2 Peter 2:4-10
Expanded Bible
4 [L For if] When angels sinned, God did not ·let them go free without punishment [spare them]. [L But] He sent them to ·hell [L Tartarus; C a Greek term for the underworld] and put them in caves[a] of darkness where they are being held for judgment [Gen. 6:1–4; Jude 6]. 5 And God ·punished the world long ago [L did not spare the ancient world] when he brought a flood to the world that was full of ·people who were against him [the ungodly]. But God ·saved [protected; kept] Noah, ·who preached about being right with God [a preacher of righteousness; C Jewish tradition described Noah preaching repentance], and seven other people with him [C his wife plus his three sons and their wives; Gen. 6—9]. 6 And God also ·destroyed [condemned] the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them until they were ashes [Gen. 19; Jude 7]. He made those cities an example ·of what will happen to [or for future generations of] ·those who are against God [L the ungodly; Jude 7]. 7 But he saved Lot from those cities. Lot, a ·good [righteous] man, was ·troubled [distressed; or oppressed] because of the ·filthy lives [depraved behavior] of ·evil [lawless] people. 8 (Lot was a ·good [righteous] man, but because he lived with evil people ·every day [day after day], his ·good heart [righteous soul] was ·hurt [tormented] by the ·evil things [lawless deeds] he saw and heard.) 9 So the Lord knows how to save ·those who serve him [the godly] ·when troubles come [from trial/testing/temptation]. He will hold ·evil people [the wicked/unrighteous] ·and punish them, while waiting for the judgment day [or while they wait for their punishment on judgment day]. 10 That punishment is especially for those who ·live by doing the evil things their sinful selves want [L go after the flesh with defiling passion/lust] and who ·hate [despise] authority [Jude 8].
These false teachers are bold and ·do anything they want [arrogant; self-willed]. They ·are not afraid [L do not tremble] to ·speak against [slander; blaspheme] ·the angels [L the glorious ones; C probably angelic beings; unclear whether referring to good or evil angels; Jude 8].
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- 2 Peter 2:4 caves Some Greek copies read “chains.”
2 Peter 2:4-10
Amplified Bible
4 [a]For if God did not [even] spare angels that sinned, but threw them into [b]hell and sent them to pits of gloom to be kept [there] for judgment; 5 and if He did not spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought [the judgment of] a flood upon the world of the ungodly;(A) 6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;(B) 7 and if He rescued righteous [c]Lot, who was tormented by the immoral conduct of unprincipled and ungodly men(C) 8 (for that just man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by what he saw and heard of their lawless acts), 9 then [in light of the fact that all this is true, be sure that] the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and how to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially [d]those who indulge in the corrupt passions of the sin nature, and despise authority.
Presumptuous and reckless, self-willed and arrogant [creatures, despising the majesty of the Lord], they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Peter 2:4 This verse begins one of the longest sentences in the NT. The sentence concludes in v 10a.
- 2 Peter 2:4 For emphasis Peter uses a word (tartarus) from Greek mythology describing a hell reserved for the most horrendous of people to emphasize the terrible doom awaiting false prophets and teachers who manipulate and twist the truth of the gospel message.
- 2 Peter 2:7 Lot was the nephew of Abraham and the son of Haran. He traveled with his uncle to Canaan and eventually settled in Sodom because of its proximity to good grazing land for his flocks. Peter presents a side of Lot not easily inferred from the OT account.
- 2 Peter 2:10 In the descriptions that follow, Peter may specifically have in mind the false teachers of whom he spoke in vv 1-3.
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