2 Timothy 3

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

Be sure of this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

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

Men will be selfish, mercenary, boastful, haughty, and blasphemous; disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, impure,

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

incapable of affection, merciless, slanderous, wanting in self-control, brutal, careless of the right,

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

treacherous, reckless, and puffed up with pride; they will love pleasure more than they love 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.

and while they retain the outward form of religion, they will not allow it to influence them. Turn your back on such men as these.

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,

For among them are to be found those who creep into homes and captivate weak women — women who, loaded with sins, and slaves to all kinds of passions,

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

are always learning, and yet never able to attain to a real knowledge of 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 as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so do these people, in their turn, oppose the Truth. Their minds are corrupted, and, as regards the Faith, they are utterly worthless.

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.

They will not, however, make further progress; for their wicked folly will be plain to every one, just as that of Jannes and Jambres was.

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

But you, Timothy, were a close observer of my teaching, my conduct, my purposes, my faith, my forbearance, my love, and my patient endurance,

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.

as well as of my persecutions, and of the sufferings which I met with at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know what persecutions I underwent; and yet the Lord brought me safe out of all!

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

Yes, and all who aim at living a religious life in union with Christ Jesus will have to suffer persecution;

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

but wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and deceived themselves.

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

You, however, must stand by what you learnt and accepted as true. You know who they were from whom you learnt it;

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.

and that, from your childhood, you have known the Sacred Writings, which can give you the wisdom that, through belief in Christ Jesus, leads to Salvation.

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

Everything that is written under divine inspiration is helpful for teaching, for refuting error, for giving guidance, and for training others in righteousness;

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

so that the Servant of God may be perfect himself, and perfectly equipped for every good action.