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¹ Take notice that in the latter days difficult incidents will arise; ² for men will be selfish, avaricious, vain, proud, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, ³ villainous, unnatural, perfidious, defamers, debauchees, ⁴ cruel, enemies to virtue, traitors, insolent, conceited, and more devoted to pleasure than to piety: ⁵ of which they wear the appearance, but disclaim its influence. have no intercourse with such. ⁶ Of this number are they, who insinuate themselves into families, to make a prey of the weaker sex, who are inveigled by their vitious suggestions, abetted by their own subtle passions, ⁷ and by lending an assiduous ear to such lessons, render it impossible they should ever be acquainted with the truth. ⁸ Moses did not meet with greater opposition from Jannes and Jambres, than truth does from men so corrupted in their mind, and so adulterated in their faith. ⁹ but they will be stop'd in their career; for they shall be expos'd to the world for impostors, as those magicians were.

¹⁰ As for me, you are perfectly acquainted with my doctrine, my conduct, my designs, my temper, my benevolence, my constancy, ¹¹ my persecutions, and the sufferings that befel me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions did I endure? but the Lord deliver'd me out of them all: yes, ¹² and those who will live like Christians, shall generally suffer persecution. ¹³ as for these impious impostors, they will go on from bad to worse, seducing others, and deluding themselves. ¹⁴ But be you attach'd to the doctrine you have learnt, with which you are intrusted, considering by whom you have been instructed: ¹⁵ and that from your infancy you were acquainted with the sacred writings, which point you the way to salvation, by believing in Christ Jesus: ¹⁶ for all divinely inspired writings are conducive to instruction, to conviction, to reformation, and the practice of virtue; ¹⁷ that the minister of God may be perfectly accomplished for every office of religion.