2 Timothy 3:3 (DBY)

Passage

without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, of unsubdued passions, savage, having no love for what is good,

Nearby Context

2 Timothy 3:1 But this know, that in [the] last days difficult times shall be there;

2 Timothy 3:2 for men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, evil speakers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, profane,

2 Timothy 3:3 without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, of unsubdued passions, savage, having no love for what is good,

2 Timothy 3:4 traitors, headlong, of vain pretensions, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of piety but denying the power of it: and from these turn away.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "without", "natural", "affection", "implacable", "slanderers", "unsubdued", "passions", and "savage". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "without" and "natural", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "for men shall be lovers of self..." into verse 4's "traitors headlong of vain pretensions lovers of...", so "without" and "natural" 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 "without" and "natural" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.