3:9a

But they will not advance much further: The Berean Standard Bible phrase not advance much further is a figure of speech in English. Other versions have translated this as:

they will not make much progress (New Revised Standard Version)

Their successes will be short-lived (Revised English Bible)

they will not be successful (New Century Version)

Here, Paul meant that the false teachers would not be able to deceive people indefinitely. Although they might deceive them for a short period of time, eventually people would realize that the “religion” they taught and practiced did not come from God. After a while, many people would stop following them.

3:9b

For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone: This part of the verse gives a reason why the false teachers “will not advance much further.” The Berean Standard Bible reordered the phrases in this verse. In Greek, the phrase just like Jannes and Jambres is at the end of the sentence. In some languages it may be helpful to follow the word order of the Greek, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have done. See also the second Meaning Line of 3:9b in the Display.

folly: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as folly means “stupidity.”

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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.