# 2 Timothy 3.7

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-11-07 | updated: 2026-11-07 -->

**Book:** [2 Timothy](/codex/2-timothy/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 5. 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,
>
> **7. ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.**
>
> 8. And even as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also withstand the truth; men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith. 9. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also came to be. (2 Timothy 3:5-9, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 5. 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,
>
> **7. always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.**
>
> 8. Even as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so do these also oppose the truth; men corrupted in mind, who concerning the faith, are rejected. 9. But they will proceed no further. For their folly will be evident to all men, as theirs also came to be. (2 Timothy 3:5-9, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 5. 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,
>
> **7. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.**
>
> 8. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. <sup>reprobate: or, of no judgment</sup> <sup>reprobate: or, of no judgment</sup> 9. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. (2 Timothy 3:5-9, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 5. 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,
>
> **7. always learning, and never to a knowledge of truth able to come,**
>
> 8. and, even as Jannes and Jambres stood against Moses, so also these do stand against the truth, men corrupted in mind, disapproved concerning the faith; 9. but they shall not advance any further, for their folly shall be manifest to all, as theirs also did become. (2 Timothy 3:5-9, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** [Paul](/codex/paul-the-apostle/), 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 portrait of the people of "the last days" (3:1-9), here those who "creep into houses, and take captive silly women laden with sins" (3:6).

## Theological reading

"ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:7, ASV)

**Always learning, never arriving.** The verse describes the people the false teachers win over: they are constantly taking in new instruction, yet never reach "the knowledge of the truth". The phrase is the same one Paul uses for the goal of repentance in 2:25 and for God's will that all men "come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). The problem is not a lack of information. The previous verse says they are "led away by divers lusts" (3:6), and the whole group holds "a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof" (3:5). Learning that is never allowed to change the learner never arrives anywhere.

**Who is blamed.** "Silly women" renders a diminutive of the ordinary word for woman, a contemptuous term for the particular people the teachers exploit in their households. The weight of the condemnation falls on the teachers themselves, the men who "creep into houses" and who are "corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith" (3:8). Compare the warning about younger widows who go "about from house to house" (1 Timothy 5:13).

**Jannes and Jambres.** Paul compares the teachers to the men who "withstood Moses" (3:8). Exodus does not name Pharaoh's magicians (Exodus 7:11); the names come from later Jewish tradition. Their folly became evident, and so will these teachers' (3:9). The remedy Paul gives Timothy is to abide in what he has learned and in "the sacred writings" he has known "from a babe" (3:14-15). See [2 Timothy 3.5](/codex/2-timothy-3-5/) and [2 Timothy 3.8](/codex/2-timothy-3-8/).

## 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.

## Notes

_Your annotations._

## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.