3:6a

(Revised Standard Version) For: Paul used the Greek conjunction gar at the beginning of 3:6 to connect 3:6 with 3:5. It is often translated “for” or “because.” This conjunction indicates that Paul was about to tell Timothy the reason why he should “have nothing to do” with those people who appear to be religious but who are actually ungodly. For reasons of style, the Berean Standard Bible and some other English versions have left this word untranslated.

They are the kind: The Greek indicates that Paul was going to begin talking about some of the people in 3:2–5. Good News Translation has “Some of them….” The Revised Standard Version has “among them are those….”

These people seemed to be Christians, but they were not. They were false teachers who deceived people for their own gain and influenced them with their false teachings.

3:6b

who worm their way into households: The clause worm their way is an English idiom. You should not translate it literally.

The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as worm their way literally means “to creep into” or “to sneak into.” In this context, it means that these false teachers deceived people to get invited into their homes. This word does not mean that they entered houses secretly without the inhabitants being aware that someone had entered.

households: This word refers to the people who live in the house. The false teachers tried to deceive individuals so that they would be welcomed into the rest of the family.

3:6c

and captivate vulnerable women: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates ascaptivate literally means “to take as a captive in war.” Paul used it figuratively here, implying that the false teachers were “gain control over,” “capturing the minds” or “deceiving” some of the women in order to have influence over them. In this context it does not imply that they used force or that they literally kept them as prisoners.

vulnerable women: The Greek noun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as vulnerable women literally means “little women.” This particular form of the Greek word for “women” referred to the type of women who were immature in the way they thought about things. These women readily believed whatever the false teachers told them and would do whatever they asked them to do. Therefore other people did not respect them.

Other ways to translate this word are “weak-willed women,” “unwise women” or “foolish women.”

3:6d

who are weighed down with sins: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as weighed down literally means “to heap” or “to pile up.” This is figurative language meaning that these women had sinned so much that their sins were a “burden to them,” or their many sins “troubled their minds.” They felt very guilty about the many wrong things that they had done.

with sins: Paul did not describe the specific sins that these women had committed. The text uses the expression “by various passions” in 3:6e which suggests that these women had probably sinned in several different ways.

3:6e

and led astray: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as led astray is a passive verb. It means “to be swayed,” “to be guided,” or “to be controlled” by something.

by various passions: This implies that these women had committed several different types of sins.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.