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.”

To the Church in Pergamum

¹² “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has ^(A)the sharp two-edged sword.

¹³ “‘I know where you dwell, ^(B)where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not ^(C)deny my faith^[a] even in the days of Antipas ^(D)my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ¹⁴ But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of ^(E)Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might ^(F)eat food sacrificed to idols and ^(G)practice sexual immorality. ¹⁵ So also you have some who hold the teaching of ^(H)the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore repent. If not, ^(I)I will come to you soon and ^(J)war against them with ^(K)the sword of my mouth. ^17 (L)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(M)To the one who conquers I will give some of ^(N)the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with ^(O)a new name written on the stone ^(P)that no one knows except the one who receives it.’