¹⁶ Live as free people,^(A) but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil;^(B) live as God’s slaves.^(C)

⁸ (for that righteous man,^(A) living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹ if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials^(B) and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.^{(C) 10} This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire^(D) of the flesh^[a] and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;^(E)

⁴ For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about^[a] long ago have secretly slipped in among you.^(A) They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.^(B)