2 Timothy 4:3 (GNV)

Passage

For the time will come, when they will not suffer wholesome doctrine: but hauing their eares itching, shall after their owne lustes get them an heape of teachers,

Nearby Context

2 Timothy 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and before the Lord Iesus Christ, which shall iudge the quicke and dead at that his appearing, and in his kingdome,

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the worde: be instant, in season and out of season: improue, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come, when they will not suffer wholesome doctrine: but hauing their eares itching, shall after their owne lustes get them an heape of teachers,

2 Timothy 4:4 And shall turne their eares from the trueth, and shalbe giuen vnto fables.

2 Timothy 4:5 But watch thou in all thinges: suffer aduersitie: doe the worke of an Euangelist: cause thy ministerie to be throughly liked of.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "time", "come", "suffer", "wholesome", "doctrine", "hauing", "eares", and "itching". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "time" and "come", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Preach the worde be instant in season..." into verse 4's "And shall turne their eares from the...", so "time" and "come" 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 "time" and "come" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.