3:1 {Know this } (touto ginwske). See #1Co 11:3; Php 1:12. {In the last days} (en escatais hemerais). See #Jas 5:3; 1Ti 4:1. {Grievous} (calepoi). Hard. See #Eph 5:16. {Shall come} (enstesontai). Future middle of enistemi (intransitive use), old verb, to stand on or be at hand, as in #2Th 2:2.

3:2 {Lovers of self} (filautoi). Old compound adjective (filos, autos), here only in N.T. {Lovers of money} (filarguroi). Old compound adjective, in N.T. only here and #Lu 16:14. See #1Ti 6:10. {Boastful} (alazones). Old word for empty pretender, in N.T. only here and #Ro 1:30. {Haughty} (huperefanoi). See also #Ro 1:30 for this old word. {Railers} (blasfemoi). See #1Ti 1:13. {Disobedient to parents} (goneusin apeiqeis). See #Ro 1:30. {Unthankful} (acaristoi). Old word, in N.T. only here and #Lu 6:35. {Unholy} (anosioi). See #1Ti 1:9. {Without natural affection} (astorgoi). See #Ro 1:31.

3:3 {Implacable} (aspondoi). Truce-breakers. Old word, only here in N.T. though in MSS. in #Ro 1:31 (from a privative and sponde, a libation).

{Slanderers} (diaboloi). See #1Ti 3:11; Tit 2:3. {Without self-control} (akrateis). Old word (a privative and kratos), here only in N.T. {Fierce} (anemeroi). Old word (a privative and hemeros, tame), only here in N.T. {No lovers of good} (afilagaqoi). Found only here (a privative and filagaqos, for which see #Tit 1:8). See also #Php 4:8. A papyrus describes Antoninus as filagaqos and has afilokagaqia.

3:4 {Traitors} (prodotai). Old word (from prodid"mi), in N.T. only here, #Lu 6:16; Ac 7:52. {Headstrong} (propeteis). Old word (from pro and piptw), falling forward, in N.T. only here and #Ac 19:36. {Puffed up} (tetufwmenoi). Perfect passive participle of tufow. See #1Ti 3:6. {Lovers of pleasure} (filedonoi). Literary _Koin‚_ word (filos, hedone), only here in N.T. {Lovers of God} (filoqeoi). Old word (filos, qeos), only here in N.T.

3:5 {A form of godliness} (morfwsin eusebeias). For morfwsin, see #Ro 2:20. The outward shape without the reality. {Having denied} (ernemenoi). Perfect middle participle of arneomai (see #2:12f.). {Power} (dunamin). See #1Co 4:20. See #Ro 1:29-31 for similar description. {Turn away} (apotrepou). Present middle (direct) imperative of apotrepw, "turn thyself away from." Old verb, only here in N.T. See IV Macc. 1:33.

3:6 {That creep} (hoi endunontes). Old and common verb (also enduw) either to put on (#1Th 5:8) or to enter (to slip in by insinuation, as here). See same idea in #Jude 1:4 (pareiseduesan), #2Pe 2:1 (pareisaxousin), #Ga 2:4 (pareiselqon and pareisaktous). These stealthy "creepers" are pictured also in #Tit 1:11. {Take captive} (aicmalwtizontes). "Taking captive." Present active participle of aicmalwtizw, for which see #2Co 10:5; Ro 7:23. {Silly women} (gunaikaria). Literally, "little women" (diminutive of gune), found in Diocles (comedian of 5 century B.C.) and in Epictetus. The word here is neuter (grammatical gender) plural. Used contemptuously here (only N.T. example). Ramsay suggests "society ladies." It is amazing how gullible some women are with religious charlatans who pose as exponents of "new thought." {Laden with sins} (seswreumena hamartiais). Perfect passive participle of swreuw, old word from Aristotle down (from swros, a heap) to heap up. In N.T. only here and #Ro 12:20. Associative instrumental case hamartiais. {Divers} (poikilais). Many colored. See #Tit 3:3. One has only to recall Schweinfurth, the false Messiah of forty odd years ago with his "heavenly harem" in Illinois and the recent infamous "House of David" in Michigan to understand how these Gnostic cults led women into lasciviousness under the guise of religion or of liberty. The priestesses of Aphrodite and of Isis were illustrations ready to hand. agomena (present passive participle) means "continually led astray or from time to time."

