1 Be sure of this. In the last days hard times will come.

2 People will love themselves. They will love money. They will talk about themselves and be proud. They will say wrong things about people. They will not obey their parents. They will not be thankful. They will not keep anything holy.

3 They will have no love. They will not agree with anybody. They will tell lies about people. They will have no self-control. They will beat people. They will not love anything that is good.

4 They cannot be trusted. They will act quickly, without thinking. They are proud of themselves. They love to have fun more than they love God.

5 They act as if they worshipped God, yet they do not let Gods power work in their lives. Keep away from people like that.

6 They are the kind who go quietly into peoples houses. There they get foolish women to believe them. These women know that they have done many wrong things. And they want to do many kinds of wrong things.

7 They are always trying to learn, but never able to find out what is really true.

8 Jannes and Jambres were two men who were very much against Moses. In the same way, these men I am talking about are against what is true. They are men who have wrong thoughts in their minds. They do not believe.

9 But these men will not get very far. Everyone will see that they are wrong, just as people saw that Jannes and Jambres were wrong.

10 Timothy, you know my teaching and the way I lived. You know what I want to do and what I believe. You know my patience, my love, and my strength to bear trouble.

11 You know about my troubles. You know what happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra. You know how badly the people treated me. But the Lord brought me safely through it all.

12 Yes, all who want to live a good life in Christ Jesus will be troubled by other people.

13 Bad men and those who fool other people will grow worse and worse. They will fool other people, and other people will fool them.

14 But you, Timothy, must keep on doing the things you have learned. You know they are right. You know who taught them to you.

15 From the time you were a child you knew the holy writings. They showed you how to be saved by believing in Christ Jesus.

16 All that is written in the holy writings comes from the Spirit of God. The holy writings are good for these things: to teach people, to show them when they are wrong, to make them see what is right, to teach them to do what is right.

17 In this way a person who belongs to God has all he needs. He is ready for every kind of good work.