The Message Bible MSG
New International Version NIV
1 Don't be naive. There are difficult times ahead.
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But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2 As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse,
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People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical,
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without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4 treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God.
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treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—
5 They'll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they're animals. Stay clear of these people.
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having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
6 These are the kind of people who smooth-talk themselves into the homes of unstable and needy women and take advantage of them; women who, depressed by their sinfulness, take up with every new religious fad that calls itself "truth."
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They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,
7 They get exploited every time and never really learn.
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always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.
8 These men are like those old Egyptian frauds Jannes and Jambres, who challenged Moses. They were rejects from the faith, twisted in their thinking, defying truth itself.
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Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
9 But nothing will come of these latest impostors. Everyone will see through them, just as people saw through that Egyptian hoax.
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But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
10 You've been a good apprentice to me, a part of my teaching, my manner of life, direction, faith, steadiness, love, patience,
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You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,
11 troubles, sufferings - suffering along with me in all the grief I had to put up with in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. And you also well know that God rescued me!
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persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
12 Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there's no getting around it.
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In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
13 Unscrupulous con men will continue to exploit the faith. They're as deceived as the people they lead astray. As long as they are out there, things can only get worse.
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while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14 But don't let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers -
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But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,
15 why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother's milk! There's nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
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and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
16 Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another - showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way.
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All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
17 Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.
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so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.