2 Timothy 3:9

Christian Standard Bible ®

But they will not make further progress, for their foolishness will be clear to all, as was the foolishness of Jannes and Jambres.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
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.

Revised Standard Version
but they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
but they shall prevayle no leger. For their madnes shalbe vttered vnto all men as theirs was.

Hebrew Names Version
But they will proceed no further. For their folly will be evident to all men, as theirs also came to be.

New American Standard Bible
But they will not make further progress; for their foolishness will be obvious to all, just as was that also of Jannes and Jambres.

New Century Version
But they will not be successful in what they do, because as with Jannes and Jambres, everyone will see that they are foolish.

Update Bible Version
But they shall proceed no further. For their folly shall be evident to all men, as theirs also came to be.

Webster's Bible Translation
But they shall proceed no further: for their folly will be manifest to all [men], as theirs also was.

English Standard Version
But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

World English Bible
But they will proceed no further. For their folly will be evident to all men, as theirs also came to be.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But they shall proceed no farther; for their folly shall be manifest to all men, as theirs also was.

Weymouth's New Testament
But they will have no further success; for their folly will be as clearly manifest to all men, as that of the opponents of Moses came to be.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But ferthere thei schulen not profite, for the vnwisdom of hem schal be knowun to alle men, as hern was.

English Revised Version
But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also came to be.

Berean Standard Bible
But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone.

Contemporary English Version
But they won't get very far with their foolishness. Soon everyone will know the truth about them, just as Jannes and Jambres were found out.

Amplified Bible
But they will not get very far, for their meaningless nonsense and ignorance will become obvious to everyone, as was that of Jannes and Jambres.

American Standard Version
But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also came to be.

Bible in Basic English
But they will go no farther: for their foolish behaviour will be clear to all men, as theirs was in the end.

Complete Jewish Bible
However, they won't get very far; because everyone will see how stupid they are, just as happened with those two.

Darby Translation
But they shall not advance farther; for their folly shall be completely manifest to all, as that of those also became.

International Standard Version
But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those two men,two men">[fn] their stupidity will be plain to everyone.Exodus 7:12; 8:18; 9:11;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But they shall not come further, for their folly is known to all men, as also of them it is known.

Murdock Translation
But they will not make progress, for their infatuation will be understood by every one, as theirs also was understood.

King James Version (1611)
But they shal proceede no further: for their folly shall be manifest vnto all men, as theirs also was.

New Living Translation
But they won't get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.

New Life Bible
They will not get very far. Their foolish teaching will be seen by everyone. That was the way it was with the two who worked against Moses.

New Revised Standard
But they will not make much progress, because, as in the case of those two men, their folly will become plain to everyone.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But they shall preuaile no longer: for their madnesse shalbe euident vnto all men, as theirs also was.

George Lamsa Translation
But they shall not progress, for their folly is well known to every man, as theirs also was.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But they shall not force their way further, for, their folly, shall be, fully evident, unto all, - as also, that of those men, became.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But they shall proceed no farther: for their folly shall be manifest to all men, as theirs also was.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But they shall preuayle no longer. For their madnesse shalbe manifest vnto all [men] as also theirs was.

Good News Translation
But they will not get very far, because everyone will see how stupid they are. That is just what happened to Jannes and Jambres.

King James Version
But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's also was.

Lexham English Bible
But they will not progress to a greater extent, for their folly will be quite evident to everyone, as also the folly of those two was.

Literal Translation
But they will not go further, for their foolishness will be plain to all, as also that of those became.

Young's Literal Translation
but they shall not advance any further, for their folly shall be manifest to all, as theirs also did become.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
but they shal preuayle no longer. For their folishnes shalbe manifest vnto all men, as theirs was.

Mace New Testament (1729)
but they will be stop'd in their career; for they shall be expos'd to the world for impostors, as those magicians were.

New English Translation
But they will not go much further, for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres.

New King James Version
but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

Simplified Cowboy Version
But they won't get away with their falsehoods for long. Every fool will one day get what's coming to them and others will see them for who they really are.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes's and Jambres's folly was also.

Legacy Standard Bible
But they will not make further progress, for their folly will be obvious to all, just as theirs was also.

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

their: 2 Timothy 3:8, Exodus 7:12, Exodus 8:18, Exodus 8:19, Exodus 9:11, 1 Kings 22:25, Psalms 76:10, Jeremiah 28:15-17, Jeremiah 29:21-23, Jeremiah 29:31, Jeremiah 29:32, Jeremiah 37:19, Acts 13:11, Acts 19:15-17

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 18:29 - voice Proverbs 22:12 - he Ezekiel 13:3 - foolish Ezekiel 13:20 - and will Ezekiel 13:23 - ye shall see Daniel 1:20 - the magicians Daniel 4:7 - but Micah 3:7 - the seers Luke 13:17 - all his Luke 20:7 - that Luke 20:26 - they could Acts 8:9 - used 1 Corinthians 3:13 - man's 1 Corinthians 8:13 - if meat Galatians 1:7 - pervert 1 John 2:19 - they might Revelation 9:4 - that they

Cross-References

Genesis 3:12
The man replied, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

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

Genesis 3:17
And he said to the man, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’:

Genesis 3:19
You will eat bread by the sweat of your browuntil you return to the ground,since you were taken from it.For you are dust,and you will return to dust.”

