And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
Parallel translations
- WEB and those words will consume like gangrene, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
- BSB and the talk of such men will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
- NKJV And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,
- NASB and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
- NLT This kind of talk spreads like cancer, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Such teaching spreads like gangrene, exemplified by Hymenaeus and Philetus. False doctrine, if unchecked, eats away at the spiritual health of the church.
Overview
Paul vividly compares corrupt teaching to gangrene, a disease that destroys by spreading. Naming Hymenaeus and Philetus shows these were real men whose errors were damaging the church. The image urges decisive action against false teaching before it consumes the body of believers.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 1 Tim 1:20Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
- Nah 3:15There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.
- Jas 5:3Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
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Christ Jesus 'abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel' — the risen Lord whose word and kingdom endure to the end.
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Original language
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