2tn Grk “men”; but here ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is generic, referring to both men and women.

3tn 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.

4tn 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).

5tn Grk “and avoid these,” with the word “people” implied.

6tn Grk “For from these are those who sneak.”

7tn Or “silly women.”

8tn 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.

9sn Jannes and Jambres were the traditional names of two of Pharaoh’s magicians who opposed Moses at the time of the Exodus.

10tn Grk “disapproved concerning the faith.”

11tn Grk “for they will not progress any more.”

12tn 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.

13sn There is a strong emphasis on the pronoun you in contrast to the people described in vv. 2-9.

14tn 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.

15tn Grk “persecutions, sufferings,” as a continuation of the series from v. 10.

16map For location see JP1-E2; JP2-E2; JP3-E2; JP4-E2.

17sn 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

18tn Grk “will advance to the worse.”

19tn Grk “deceiving and being deceived.”

20tn Grk “but you, continue,” a command.

21tn Grk “knowing,” giving the reasons for continuing as v. 14 calls for.

22tn Grk “those from whom you learned.”

23tn 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.”

24sn 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.”

25tn Or “rebuke,” “censure.” The Greek word implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.

26tn Grk “the man of God,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is most likely used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

27tn This word is positioned for special emphasis; it carries the sense of “complete, competent, able to meet all demands.”