2 Timothy 3:9 (ASV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

2 Timothy 3:7 ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Timothy 3:8 And even as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also withstand the truth. Men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith.

2 Timothy 3:9 But they shall proceed no further. For their folly shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also came to be.

2 Timothy 3:10 But thou didst follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, patience,

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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "proceed", "further", "folly", "evident", "theirs", and "came". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "proceed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "And even as Jannes and Jambres withstood..." into verse 10's "But thou didst follow my teaching conduct...", so "shall" and "proceed" 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 "shall" and "proceed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.