1 Be aware that there will be troubled times in the last days. 2 People will love themselves and love money. They will be boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, and without God in their lives. 3 Heartless and unforgiving, they'll commit slander and have no self-control. Brutal people who hate what's good, 4 they will betray others and be totally thoughtless. They are absurdly full of themselves, living so much for pleasure that they don't care about loving God. 5 They may give an outward impression of being religious, but they don't actually believe it works. Stay away from these people!

6 They're the kind of people that slip into homes and take control of vulnerable women who are burdened down by the guilt of sin and distracted by all kinds of desires. 7 These women are always trying to learn but they're never able to understand the truth!

8 Just like Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, these teachers also oppose the truth. They are people with corrupted minds whose supposed trust in God is a lie.* 9 But they won't get far. Their stupidity will be obvious to everyone, just like that of Jannes and Jambres.

10 But you know all about my teaching and behavior, and my aim in life. You know my trust in God and my love. You know what I've had to endure— 11 how I've been persecuted and what I've suffered. You know what happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—the troubles I had and how the Lord rescued me from all of them.

12 Of course it's true that everyone who wants to live a life devoted to God in Christ Jesus will experience persecution, 13 while wicked people and frauds will do well, going from bad to worse, deceiving others and deceiving themselves too. 14 But you must hold onto the things you've learned and are convinced are true. You know who taught you. 15 From your childhood you've known the holy Scriptures which can give you understanding for salvation by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture inspired by God is useful for teaching, for confronting what is wrong, for setting us straight, and for telling us what is right. 17 This is how God provides a thorough preparation for those who work for him to accomplish all that's good.