Genesis 3:20
The man named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living.

Genesis 3:21
The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.

Genesis 4:9
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

Genesis 11:5
Then the Lord came down to look over the city and the tower that the humans were building.

Genesis 16:8
He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But they shall proceed no further,.... They may proceed to more ungodliness, and wax worse and worse in error; but they shall proceed no further than the magicians of Egypt, who did lying wonders, hardened Pharaoh's heart, and deceived him and the Egyptians; but could not destroy the Israelites, nor hinder their departure out of Egypt, when their time was come: so these wicked men do false miracles, harden the popes of Rome, and deceive the nations subject to them; but they cannot deceive the elect of God, nor destroy the church of God, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail; nor could they hinder the reformation, or the departure of the Lord's people out of Babylon.

For their folly should be manifest unto all [men], as theirs also was; as the folly of Jannes and Jambres was, when Aaron's rod devoured theirs; and when they could not produce lice, but was obliged to own to Pharaoh, that that plague was the finger of God; and when they could not stand before Moses, because of the boils that were upon them, Exodus 7:12. And so the Arabic version renders it, "as is manifest the folly, or madness of these two"; and it is notorious in how many instances the frauds, impostures, tricks, and villanies of the church of Rome, and its votaries, have been detected and exposed; which have been the means of hindering them from proceeding any further than they have. The Alexandrian copy reads, "their understanding"; that which they pretended to have of divine things.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But they shall proceed no further - There is a certain point beyond which they will not be allowed to go. Their folly will become manifest, and the world will understand it. The apostle does not say how far these false teachers would be allowed to go, but that they would not be suffered always to prosper and prevail. They might be plausible at first, and lead many astray; they might, by art and cunning, cover up the real character of their system; but there would be a fair development of it, and it would be seen to be folly. The apostle here may be understood as declaring a general truth in regard to error. It often is so plausible at first, that it seems to be true. It wins the hearts of many persons, and leads them astray. It flatters them personally, or it flatters them with the hope of a better state of things in the church and the world. But the time will always come when men will see the folly of it. Error will advance only to a certain point, when it will be “seen” to be falsehood and folly, and when the world will arise and cast it off. In some cases, this point may be slower in being reached than in others; but there “is” a point, beyond which error will not go. At the reformation under Luther, that point had been reached, when the teachings of the great apostasy were seen to be “folly,” and when the awakened intellect of the world would allow it to “proceed no farther,” and aroused itself and threw it off. In the workings of society, as well as by the direct appointment of God, there is a point beyond which error cannot prevail; and hence, there is a certainty that truth will finally triumph.

For their folly shall be manifest unto all men - The world will see and understand what they are, and what they teach. By smooth sophistry, and cunning arts, they will not be able always to deceive mankind.

As their’s also was - That of Jannes and Jambres. That is, it became manifest to all that they could not compete with Moses and Aaron; that their claims to the power of working miracles were the mere arts of magicians, and that they had set up pretensions which they could not sustain; compare Exodus 8:18-19. In regard to the time to which the apostle referred in this description, it has already been observed (see the notes at 2 Timothy 3:1), that it was probably to that great apostasy of the “latter days,” which he has described in 2 Thessalonians 2:0: and 1 Timothy 4:0: But there seems to be no reason to doubt that he had his eye immediately on some persons who had appeared then, and who had evinced some of the traits which would characterize the great apostasy, and whose conduct showed that the great “falling away” had already commenced. In 2 Thessalonians 2:7, he says that the “mystery of iniquity” was already at work, or was even then manifesting itself; and there can be no doubt that the apostle saw that there had then commenced what he knew would yet grow up into the great defection from the truth. In some persons, at that time, who had the form of godliness, but who denied its power; who made use of insinuating arts to proselyte the weak and the credulous; who endeavor to imitate the true apostles, perhaps by attempting to work miracles, as Jannes and Jambres did, he saw the “germ” of what was yet to grow up into so gigantic a system of iniquity as to overshadow the world. Yet he consoled Timothy with the assurance that there was a point beyond which the system of error would not be allowed to go, but where its folly must be seen, and where it would be arrested.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 9. But they shall proceed no farther — Such teaching and teachers shall never be able ultimately to prevail against the truth; for the foundation of God standeth sure.

Their folly shall be manifest — As the Scriptures, which are the only rule of morals and doctrine, shall ever be preserved; so, sooner or later, all false doctrines shall be tried by them: and the folly of men, setting up their wisdom against the wisdom of God, must become manifest to all. False doctrine cannot prevail long where the sacred Scriptures are read and studied. Error prevails only where the book of God is withheld from the people. The religion that fears the Bible is not the religion of God. Is Popery or Protestantism this religion?