3:7 {Never able to come to the knowledge of the truth} (medepote eis epignwsin aleqeias elqein dunamena). Pathetic picture of these hypnotized women without intellectual power to cut through the fog of words and, though always learning scraps of things, they never come into the full knowledge (epignwsin) of the truth in Christ. And yet they even pride themselves on belonging to the intelligentsia!

3:8 {Like as} (hon tropon). "In which manner." Adverbial accusative and incorporation of the antecedent tropon into the relative clause. {Jannes and Jambres} (iannes kai iambres). Traditional names of the magicians who withstood Moses (_Targum of Jonathan_ on #Ex 7:11). {Withstood} (antestesan). Second aorist active (intransitive) of anqistemi, to stand against, "they stood against" (with dative M"usei). Same word used of Elymas in #Ac 13:8 and repeated here anqistantai (present middle indicative). Paul here pictures the seducers of the gunaikaria above. {Corrupted in mind} (katefqarmenoi ton noun). Perfect passive participle of katafqeirw, old compound, in N.T. only here in critical text. See #2Co 11:3; 1Ti 6:5 for diafqeirw. The accusative noun is retained in the passive. {Reprobate} (adokimoi). See #1Co 9:27; Tit 1:16. They had renounced their trust (pistin) in Christ.

3:9 {They shall proceed no further} (ou prokoyousin epi pleion). Future active of prokoptw. See #2:16. {Folly} (anoia). Old word (from anoos, a privative and nous), want of sense, here only in N.T. {Evident} (ekdelos). Old word (ek, delos, outstanding), here only in N.T. {Theirs} (ekeinwn). Of Jannes and Jambres (#Ex 7:12).

3:10 {Didst follow} (parekolouqesas). First aorist active indicative of parakolouqew, for which see #1Ti 4:6. Some MSS. have perfect active parekolouqekas (thou hast followed). Nine associative-instrumental cases here after the verb ({teaching}, didaskaliai, #Ro 12:7; {conduct}, agwgei, old word here only in N.T.; {purpose}, proqesei, #Ro 8:28; {faith}, pistei, #1Th 3:6; {longsuffering}, makroqumiai, #Col 1:11; {persecutions}, diwgmois, #2Th 1:4; {sufferings}, paqemasin, #2Co 1:6f.). The two last items belong to verse #11.

3:11 {What things befell me} (hoia moi egeneto). Qualitative relative (hoia) referring to actual experiences of Paul (egeneto, second aorist middle indicative of ginomai) more fully described in #2Co 11:30-33. The Acts of the Apostles tell of his experiences in Antioch in Pisidia (#Ac 13:14,45,50), in Iconium (#Ac 14:1-5), in Lystra (#Ac 14:6-19). See also #Ga 2:11. {What persecutions I endured} (hoious diwgmous hupenegka). Qualitative relative again with diwgmous. The verb is first aorist active indicative of hupoferw, old verb, to bear under as in #1Co 10:13. {Delivered me} (me erusato). First aorist middle of ruomai, old verb, with ek here as in #1Th 1:10. Used again of the Lord Jesus in #4:18.

3:12 {That would live godly} (hoi qelontes zein eusebws). "Those who desire (will, determine) to live godly." Paul does not regard his experience as peculiar, but only part of the price of loyal service to Christ. {Shall suffer persecution} (diwcqesontai). Future passive of diwkw, "shall be persecuted" (shall be hunted as wild beasts).

