus.

16 Every Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for convincing, for correction of error, and for instruction in right doing;

All Scripture inspired by God is useful for teaching, for confronting what is wrong, for setting us straight, and for telling us what is right.

17 so that the man of God may himself be complete and may be perfectly equipped for every good work.

This is how God provides a thorough preparation for those who work for him to accomplish all that's good.