2 Timothy 2:16 (KJV)

Passage

But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

Nearby Context

2 Timothy 2:14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

2 Timothy 2:17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

2 Timothy 2:18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shun", "profane", "vain", "babblings", "increase", and "ungodliness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shun" and "profane", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Study to shew thyself approved unto God..." into verse 17's "And their word will eat as doth...", so "shun" and "profane" belong inside that flow. In 2 Timothy context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shun" and "profane" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.