3:1 {Know this} (touto ginōske). See 1Co 11:3; Php 1:12.
{In the last days} (en eschatais hēmerais). See Jas 5:3; 1Ti 4:1. {Grievous} (chalepoi). Hard. See Eph 5:16.
{Shall come} (enstēsontai). Future middle of enistēmi (intransitive use), old verb, to stand on or be at hand, as in 2Th 2:2.

3:2 {Lovers of self} (philautoi). Old compound adjective (philos, autos), here only in N.T.
{Lovers of money} (philarguroi). 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} (huperēphanoi). See also Ro 1:30 for this old word.
{Railers} (blasphēmoi). See 1Ti 1:13.
{Disobedient to parents} (goneusin apeitheis). See Ro 1:30.
{Unthankful} (acharistoi). 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 spondē, 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} (anēmeroi). Old word (a privative and hēmeros, tame), only here in N.T.
{No lovers of good} (aphilagathoi). Found only here (a privative and philagathos, for which see Tit 1:8). See also Php 4:8. A papyrus describes Antoninus as philagathos and has aphilokagathia.

3:4 {Traitors} (prodotai). Old word (from prodidōmi), in N.T. only here, Lu 6:16; Ac 7:52.
{Headstrong} (propeteis). Old word (from pro and piptō), falling forward, in N.T. only here and Ac 19:36.
{Puffed up} (tetuphōmenoi). Perfect passive participle of tuphoō. See 1Ti 3:6.
{Lovers of pleasure} (philēdonoi). Literary "Koinē" word (philos, hēdonē), only here in N.T.
{Lovers of God} (philotheoi). Old word (philos, theos), only here in N.T.

3:5 {A form of godliness} (morphōsin eusebeias). For morphōsin, see Ro 2:20. The outward shape without the reality.
{Having denied} (ērnēmenoi). 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 apotrepō, "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 enduō) either to put on (1Th 5:8) or to enter (to slip in by insinuation, as here). See same idea in Jude 1:4 (pareiseduēsan), 2Pe 2:1 (pareisaxousin), Ga 2:4 (pareisēlthon and pareisaktous). These stealthy "creepers" are pictured also in Tit 1:11.
{Take captive} (aichmalōtizontes). "Taking captive." Present active participle of aichmalōtizō, for which see 2Co 10:5; Ro 7:23.
{Silly women} (gunaikaria). Literally, "little women" (diminutive of gunē), 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} (sesōreumena hamartiais). Perfect passive participle of sōreuō, old word from Aristotle down (from sōros, a heap) to heap up. In N.T. only here and Ro 12:20. Associative instrumental case hamartiais.
{Divers} (poikilais). Many coloured. 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 licentiousness 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} (mēdepote eis epignōsin alētheias elthein 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 (epignōsin) 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} (Iannēs kai Iambrēs). Traditional names of the magicians who withstood Moses ("Targum of Jonathan" on Ex 7:11).
{Withstood} (antestēsan). Second aorist active (intransitive) of anthistēmi, to stand against, "they stood against" (with dative Mōusei). Same word used of Elymas in Ac 13:8 and repeated here anthistantai (present middle indicative). Paul here pictures the seducers of the gunaikaria above.
{Corrupted in mind} (katephtharmenoi ton noun). Perfect passive participle of kataphtheirō, old compound, in N.T. only here in critical text. See 2Co 11:3; 1Ti 6:5 for diaphtheirō. 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 prokopsousin epi pleion). Future active of prokoptō. See 2:16.
{Folly} (anoia). Old word (from anoos, a privative and nous), want of sense, here only in N.T.
{Evident} (ekdēlos). Old word (ek, dēlos, outstanding), here only in N.T.
{Theirs} (ekeinōn). Of Jannes and Jambres (Ex 7:12).

3:10 {Didst follow} (parēkolouthēsas). First aorist active indicative of parakoloutheō, for which see 1Ti 4:6. Some MSS. have perfect active parēkolouthēkas (thou hast followed). Nine associative-instrumental cases here after the verb ({teaching}, didaskaliāi, Ro 12:7; {conduct}, agōgēi, old word here only in N.T.; {purpose}, prothesei, Ro 8:28; {faith}, pistei, 1Th 3:6; {longsuffering}, makrothumiāi, Col 1:11; {persecutions}, diōgmois, 2Th 1:4; {sufferings}, pathēmasin, 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 diōgmous hupēnegka). Qualitative relative again with diōgmous. The verb is first aorist active indicative of hupopherō, 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 thelontes zēin eusebōs). "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} (diōchthēsontai). Future passive of diōkō, "shall be persecuted" (shall be hunted as wild beasts).

3:13 {Impostors} (goētes). Old word from wailers (goaō, 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} (prokopsousin epi to cheiron). "Shall cut forward to the worse stage." See 2:16 for prokoptō. Cheiron is comparative of kakos, "to the worse than now."
{Deceiving and being deceived} (planōntes kai planōmenoi). Present active and present passive participles of planaō. 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 menō, 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 emathes (didst learn, second aorist active indicative of manthanō) to the case of the unexpressed antecedent (locative with en).
{Hast been assured of} (epistōthēs). First aorist passive indicative of pistoō, old verb (from pistos, faithful), to make reliable, only here in N.T.
{Knowing from whom} (eidōs para tinōn). Second perfect active participle of oida. Note tinōn (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 brephous). Only here in the Pastorals. This teaching from the fifth year, covering the whole of Timothy's recollections. See Mr 9:21 ek paidiothen, 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 Ephesia grammata that were bebēla (Ac 19:19), not hiera.
{To make thee wise} (se sophisai). First aorist active infinitive of sophizō, old verb (from sophos), in N.T. only here, and 2Pe 1:16.
{Which is in} (tēs 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} (pāsa graphē theopneustos kai ōphelimos). There are two matters of doubt in this clause. One is the absence of the article hē before graphē, whether that makes it mean "every scripture" or "all scripture" as of necessity if present. Unfortunately, there are examples both ways with both pās and graphē. Twice we find graphē in the singular without the article and yet definite (1Pe 2:6; 2Pe 1:20). We have pās Israēl (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, then 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} (theopneustos). "God-breathed." Late word (Plutarch) here only in N.T. Perhaps in contrast to the commandments of men in Tit 1:14.
{Profitable} (ōphelimos). 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.; epanorthōsin, correction, old word, from epanorthoō, to set up straight in addition, here only in N.T., with which compare epidiorthoō in Tit 1:5; paideian, instruction, with which compare Eph 6:4.

3:17 {The man of God} (ho tou theou anthrōpos). See 1Ti 6:11. {May be complete} (hina ēi artios). Final clause with hina and present subjunctive of eimi. Artios is old word (from root arō, to fit), specially adapted, here only in N.T. {Furnished completely} (exērtismenos). Perfect passive participle of exartizō, rare verb, to furnish (fit) fully (perfective use of ex), in N.T. only here and Ac 21:5. In Josephus. For katartizō, see Lu 6:40; 2Co 13:11.