2 Timothy 3:13 (YLT)

Passage

and evil men and impostors shall advance to the worse, leading astray and being led astray.

Nearby Context

2 Timothy 3:11 the persecutions, the afflictions, that befell me in Antioch, in Iconium, in Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of all the Lord did deliver me,

2 Timothy 3:12 and all also who will to live piously in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted,

2 Timothy 3:13 and evil men and impostors shall advance to the worse, leading astray and being led astray.

2 Timothy 3:14 And thou--be remaining in the things which thou didst learn and wast entrusted with, having known from whom thou didst learn,

2 Timothy 3:15 and because from a babe the Holy Writings thou hast known, which are able to make thee wise--to salvation, through faith that <FI>is<Fi> in Christ Jesus;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "evil", "impostors", "shall", "advance", "worse", "leading", and "astray". 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 "and all also who will to live..." into verse 14's "And thou--be remaining 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.