⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned,^(A) but sent them to hell,^[a] putting them in chains of darkness^[b] to be held for judgment;^{(B) 5} if he did not spare the ancient world^(C) when he brought the flood on its ungodly people,^(D) but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;^{(E) 6} if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes,^(F) and made them an example^(G) of what is going to happen to the ungodly;^(H)

⁷ By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,^(A) being kept for the day of judgment^(B) and destruction of the ungodly.

⁶ And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.^{(A) 7} In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah^(B) and the surrounding towns^(C) gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.^(D)