Bible Strands
2 Timothy 3:9
But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul addresses Timothy, contrasting his own faithful teaching and conduct with the rising opposition of false teachers who reject the truth.
The words — προκόψουσιν (prokopsousin) literally means "they will advance," and ἄνοια (anoia) denotes "folly" or "senselessness."
The thread — The mention of Jannes and Jambres connects to the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses (2 Timothy 3:8; Exodus 7:12) and aligns with the warning against prophets who speak without divine commission (Jeremiah 28:15).
Why it lands — The text states that false teachers will make no lasting progress and that their deception will become obvious to everyone. It requires the reader to dismiss their claims as temporary and to rely on the apostolic example outlined in the surrounding passage.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
Cross-references
- 2 Timothy 3:8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.
- Exodus 7:12 Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.
- Jeremiah 28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie.
- Exodus 9:11 The magicians could not stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and on all the Egyptians.
- Exodus 8:18 The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.
- 1 Kings 22:25 Micaiah replied, “You will soon see, on that day when you go and hide in an inner room.”
- Psalms 76:10 Even the wrath of man shall praise You; with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.
- Jeremiah 29:21 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you lies in My name: “I will deliver them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes.
- Jeremiah 29:31 “Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,
- Jeremiah 37:19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’?