3:13 {Impostors} (goetes). Old word from wailers (goaw, to bewail), professional mourners, deceivers, jugglers. Here only in the N.T. Modern impostors know all the tricks of the trade. {Shall wax worse and worse} (prokoyousin epi to ceiron). "Shall cut forward to the worse stage." See #2:16 for prokoptw. ceiron is comparative of kakos, "to the worse than now." {Deceiving and being deceived} (planwntes kai planwmenoi). Present active and present passive participles of planaw. The tragedy of it all is that these seducers are able to deceive others as well as themselves.

3:14 {But abide thou} (su de mene). Emphatic contrast (su de), "But thou." Present active imperative of menw, common verb, to remain. {In the things which} (en hois). The antecedent to hois is not expressed ("in which things") and the relative is attracted from ha accusative with emaqes (didst learn, second aorist active indicative of manqanw) to the case of the unexpressed antecedent (locative with en). {Hast been assured of} (epistwqes). First aorist passive indicative of pistow, old verb (from pistos, faithful), to make reliable, only here in N.T. {Knowing from whom} (eidws para tinwn). Second perfect active participle of oida. Note tinwn (ablative case after para in an indirect question). The list included the O.T. prophets, Paul, Eunice, Lois. There ought to be moral authority in such personages.

3:15 {From a babe} (apo brefous). Only here in the Pastorals. this teaching from the fifth year, covering the whole of Timothy's recollections. See #Mr 9:21 ek paidioqen, from a child. {Thou has known} (oidas). Present active indicative, progressive perfect reaching from a babe till now. Would that Christian parents took like pains today. {The sacred writings} (hiera grammata). "Sacred writings" or "Holy Scriptures." Here alone in N.T., though in Josephus (Proem to _Ant_. 3; _Apion_ 1, etc.) and in Philo. The adjective hieros occurs in #1Co 9:13 of the temple worship, and gramma in contrast to pneuma in #2Co 3:6f.; Ro 2:29 and in #Joh 5:47 of Moses' writings, in #Ac 28:21 of an epistle, in #Ga 6:11 of letters (characters). In Ephesus there were efesia grammata that were bebela (#Ac 19:19), not hiera. {To make thee wise} (se sofisai). First aorist active infinitive of sofizw, old verb (from sofos), in N.T. only here, and #2Pe 1:16. {Which is in} (tes en). Common idiom with the article, "the in." The use of the Scriptures was not magic, but of value when used "through faith that is in Christ Jesus."

3:16 {Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable} (pasa grafe qeopneustos kai wfelimos). There are two matters of doubt in this clause. One is the absence of the article hˆ before grafe, whether that makes it mean "every scripture" or "all scripture" as of necessity if present. Unfortunately, there are examples both ways with both pas and grafe. Twice we find grafe in the singular without the article and yet definite (#1Pe 2:6; 2Pe 1:20). We have pas israel (#Ro 11:26) for all Israel (Robertson, _Grammar_, p. 772). So far as the grammatical usage goes, one can render here either "all scripture" or "every scripture." There is no copula (estin) in the Greek and so one has to insert it either before the kai or after it. If before, as is more natural, qen the meaning is: "All scripture (or every scripture) is inspired of God and profitable." In this form there is a definite assertion of inspiration. That can be true also of the second way, making "inspired of God" descriptive of "every scripture," and putting estin (is) after kai: "All scripture (or every scripture), inspired of God, is also profitable." {Inspired of God} (qeopneustos). "God-breathed." Late word (Plutarch) here only in N.T. Perhaps in contrast to the commandments of men in #Tit 1:14. {Profitable} (wfelimos). See #1Ti 4:8. See #Ro 15:4. Four examples of pros (facing, with a view to, for): didaskalian, teaching; elegmon, reproof, in LXX and here only in N.T.; epanorqwsin, correction, old word, from epanorqow, to set up straight in addition, here only in N.T., with which compare epidiorqow in #Tit 1:5; paideian, instruction, with which compare #Eph 6:4.