For if God didn’t spare(A) the angels who sinned but cast them into hell[a](B) and delivered them in chains[b] of utter darkness to be kept for judgment;(C) and if he didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah,(D) a preacher of righteousness, and seven others,[c](E) when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly; and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah(F) to ashes and condemned them to extinction,[d] making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly;(G) and if he rescued righteous Lot,(H) distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral (for as that righteous man lived among them day by day, his righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard(I))— then the Lord knows how to rescue(J) the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,(K) 10 especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority.(L)

Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones;

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Footnotes

  1. 2:4 Gk Tartarus
  2. 2:4 Other mss read in pits
  3. 2:5 Lit Noah, the eighth, a preacher of righteousness
  4. 2:6 Other mss omit to extinction

Active judgment of God

God didn’t spare the angels when they sinned but cast them into the lowest level of the underworld and committed them to chains of darkness, keeping them there until the judgment. And he didn’t spare the ancient world when he brought a flood on the world of ungodly people, even though he protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, along with seven others. God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to total destruction, reducing them to ashes as a warning to ungodly people. And he rescued righteous Lot, who was made miserable by the unrestrained immorality of unruly people. (While that righteous man lived among them he felt deep distress every day on account of the immoral actions he saw and heard.) These things show that the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and how to keep the unrighteous for punishment on the Judgment Day. 10 This is especially true for those who follow after the corrupt cravings of the sinful nature and defy the Lord’s authority.

Evil character of the false teachers

These reckless, brash people aren’t afraid to insult the glorious ones,

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