2 Timothy 3:4

Easy-to-Read Version

People will turn against their friends. They will do foolish things without thinking and will be so proud of themselves. Instead of loving God, they will love pleasure.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

King James Version (1611)
Traitours, heady, high minded, louers of pleasures more then louers of God,

King James Version
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

English Standard Version
treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

New American Standard Bible
treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

New Century Version
will turn against their friends, and will do foolish things without thinking. They will be conceited, will love pleasure instead of God,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

Legacy Standard Bible
treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

Berean Standard Bible
traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

Contemporary English Version
They will be sneaky, reckless, and puffed up with pride. Instead of loving God, they will love pleasure.

Complete Jewish Bible
traitorous, headstrong, swollen with conceit, loving pleasure rather than God,

Darby Translation
traitors, headlong, of vain pretensions, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

Geneva Bible (1587)
Traitours, headie, high minded, louers of pleasures more then louers of God,

George Lamsa Translation
Traitors, hasty, boasters, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Good News Translation
they will be treacherous, reckless, and swollen with pride; they will love pleasure rather than God;

Lexham English Bible
traitors, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God,

Literal Translation
betrayers, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

Amplified Bible
traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of [sensual] pleasure rather than lovers of God,

American Standard Version
traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

Bible in Basic English
False to their friends, acting without thought, lifted up in mind, loving pleasure more than God;

Hebrew Names Version
traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

International Standard Version
traitors, reckless, conceited, and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.Philippians 3:19; 2 Peter 2:10,13; Jude 1:4,19;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
4 traitors, impetuous [fn] puffed up, lovers of lusts rather than the love of Aloha;

Murdock Translation
treacherous, rash, inflated, attached to pleasure more than to the love of God,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Traytours, headdy, hye mynded, louers of pleasures more then louers of God:

English Revised Version
traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

World English Bible
traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Traitors, rash, puffed up, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God;

Weymouth's New Testament
treacherous, headstrong, self-important. They will love pleasure instead of loving God,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
with out benygnyte, traitouris, ouerthwert, bollun with proude thouytis, blynde, loueris of lustis more than of God,

Update Bible Version
traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

Webster's Bible Translation
Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

New English Translation
treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God.

New King James Version
traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

New Living Translation
They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.

New Life Bible
They will not stay true to their friends. They will act without thinking. They will think too much of themselves. They will love fun instead of loving God.

New Revised Standard
treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
traitors, reckless, beclouded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God,

Douay-Rheims Bible
Traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasure more than of God:

Revised Standard Version
treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
traytours heddy hye mynded gredy apon volupteousnes more then the lovers of god

Young's Literal Translation
traitors, heady, lofty, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
traytours, heady, hye mynded, gredy vpon voluptuousnes more then the louers of God,

Mace New Testament (1729)
cruel, enemies to virtue, traitors, insolent, conceited, and more devoted to pleasure than to piety:

Simplified Cowboy Version
They'll stab their friends in the back for a buck and puff their chests out in pride for what they've done. Their pleasure will be other's pain and they will not know God.

Contextual Overview

¹ Remember this: There are some terrible times coming in the last days. ² People will love only themselves and money. They will be proud and boast about themselves. They will abuse others with insults. They will not obey their parents. They will be ungrateful and against all that is pleasing to God. ³ They will have no love for others and will refuse to forgive anyone. They will talk about others to hurt them and will have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. ⁴ People will turn against their friends. They will do foolish things without thinking and will be so proud of themselves. Instead of loving God, they will love pleasure. ⁵ They will go on pretending to be devoted to God, but they will refuse to let that "devotion" change the way they live. Stay away from these people! ⁶ Some of them go into homes and get control over weak women, whose lives are full of sin—women who are led into sin by all the things they want. ⁷ These women always want to learn something new, but they are never able to fully understand the truth. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres fought against Moses, these people fight against the truth. Their thinking has been confused. The faith they have and teach is worthless. ⁹ But they will not succeed in what they are trying to do. Everyone will see how foolish they are. That is what happened to Jannes and Jambres.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Traitors: 2 Peter 2:10-22, Jude 1:8, Jude 1:9

highminded: Romans 11:20, 1 Timothy 6:17

lovers of God: Romans 16:18, Philippians 3:18, Philippians 3:19, 1 Timothy 5:6, 2 Peter 2:13, 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:4, Jude 1:19

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 32:41 - them that hate Psalms 52:3 - lovest Proverbs 21:17 - loveth Matthew 22:5 - one Luke 12:19 - take John 15:24 - hated Romans 1:25 - the creature Romans 8:7 - the carnal mind 1 Timothy 6:4 - He 2 Timothy 3:2 - lovers James 5:5 - have lived

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What have you done?" She said, "The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit."

