1 A nd this know thou, that in the last days there shall come perilous times,

You must understand that in the last days there will come times of much trouble.

2 f or men shall be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, evil-speakers, to parents disobedient, unthankful, unkind,

People will love themselves and money. They will have pride and tell of all the things they have done. They will speak against God. Children and young people will not obey their parents. People will not be thankful and they will not be holy.

3 w ithout natural affection, implacable, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, not lovers of those who are good,

They will not love each other. No one can get along with them. They will tell lies about others. They will not be able to keep from doing things they know they should not do. They will be wild and want to beat and hurt those who are good.

4 t raitors, heady, lofty, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God,

They will not stay true to their friends. They will act without thinking. They will think too much of themselves. They will love fun instead of loving God.

5 h aving a form of piety, and its power having denied; and from these be turning away,

They will do things to make it look as if they are Christians. But they will not receive the power that is for a Christian. Keep away from such people.

6 f or of these there are those coming into the houses and leading captive the silly women, laden with sins, led away with desires manifold,

These are the kind of people who go from house to house. They talk to foolish women who are loaded down with sins and all kinds of sinful desires.

7 a lways learning, and never to a knowledge of truth able to come,

Such women are always listening to new teaching. But they are never able to understand the truth.

8 a nd, even as Jannes and Jambres stood against Moses, so also these do stand against the truth, men corrupted in mind, disapproved concerning the faith;

Jannes and Jambres fought against Moses. So do these teachers fight against the truth today. Their minds think only of sinful things. They have turned against the Christian teaching.

9 b ut they shall not advance any further, for their folly shall be manifest to all, as theirs also did become.

They will not get very far. Their foolish teaching will be seen by everyone. That was the way it was with the two who worked against Moses. Teach the Truth

10 A nd thou -- thou hast followed after my teaching, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, endurance,

But you know what I teach and how I live. You know what I want to do. You know about my faith and my love. You know how long I am willing to wait for something. You know how I keep on working for God even when it is hard for me.

11 t he persecutions, the afflictions, that befel me in Antioch, in Iconium, in Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of all the Lord did deliver me,

You know about all the troubles and hard times I have had. You have seen how I suffered in the cities of Antioch and Iconium and Lystra. Yet the Lord brought me out of all those troubles.

12 a nd all also who will to live piously in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted,

Yes! All who want to live a God-like life who belong to Christ Jesus will suffer from others.

13 a nd evil men and impostors shall advance to the worse, leading astray and being led astray.

Sinful men and false teachers will go from bad to worse. They will lead others the wrong way and will be led the wrong way themselves.

14 A nd thou -- be remaining in the things which thou didst learn and wast entrusted with, having known from whom thou didst learn,

But as for you, hold on to what you have learned and know to be true. Remember where you learned them.

15 a nd because from a babe the Holy Writings thou hast known, which are able to make thee wise -- to salvation, through faith that in Christ Jesus;

You have known the Holy Writings since you were a child. They are able to give you wisdom that leads to being saved from the punishment of sin by putting your trust in Christ Jesus.

16 e very Writing God-breathed, and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for setting aright, for instruction that in righteousness,

All the Holy Writings are God-given and are made alive by Him. Man is helped when he is taught God’s Word. It shows what is wrong. It changes the way of a man’s life. It shows him how to be right with God.

17 t hat the man of God may be fitted -- for every good work having been completed.

It gives the man who belongs to God everything he needs to work well for Him.