Passage

2 Timothy 3.4

Book: 2 Timothy · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

2. For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3. without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good,

4. traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away. 6. For of these are they that creep into houses, and take captive silly women laden with sins, led away by divers lusts, (2 Timothy 3:2-6, ASV)

WEB

2. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3. without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, not lovers of good,

4. traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

holding a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also. 6. For some of these are people who creep into houses, and take captive gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, (2 Timothy 3:2-6, WEB)

KJV

2. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, ^{false: or, one who foments strife}

4. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, (2 Timothy 3:2-6, KJV)

YLT

2. for men shall be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, evil-speakers, to parents disobedient, unthankful, unkind, 3. without natural affection, implacable, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, not lovers of those who are good,

4. traitors, heady, lofty, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God,

having a form of piety, and its power having denied; and from these be turning away, 6. for of these there are those coming into the houses and leading captive the silly women, laden with sins, led away with desires manifold, (2 Timothy 3:2-6, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Paul, who names himself in the opening line (1:1) and writes as a prisoner (1:8; 2:9). Authorship of the three Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus) is disputed. Many critical scholars hold that a later follower wrote them in Paul's name, pointing to differences of vocabulary and style from the undisputed letters and to a more settled church order. Others defend Paul's authorship, among them Luke Timothy Johnson (Anchor Bible, 2001), William Mounce (Word Biblical Commentary, 2000) and Philip Towner (NICNT, 2006), citing the letter's many personal details.
Audience: Timothy, "my beloved child" (1:2), whose "unfeigned faith" dwelt first in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (1:5). He is probably still at Ephesus: Paul reminds him of Onesiphorus's service there, which Timothy "knowest very well" (1:18), and greets Prisca and Aquila (4:19). Paul urges him to come to Rome quickly (4:9, 21).
Location: Rome, where Paul is in chains; Onesiphorus "sought me diligently, and found me" there (1:16-17).
Time period: on Pauline authorship, Paul's final imprisonment, usually dated c. AD 64-67, shortly before his death; he writes, "the time of my departure is come" (4:6). Scholars who regard the letter as pseudonymous usually place it late in the first century or early in the second. The reading below does not depend on the choice.
Literary context: the close of the list of vices of "the last days" (3:1-5). The next verse adds that such people hold "a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof" (3:5).

Theological reading

"traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;" (2 Timothy 3:4, ASV)

Traitors and the headstrong. "Traitors" (prodotai) are those who betray friends; Luke uses the word of Judas, "who became a traitor" (Luke 6:16). "Headstrong" describes reckless people who rush ahead without thought. "Puffed up" (literally "wrapped in smoke") is a word the first letter uses twice: of the new convert who may be "puffed up" and fall (1 Timothy 3:6), and of the false teacher who "is puffed up, knowing nothing" (1 Timothy 6:4).

The summary line. The list ends with its key: "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God". It began with lovers of self and of money (3:2). The contrast between philēdonoi ("pleasure-lovers") and philotheoi ("God-lovers") names the choice behind every vice in the list. The question is not whether people love, but what they love most.

Religion without power. The next verse adds the most troubling feature: these people are religious. They hold "a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof" (3:5). The list does not describe pagans outside the church but people inside it, who keep its outward shape while refusing the change it is meant to work. See 2 Timothy 3.5 and 2 Timothy 3.2.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

None of the words in this verse has its own lexicon entry yet.

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Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.