2 Timothy 3:13 (ASV)

Passage

But evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Nearby Context

2 Timothy 3:11 persecutions, sufferings. What things befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.

2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

2 Timothy 3:14 But abide thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.

2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "evil", "impostors", "shall", "worse", "deceiving", and "deceived". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "evil" and "impostors", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Yea and all that would live godly..." into verse 14's "But abide thou in the things which...", so "evil" and "impostors" 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 "evil" and "impostors" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.