⁴ You adulterous^(A) people,^[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world^(B) means enmity against God?^(C) Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.^(D)

True and False Prophets

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets.^(A) They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.^(B)

¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you^(A) out of the world. That is why the world hates you.^(B)

⁵ They are from the world^(A) and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.^(B) This is how we recognize the Spirit^[a] of truth^(C) and the spirit of falsehood.^(D)

¹⁸ For they mouth empty, boastful words^(A) and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping^(B) from those who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”^(C)

False Teachers and Their Destruction

2 But there were also false prophets^(A) among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.^(B) They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord^(C) who bought them^(D)—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow their depraved conduct^(E) and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. ³ In their greed^(F) these teachers will exploit you^(G) with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.