Deuteronomy 29:19
"Some people might hear these curses and comfort themselves by saying, ‘I will continue doing what I want. Nothing bad will happen to me.' But that attitude will bring total disaster.

2 Kings 1:4
Since you did this, the Lord says, You will not get up from your bed. You will die!'" Then Elijah left.

2 Kings 1:6
The messengers said to Ahaziah, "A man came up to meet us and told us to go back to the king who sent us and tell him what the Lord says: ‘There is a God in Israel, so why did you send messengers to ask questions of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Since you did this, you will not get up from your bed. You will die!'"

2 Kings 1:16
Elijah told Ahaziah, "This is what the Lord says: ‘There is a God in Israel, so why did you send messengers to ask questions of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Since you did this, you will not get up from your bed. You will die!'"

2 Kings 8:10
Then Elisha said to Hazael, "Go and tell Ben-Hadad, ‘You will live.' But really the Lord told me, ‘He will die.'"

Psalms 10:11
They say to themselves, "God has forgotten about us. He is not watching. He will never see what we are doing."

2 Corinthians 2:11
I did this so that Satan would not win anything from us. We know very well what his plans are.

2 Corinthians 11:3
But I am afraid that your minds will be led away from your true and pure following of Christ. This could happen just as Eve was tricked by that snake with his clever lies.

1 Timothy 2:14
Also, Adam was not the one who was tricked. It was the woman who was tricked and became a sinner.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Traitors,.... To their princes and sovereigns, whose deaths they have contrived and compassed, and whom they have assassinated and murdered; and have been betrayers of the secrets of persons, which they have come at by auricular confession to them; and of their best and nearest friends, to preserve and secure themselves.

Heady; rash, daring, bold, and impudent, fit to say and do any thing, though ever so vile and wicked.

High, minded; puffed and swelled up with a vain conceit of themselves, and speaking great swelling words of vanity;

lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; lovers of sinful pleasures, or the pleasures of sin, which are but for a season, and not God; serving divers lusts and pleasures, and not God; making a god of their belly; sensual idolaters, delighting themselves in their carnal lusts, and not in the service of God.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Traitors - This word is used in the New Testament only here and in Luke 6:16; Acts 7:52. It means any one who betrays - whether it be a friend or his country. Treason has been in all ages regarded as one of the worst crimes that man can commit.

Heady - The same word in Acts 19:36, is rendered rashly. It occurs only there and in this place in the New Testament. It properly means “falling forwards; prone, inclined, ready to do anything; then precipitate, headlong, rash.” It is opposed to that which is deliberate and calm, and here means that men would be ready to do anything without deliberation, or concern for the consequences. They would engage in enterprises which would only disturb society, or prove their own ruin.

High-minded - Literally, “puffed up;” compare the notes at 1 Timothy 3:6, where the same word is rendered “lifted up with pride.” The meaning is, that they would be inflated with pride or self-conceit.

Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God - That is, of sensual pleasures, or vain amusements. This has been, and is, the characteristic of a great part of the world, and has often distinguished even many who profess religion. Of a large portion of mankind it may be said that this is their characteristic, that they live for pleasure; they have no serious pursuits; they brook no restraints which interfere with their amusements, and they greatly prefer the pleasures to be found in the gay assembly, in the ball-room, or in the place of low dissipation, to the friendship of their Creator.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Timothy 3:4. Traitors — προδοται. From προ, before, and διδωμι, to deliver up. Those who deliver up to an enemy the person who has put his life in their hands; such as the Scots of 1648, who delivered up into the hands of his enemies their unfortunate countryman and king, Charles the First; a stain which no lapse of ages can wipe out.

Heady — προπετεις. From προ, forwards, and πιπτω, to fall; headstrong, precipitate, rash, inconsiderate.

High-minded — τετυφωμενοι. From τοφος, smoke; the frivolously aspiring; those who are full of themselves, and empty of all good.

Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God — This is nervously and beautifully expressed in the Greek, φιληδονοιμαλλονη φιλοθεοι lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; i.e. pleasure, sensual gratification, is their god; and this they love and serve; God they do not.