2 Peter 2
International Standard Version
Warning against False Teachers
2 Now there were false prophets among the people, just as there also will be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many people will follow their immoral ways, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned.[a] 3 In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. The ancient verdict against them is still in force, and their destruction is not delayed.[b]
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but threw them into the lowest hell[c] and imprisoned them in chains[d] of deepest darkness, holding them for judgment; 5 and if he did not spare the ancient world but protected Noah, a righteous preacher, along with seven others when he brought the flood on the world of ungodly people; 6 and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them by burning them to ashes, making them an example to ungodly people of what is going to happen to them; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man who was greatly distressed by the immoral conduct of lawless people— 8 for as long as that righteous man lived among them, day after day he was being tortured in his righteous soul by what he saw and heard in their lawless actions— 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and to hold unrighteous people for punishment on the day of judgment, 10 especially those who satisfy their flesh by indulging in its passions and who despise authority.
Being bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to slander glorious beings. 11 Yet even angels, although they are greater in strength and power, do not bring a slanderous accusation against them from the Lord. 12 These people, like irrational animals, are mere creatures of instinct that are born to be caught and killed. They insult what they don’t understand, and like animals they, too, will be destroyed, 13 suffering harm as punishment for their wrongdoing. They take pleasure in wild parties in broad daylight. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceitful pleasures[e] while they eat with you. 14 With eyes full of adultery, they cannot get enough of sin. They seduce unsteady souls and have had their hearts expertly trained in greed. They are doomed to a curse.[f] 15 They have left the straight path and wandered off to follow the path of Bosor’s[g] son Balaam, who loved the reward he got for doing wrong. 16 But he was rebuked for his offense. A donkey that normally cannot talk spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s insanity.
17 These men are dried-up springs, mere clouds driven by a storm. Gloomy darkness is reserved for them. 18 By talking high-sounding nonsense and using sinful cravings of the flesh, they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. 19 Promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves to depravity, for a person is a slave to whatever conquers him.
20 For if, after escaping the world’s corruptions through a full knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah,[h] they are again entangled and conquered by those corruptions,[i] then their last condition is worse than their former one. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and turn their backs on the holy commandment that was committed to them. 22 The proverb is true that describes what has happened to them: “A dog returns to its vomit,”[j] and “A pig that is washed goes back to wallow in the mud.”[k]
Footnotes
- 2 Peter 2:2 Or blasphemed
- 2 Peter 2:3 Lit. asleep
- 2 Peter 2:4 Gk. Tartarus; a reference to the realm of the dead
- 2 Peter 2:4 Other mss. read pits
- 2 Peter 2:13 Other mss. read in their love feasts
- 2 Peter 2:14 Lit. children of a curse
- 2 Peter 2:15 Other mss. read Beor’s
- 2 Peter 2:20 Or Christ
- 2 Peter 2:20 Lit. by them
- 2 Peter 2:22 Cf. Prov 26:11
- 2 Peter 2:22 The source of this quotation appears to be the Syrian Story of Ahikar.
2 Peter 2
Modern English Version
False Prophets and Teachers(A)
2 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their judgment, made long ago, does not linger, and their destruction does not slumber.
4 For if God did not spare the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be kept for judgment; 5 and if He did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, making them an example to those afterward who would live ungodly lives; 7 and if He delivered righteous Lot, who was distressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man lived among them, and what he saw and heard of their lawless deeds tormented his righteous soul day after day); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the Day of Judgment, 10 especially those who walk after the flesh in pursuit of unclean desires, and despise authority.
They are presumptuous and arrogant, and are not afraid to slander the angelic beings. 11 Whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring slanderous accusations against them before the Lord. 12 But these people are like irrational animals, born to be captured and destroyed. They speak evil of the things that they do not understand, and in their corruption they will be destroyed.
13 They shall receive the wages of unrighteousness. They count it a pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes who revel in their own deception while they carouse together with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin. They entice unstable souls. Their hearts are trained in greed. They are cursed children! 15 They have forsaken the right way and have gone astray. They follow the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness, 16 but who was rebuked for his iniquity. The mute donkey speaking with a man’s voice constrained the madness of the prophet.
17 These men are wells without water and clouds that are carried by a storm, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever. 18 For when they speak arrogant words of vanity, they entice by the lusts of the flesh and by depravity those who barely escaped from those who live in error. 19 Although they promise them freedom, they themselves are slaves of corruption, for by that which a man is overcome, to this he is enslaved. 20 For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then turn back from the holy commandment that was delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, “The dog returns to his own vomit,”[a] and “the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mud.”
Footnotes
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The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.