2 Timothy 3:5

Christian Standard Bible ®

holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
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!

Revised Standard Version
holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
havynge a similitude of godly lyvynge but have denyed the power ther of and soche abhorre.

Hebrew Names Version
holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. Turn away from these, also.

New American Standard Bible
holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.

New Century Version
and will act as if they serve God but will not have his power. Stay away from those people.

Update Bible Version
holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. From these also turn away.

Webster's Bible Translation
Having a form of godliness, but denying its power: from such turn away.

English Standard Version
having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

World English Bible
holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. Turn away from these, also.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Having a form of godliness but denying the power of it.

Weymouth's New Testament
and will keep up a make-believe of piety and yet live in defiance of its power. Turn away from people of this sort.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
hauynge the licknesse of pitee, but denyynge the vertu of it. And eschewe thou these men.

English Revised Version
holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away.

Berean Standard Bible
having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

Contemporary English Version
Even though they will make a show of being religious, their religion won't be real. Don't have anything to do with such people.

Amplified Bible
holding to a form of [outward] godliness (religion), although they have denied its power [for their conduct nullifies their claim of faith]. Avoid such people and keep far away from them.

American Standard Version
holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away.

Bible in Basic English
Having a form of religion, but turning their backs on the power of it: go not with these.

Complete Jewish Bible
as they retain the outer form of religion but deny its power. Stay away from these people!

Darby Translation
having a form of piety but denying the power of it: and from these turn away.

International Standard Version
They will hold to an outward form of godliness but deny its power. Stay away from such people.2 Thessalonians 3:6; 1 Timothy 5:8; 6:5; Titus 1:16;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
having a form of the worship of Aloha, but from the power of Aloha afar off: (them) who are such put from thee.

Murdock Translation
having a form of respect for God, but wide from the power of God. Them who are such, repel from thee.

King James Version (1611)
Hauing a forme of godlinesse, but denying the power thereof: from such turne away.

New Living Translation
They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

New Life Bible
They will do things to make it look as if they are Christians. But they will not receive the power that is for a Christian. Keep away from such people.

New Revised Standard
holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them!

Geneva Bible (1587)
Hauing a shewe of godlinesse, but haue denied the power thereof: turne away therefore from such.

George Lamsa Translation
Having a form of godliness, but are far from the power of God: from such turn away.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
having a form of godliness, but, the power thereof, denying! and, from these, turn away;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Having an appearance indeed of godliness but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Hauyng a fourme of godlynesse, but denying the power therof: turne away from these.

Good News Translation
they will hold to the outward form of our religion, but reject its real power. Keep away from such people.

King James Version
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Lexham English Bible
maintaining a form of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid these people.

Literal Translation
having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; even turn away from these.

Young's Literal Translation
having a form of piety, and its power having denied; and from these be turning away,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
hauynge a shyne off godly lyuynge, but denyenge the power therof. And soch avoyde.

Mace New Testament (1729)
of which they wear the appearance, but disclaim its influence. have no intercourse with such.

New English Translation
They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these.

New King James Version
having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Simplified Cowboy Version
They will act religious, but deny the power that could change their lives into something special. Steer clear of cowboys like that.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

Legacy Standard Bible
holding to a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Keep away from such men as these.

Contextual Overview

¹But know this: Hard times will come in the last days. ²For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, ⁴traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people.⁶For among them are those who worm their way into households and deceive gullible women overwhelmed by sins and led astray by a variety of passions, ⁷always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth. They are men who are corrupt in mind and worthless in regard to the faith. ⁹But they will not make further progress, for their foolishness will be clear to all, as was the foolishness of Jannes and Jambres.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a form: Isaiah 29:13, Isaiah 48:1, Isaiah 48:2, Isaiah 58:1-3, Ezekiel 33:30-32, Matthew 7:15, Matthew 23:27, Matthew 23:28, Romans 2:20-24, 1 Timothy 5:8, Titus 1:16

from: 2 Timothy 2:16, 2 Timothy 2:23, Romans 16:17, Romans 16:18, Ephesians 4:14, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 2 Thessalonians 3:14, 1 Timothy 6:5, Titus 3:10, 2 John 1:10-12

