False Prophets and Teachers

2 But ^(A)false prophets also arose among the people, ^(B)just as there will be false teachers among you, who will ^(C)secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master ^(D)who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth ^(E)will be blasphemed. ³ And ^(F)in their greed they will exploit you ^(G)with false words. ^(H)Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

⁴ For if God did not spare ^(I)angels when they sinned, but ^(J)cast them into hell^[a] and committed them to chains^[b] of gloomy darkness ^(K)to be kept until the judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world, but ^(L)preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought ^(M)a flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ if by ^(N)turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, ^(O)making them an example of ^(P)what is going to happen to the ungodly;^{[c] 7} and ^(Q)if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked ⁸ (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, ^(R)he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); ⁹ then ^(S)the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,^[d] and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially ^(T)those who indulge^[e] in the lust of defiling passion and ^(U)despise authority.

Bold and willful, they do not tremble ^(V)as they blaspheme the glorious ones, ^11 (W)whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. ^12 (X)But these, like irrational animals, ^(Y)creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, ¹³ suffering wrong as ^(Z)the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure ^(AA)to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions,^[f] while ^(AB)they feast with you. ¹⁴ They have eyes full of adultery,^{[g] (AC)}insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts ^(AD)trained in greed. ^(AE)Accursed children! ¹⁵ Forsaking the right way, ^(AF)they have gone astray. They have followed ^(AG)the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved ^(AH)gain from wrongdoing, ¹⁶ but was rebuked for his own transgression; ^(AI)a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

^17 (AJ)These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. ^(AK)For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. ¹⁸ For, ^(AL)speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely ^(AM)escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them ^(AN)freedom, ^(AO)but they themselves are slaves^[h] of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. ²⁰ For if, ^(AP)after they have escaped the defilements of the world ^(AQ)through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, ^(AR)the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹ For ^(AS)it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from ^(AT)the holy commandment delivered to them. ²² What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The ^(AU)dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

The Day of the Lord Will Come

3 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them ^(AV)I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ^2 (AW)that you should remember the predictions of ^(AX)the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, ³ knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come ^(AY)in the last days with scoffing, ^(AZ)following their own sinful desires. ^4 (BA)They will say, “Where is the promise of ^(BB)his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth ^(BC)was formed out of water and through water ^(BD)by the word of God, ⁶ and that by means of these the world that then existed ^(BE)was deluged with water and ^(BF)perished. ⁷ But by the same word ^(BG)the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and ^(BH)destruction of the ungodly.

⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and ^(BI)a thousand years as one day. ^9 (BJ)The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise ^(BK)as some count slowness, but ^(BL)is patient toward you,^{[i] (BM)}not wishing that any should perish, but ^(BN)that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰ But ^(BO)the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then ^(BP)the heavens will pass away with a roar, and ^(BQ)the heavenly bodies^[j] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.^[k]

¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, ^(BR)what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ^12 (BS)waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and ^(BT)the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for ^(BU)new heavens and a new earth ^(BV)in which righteousness dwells.

Final Words

^14 (BW)Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him ^(BX)without spot or ^(BY)blemish, and ^(BZ)at peace. ¹⁵ And count ^(CA)the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as ^(CB)our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you ^(CC)according to the wisdom given him, ¹⁶ as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. ^(CD)There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, ^(CE)as they do the other Scriptures. ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, ^(CF)knowing this beforehand, ^(CG)take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. ¹⁸ But ^(CH)grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ^(CI)To him be the glory both now and to the day of ^(CJ)eternity. Amen.

The Word of Life

1 ^(CK)That which was ^(CL)from the beginning, ^(CM)which we have heard, ^(CN)which we have seen with our eyes, ^(CO)which we looked upon and ^(CP)have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— ^2 (CQ)the life ^(CR)was made manifest, and we have seen it, and ^(CS)testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, ^(CT)which was with the Father and ^(CU)was made manifest to us— ^3 (CV)that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed ^(CW)our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And we are writing these things so ^(CX)that our^[l] joy may be complete.

Walking in the Light

^5 (CY)This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that ^(CZ)God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ^6 (DA)If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and ^(DB)do not practice the truth. ⁷ But ^(DC)if we walk in the light, ^(DD)as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^(DE)the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ^8 (DF)If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and ^(DG)the truth is not in us. ^9 (DH)If we confess our sins, he is ^(DI)faithful and just to forgive us our sins and ^(DJ)to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, ^(DK)we make him a liar, and ^(DL)his word is not in us.

Christ Our Advocate

2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, ^(DM)we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ^2 (DN)He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^(DO)also for the sins of the whole world. ³ And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we ^(DP)keep his commandments. ⁴ Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments ^(DQ)is a liar, and ^(DR)the truth is not in him, ⁵ but whoever ^(DS)keeps his word, in him truly ^(DT)the love of God is perfected. ^(DU)By this we may know that we are in him: ⁶ whoever says he ^(DV)abides in him ^(DW)ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The New Commandment

⁷ Beloved, I am writing you ^(DX)no new commandment, but ^(DY)an old commandment ^(DZ)that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. ⁸ At the same time, it is ^(EA)a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because^{[m] (EB)}the darkness is passing away and ^(EC)the true light is already shining. ⁹ Whoever says he is in the light and ^(ED)hates his brother is still in darkness. ¹⁰ Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him^[n] there is no ^(EE)cause for stumbling. ¹¹ But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and ^(EF)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Do Not Love the World

^15 (EM)Do not love the world or the things in the world. ^(EN)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—^(EO)the desires of the flesh and ^(EP)the desires of the eyes and pride of life^[o]—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And ^(EQ)the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Warning Concerning Antichrists

¹⁸ Children, ^(ER)it is the last hour, and as you have heard that ^(ES)antichrist is coming, so now ^(ET)many antichrists have come. ^(EU)Therefore we know that it is the last hour. ^19 (EV)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^(EW)if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, ^(EX)that it might become plain that they all are not of us. ²⁰ But you have been ^(EY)anointed by ^(EZ)the Holy One, and ^(FA)you all have knowledge.^{[p] 21} I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. ²² Who is the liar but ^(FB)he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is ^(FC)the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (FD)No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ Let ^(FE)what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then ^(FF)you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is the promise that he made to us^[q]—^(FG)eternal life.

²⁶ I write these things to you about ^(FH)those who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷ But ^(FI)the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ^(FJ)you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and ^(FK)is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Children of God

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him, so that ^(FL)when he appears ^(FM)we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his ^(FN)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(FO)he is righteous, you may be sure that ^(FP)everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

3 See ^(FQ)what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called ^(FR)children of God; and so we are. The reason why ^(FS)the world does not know us is that ^(FT)it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are ^(FU)God's children ^(FV)now, and what we will be ^(FW)has not yet appeared; but we know that ^(FX)when he appears^{[r] (FY)}we shall be like him, because ^(FZ)we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who ^(GA)thus hopes in him ^(GB)purifies himself as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; ^(GC)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that ^(GD)he appeared in order to ^(GE)take away sins, and ^(GF)in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; ^(GG)no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children, ^(GH)let no one deceive you. ^(GI)Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. ^8 (GJ)Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was ^(GK)to destroy the works of the devil. ^9 (GL)No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's^[s] seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, ^(GM)nor is the one who ^(GN)does not love his brother.