19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

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19 holding on to faith and a good conscience,(A) which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.(B)

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10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

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10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you(A) from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world(B) to test(C) the inhabitants of the earth.(D)

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I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

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I know your deeds.(A) See, I have placed before you an open door(B) that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.(C)

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Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

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They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.(A)

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But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

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False Teachers and Their Destruction

But there were also false prophets(A) among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.(B) They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord(C) who bought them(D)—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct(E) and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed(F) these teachers will exploit you(G) with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

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For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

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It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened,(A) who have tasted the heavenly gift,(B) who have shared in the Holy Spirit,(C) who have tasted the goodness(D) of the word of God(E) and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen[a] away, to be brought back to repentance.(F) To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God(G) all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 6:6 Or age, if they fall

Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

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He must hold firmly(A) to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine(B) and refute those who oppose it.

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And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

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They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.(A)

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21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

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21 which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.(A)

Grace be with you all.(B)

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But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

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Those who want to get rich(A) fall into temptation and a trap(B) and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

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10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

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10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.(A)

11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain;(B) they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error;(C) they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.(D)

12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts,(E) eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves.(F) They are clouds without rain,(G) blown along by the wind;(H) autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted(I)—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea,(J) foaming up their shame;(K) wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.(L)

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19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

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19 They went out from us,(A) but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.(B)

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12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

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12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.(A)

13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight.(B) They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.[a](C) 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce(D) the unstable;(E) they are experts in greed(F)—an accursed brood!(G) 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam(H) son of Bezer,[b] who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.(I)

17 These people are springs without water(J) and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.(K) 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words(L) and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping(M) from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”(N) 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing(O) our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ(P) and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.(Q) 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.(R) 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,”[c](S) and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 2:13 Some manuscripts in their love feasts
  2. 2 Peter 2:15 Greek Bosor
  3. 2 Peter 2:22 Prov. 26:11