Reciprocal: Leviticus 11:5 - but divideth Deuteronomy 14:7 - General 1 Samuel 4:3 - it may save 1 Samuel 14:35 - built 1 Samuel 15:30 - that I may worship Proverbs 30:12 - that are Jeremiah 5:2 - though Micah 2:7 - named Matthew 21:19 - and found Matthew 23:3 - for Matthew 25:3 - foolish Mark 7:6 - honoureth Mark 10:20 - General Luke 11:39 - Now Luke 13:26 - We John 10:5 - General Acts 8:9 - giving Acts 17:17 - daily Acts 19:9 - he departed 2 Corinthians 11:13 - false Ephesians 5:11 - no 1 Timothy 4:2 - lies 2 Peter 1:6 - godliness 2 Peter 3:16 - unstable

Cross-References

Genesis 2:17
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

Genesis 3:2
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden.

Genesis 3:3
But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”

Genesis 3:6
The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Genesis 3:7
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Genesis 3:10
And he said, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

Genesis 3:13
So the Lord God asked the woman, “What is this you have done?”

Genesis 3:14
So the Lord God said to the serpent:

Genesis 3:15
I will put hostility between you and the woman,and between your offspring and her offspring.He will strike your head,and you will strike his heel.

Genesis 3:22
The Lord God said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.”

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Having a form of godliness,.... Either a mere external show of religion, pretending great piety and holiness, being outwardly righteous before men, having the mask and visor of godliness; or else a plan of doctrine, a form of sound words, a scheme of truths, which men may have without partaking of the grace of God; and which, with respect to the doctrine of the Trinity, the church of Rome has; or else the Scriptures of truth, which the members of that church have, and profess to hold to, maintain and preserve; and which contains doctrines according to godliness, and tend to a godly life and godly edification:

but denying the power thereof; though in words they profess religion and godliness, the fear of God, and the pure worship of him, yet in works they deny all; and though they may have a set of notions in their heads, yet they feel nothing of the power of them on their hearts; and are strangers to experimental religion, and powerful godliness: or though they profess the Scriptures to be the word of God, yet they deny the use, the power, and efficacy of them; they deny the use of them to the laity, and affirm that they are not a sufficient rule of faith and practice, without their unwritten traditions; and that they are not able to make men wise, or give them a true knowledge of what is to be believed and done, without them; and that the sense of them is not to be understood by private men, but depends upon the infallible judgment of the church or pope:

from such turn away; have no fellowship with them, depart from their communion, withdraw from them, and come out from among them: this passage sufficiently justifies the reformed churches in their separation from the church of Rome.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Having a form of godliness - That is, they profess religion, or are in connection with the church. This shows that the apostle referred to some great corruption in the church; and there can be little doubt that he had his eye on the same great apostasy to which he refers in 2 Thessalonians 2:0:, and 1 Timothy 4:0: All these things to which he refers here have been practiced and tolerated in that apostate church, while no body of men, at any time, have been more zealous in maintaining “a form of godliness;” that is, in keeping up the forms of religion.

But denying the power thereof - Opposing the real power of religion; not allowing it to exert any influence in their lives. It imposes no restraint on their passions and carnal propensities, but in all respects, except in the form of religion, they live as if they had None. This has been common in the world. The most regular and bigoted adherence to the forms of religion furnishes no evidence in itself that there is any true piety at heart, or that true religion has any actual control over the soul. It is much easier for people to observe the forms of religion than it is to bring the heart under its controlling influence.

From such turn away - Have no contact with them as if they were Christians; show no countenance to their religion; do not associate with them; compare 2 John 1:10-11; see the notes at 2 Corinthians 6:17.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 5. Having a form of godliness — The original word μορφωσις signifies a draught, sketch, or summary, and will apply well to those who have all their religion in their creed, confession of faith, catechism, bodies of divinity, c., while destitute of the life of God in their souls and are not only destitute of this life, but deny that such life or power is here to be experienced or known. They have religion in their creed, but none in their hearts. And perhaps to their summary they add a decent round of religious observances. From such turn away-not only do not imitate them, but have no kind of fellowship with them; they are a dangerous people, and but seldom suspected, because their outside is fair.