2 Timothy 3:9 (YLT)

Passage

but they shall not advance any further, for their folly shall be manifest to all, as theirs also did become.

Nearby Context

2 Timothy 3:7 always learning, and never to a knowledge of truth able to come,

2 Timothy 3:8 and, even as Jannes and Jambres stood against Moses, so also these do stand against the truth, men corrupted in mind, disapproved concerning the faith;

2 Timothy 3:9 but they shall not advance any further, for their folly shall be manifest to all, as theirs also did become.

2 Timothy 3:10 And thou--thou hast followed after my teaching, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, endurance,

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,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "advance", "further", "folly", "manifest", "theirs", and "become". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "advance", 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 stood..." into verse 10's "And thou--thou hast followed after my teaching...", so "shall" and "advance" 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 "advance" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.