Haters of good (865) (aphilagathos from a = without and a combination of phílos = friend + agathos = good which is spiritually beneficial to another = literally loving and practicing what is good) (found only in this verse in the NT) describes men who are hostile to or despisers of all that is good and of good men. These men lack of generous interest in the public good. They have no love of virtue. In their love of self they have become haters of good, hating what should be loved and loving what should be hated! Listen to God's warning through Isaiah to given to faithless Israel but applicable to men such as these
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Is 5:20).
Jesus said that despite the fact that
"the light is come into the world....men loved the darkness rather than the light... and everyone who does evil hates the light (Jn 3:19, 20)
The direct contrast is found in the criteria of "overseers" who are to be "loving what is good" (philagathos) (see note Titus 1:8)
These haters of good don't even want to be in the presence of good things and good people because they have no love for anything spiritually beneficial and the most damaging place for these workers of iniquity is in the walls of the church.
Barclay - There can come a time in a man’s life when the company of good people and the presence of good things is simply an embarrassment. He who feeds his mind on cheap literature can in the end find nothing in the great masterpieces. His mental palate loses its taste. A man has sunk far when he finds even the presence of good people something which he would only wished to avoid. (The Daily Study Bible Online)
2 Timothy 3:4 treacherous, reckless, conceited (RPPN) lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (NASB: Lockman)
Greek: prodotai, propeteis, tetuphomenoi, (RPPN) philedonoi mallon e philotheoi,
Amplified: [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God. (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
Barclay: treacherous, headlong in word and action, inflated with pride, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (Westminster Press)
GWT: They will be traitors. They will be reckless and conceited. They will love pleasure rather than God. (GWT)
KJV: Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Phillips: treacherous, self-willed and conceited, loving all the time what gives them pleasure instead of loving God. (Phillips: Touchstone)
NLT: They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Wuest: betrayers, headstrong, besotted with pride, fond of pleasure rather than having an affection for God, having a mere outward semblance of piety toward God but denying the power of the same. And these be constantly shunning. (Eerdmans)
Young's Literal: traitors, heady, lofty, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God,
TREACHEROUS: prodotai: (2Pe 2:10-22; Jude 1:8 ,9)
They will betray their friends (NLT)
Betrayers (Wuest)
those who turn against their friends (ICB)
false to their friends (BBE)
Be the first to react on this!
Greek Word Studies ( - )
Read freely Greek Word Studies from the Austin Precept text commentary of the Bible in text and pdf format. Precept Austin is an online free dynamic bible commentary similar to wikipedia with updated content and many links to excellent biblical resources around the world. You can browse the entire collection of Commentaries by Verse on the Precept Austin website.We have been "bought with a price" to be "ambassadors for Christ" and our "salvation is nearer to us than when we believed" so let us "cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" "so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming." (1Cor 6:20, 2Cor 5:20, Ro 13:11, 2Cor 7:1, 1Jn 2:28)