¹⁷ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a ^(A)heathen and a tax collector.

²⁹ For I know this, that after my departure ^(A)savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Also ^(B)from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking ^[a]perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. ³¹ Therefore watch, and remember that ^(C)for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.

⁴ For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord ^[a]God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Only One Gospel

⁶ I marvel that you are turning away so soon ^(A)from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, ^7 (B)which is not another; but there are some ^(C)who trouble you and want to ^(D)pervert^[a] the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if ^(E)we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be ^[b]accursed.

²⁰ Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.

²¹ I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the ^[a]elect angels that you observe these things without ^(A)prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.

The Elders’ Task

¹⁰ For there are many insubordinate, both idle ^(A)talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, ¹¹ whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, ^(B)for the sake of dishonest gain. ^12 (C)One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ¹³ This testimony is true. ^(D)Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, ¹⁴ not giving heed to Jewish fables and ^(E)commandments of men who turn from the truth. ^15 (F)To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. ¹⁶ They profess to ^(G)know God, but ^(H)in works they deny Him, being ^[a]abominable, disobedient, ^(I)and disqualified for every good work.

Destructive Doctrines

2 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be ^(A)false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. ² And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. ³ By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction ^[a]does not slumber.

Doom of False Teachers

⁴ For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to ^[b]hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; ⁵ and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; ⁶ and turning the cities of ^(B)Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; ⁷ and ^(C)delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked ⁸ (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, ^(D)tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— ⁹ then ^(E)the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially ^(F)those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. ^(G)They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of ^[c]dignitaries, ¹¹ whereas ^(H)angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.

Depravity of False Teachers

¹² But these, ^(I)like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, ^13 (J)and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure ^(K)to ^[d]carouse in the daytime. ^(L)They are spots and blemishes, ^[e]carousing in their own deceptions while ^(M)they feast with you, ¹⁴ having eyes full of ^[f]adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. ^(N)They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. ¹⁵ They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of ^(O)Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; ¹⁶ but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.

^17 (P)These are wells without water, ^[g]clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness ^[h]forever.

Deceptions of False Teachers

¹⁸ For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who ^[i]have actually escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹ While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of ^[j]corruption; ^(Q)for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into ^[k]bondage. ²⁰ For if, after they ^(R)have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are ^(S)again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. ²¹ For ^(T)it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. ²² But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ^(U)“A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

Be Steadfast

¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent ^(A)to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; ¹⁵ and consider that ^(B)the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his ^(C)epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the ^(D)rest of the Scriptures.

¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, ^(E)since you know this beforehand, ^(F)beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ^18 (G)but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

^(H)To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.