2 Peter 2
1 But false prophets came to be among the people, just like false teachers will also be among you, who will sneak in destructive valuesa and who reject the master who purchased them. Bringing on themselves quick destruction,b 2 many will also follow them away toward unrestrained indulgence, and because of them the true path will be slandered.c 3 They will exploit you greedily by saying whatever they need to say.d The sentence for them that was started long ago isn’t resting,e and their destruction isn’t nodding off.
4 You see, if God did not preserve messengers who deviated but locked them up in chains in the darkness of Tartarusf to keep them for assessment, 5 and if Godg did not preserve the original world system but protected Noah, who publicly conveyed the message of justice, and seven othersh when God brought a flood upon the disrespectfuli world system, 6 and if God sentenced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, turning them to ashes, which has been laid out as a warning for those who are going to come with disrespectfulness,j 7 and if God rescued Lot, who was just and was oppressed by those who were treacherous in their lifestyle of unrestrained indulgence 8 (while he lived among them day by day, that just person tormented his very being with the sight and sound of torah-less actions), 9 then the Lord knows to rescue people who live respectfullyk from trials, but to guard over the unjust for punishment on the day of assessment, 10 especially those who return to following their contaminated bodily impulses and disregarding authority.
Egocentric, overconfident people are not afraid to speak disrespectfully against those with impressive reputations,l 11 whereas messengers who have more strength and power do not bring a disrespectfulm assessment from the Lord against them. 12 Nevertheless, these people—like instinct-driven, irrational animals that have been born for capture and deathn—since they speak disrespectfully about what they don’t understand, will also be destroyedo by their own decay,p 13 suffering injustice as repayment for injustice. Their injustices includeq thinking of amusementr and luxury all day long, so they are spots and blemishes pampering themselvess with their corruptiont while they feast alongside you. 14 They have eyesu focused on infidelityv and endless deviation, enticing insecure human beings,w having worked hard developingx a hearty for greed, children with a declaration of hardship.z 15 They wandered away, leaving the straight path behind and following along the path of Balaam son of Bosoraa who lovedbb payment for injustice. 16 However, he had his own rebuke for bypassing torah: a speechless beast of burden that, when making sound with a human voice, blocked the prophet’s insanity.
17 These peoplecc are waterless springs and clouds driven by a violent storm for whom the underworldly darkness has been reserved. 18 As they make noisedd with delusional self-importance,ee they entice with unrestrained bodily desires those who are actually escaping from the ones who are making themselves at home where they’ve wandered.ff 19 While they promise them freedom, they are enslaved workers laying the foundation for destruction.gg You see, by whatever someone has been overcome,hh to this they have been enslaved. 20 If, after escaping the contaminants of the world system by the knowledge of our Lord and Liberator Jesus Christ, they now again embrace them, then they are overcome by them; the end has become worseii for them than how it started.jj 21 You see, it would have been betterkk for them not to have known the path of justice than after knowing it to return from the sacred direction that was handed over to them. 22 The proverb has turned out to be truell for them: “A feral dog returns to his own vomit,”mm and “A pig, after washing herself,nn returns to rolling in the mud.”oo
FOOTNOTES:
a Traditionally, ‘heresies.’ However, it is a common and known translation fallacy to read modern definitions into ancient words. The Greek hairesis did not mean ‘incorrect doctrine.’ That was a later historical application of the word as it developed. The definitions of hairesis were as follows: 1) taking by force, capture; 2) acquisition; 3) choice (between different options); 4) selection (of persons for an office or role); 5) chosen basis for conduct, principle, conviction; 6) preference, predilection; 7) chosen course of action, policy; 8) chosen system of belief or its adherents, school of thought, sect (The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, 2021). The context here suggests it is related to definitions 5 or 8. Note that none of those definitions include an inherently negative meaning. It’s simply about a choice of how to proceed with something. A word that more appropriately connects context to those two definitions rather than ‘heresies’ is ‘values.’ Other words could also be good options.
b This phrase ‘bringing on themselves quick destruction’ can be interpreted as referring to the false teachers in verse 1 or to those who follow them in verse 2. The grammar can go either way. Most translations format it so that it is referring to the false teachers because of where the verse break is, keeping the verse self-contained. However, the punctuation on the Greek breaks the sentence before this phrase, indicating it would be referring to those who follow them. Part of the problem is that both the verse divisions and the punctuation on the Greek text were added centuries after the manuscripts were first written and were based on the translators and scribal traditional and judgment.
c Or spoken of with disrespect or contempt. The Greek word is blasphemeo.
d The phrase is literally, ‘with moldable words.’ It is sometimes translated as ‘deceptive.’ The idea is that the communication can be flattery or bribery or saying what you want to hear or threats or scaring people. It doesn’t matter what they say because they ‘mold it’ to whatever they think will work to use people for their own gain.
e Possible definitions of this word include ‘be unoccupied/unused,’ ‘lie fallow, neglected,’ ‘be idle/lazy,’ ‘be at leisure,’ ‘come to an end prematurely.’
f In Greek mythology, ‘Tartarus’ is both a Greek deity and a place in the underworld. The deity was one of the primordial deities, after Gaia. The place is the realm of the deity and is the part of the underworld where the Titans were imprisoned and the wicked dead were punished. More information can be found online.
g The words ‘if God’ only appear in verse 4, but it has been added for clarity here and the remaining verses of the paragraph.
h Literally, ‘Noah the eighth’
i Traditionally, ‘ungodly’
j Traditionally, ‘ungodliness’
k Traditionally, ‘godly’
l Traditionally, ‘glories’ or interpretively, ‘glorious beings.’
m Or ‘slanderous’
n Or ‘decay’ or ‘destruction,’ the Greek word phthora
o Or ‘be killed’ or ‘be caused to decay,’ the Greek word phtheiro
p Or ‘death’ or ‘destruction,’ the Greek word phthora
q The Greek does not contain a sentence break here, simply continuing the thought from the previous verse. To make the English easier to follow, a new sentence is started here with ‘Their injustices include’ added to maintain the connection in the thought.
r Or ‘recreation’ or ‘enjoyment’ or ‘pleasure’ or ‘delight’
s Or ‘luxuriating’
t Or ‘deception’ or ‘phoniness’ or ‘beguiling pleasure’
u Negative discussion of eyes was typically used as a metaphor for greed, such as in Matthew 6:19-24.
v The word is traditionally translated as ‘adultery.’ It most literally refers to marital infidelity, and was also often used of unfaithfulness to God or being unfaithful as the bride of Christ. When referring to actively seeking marital infidelity, it inherently includes using another human being as something to use for personal gain or pleasure.
w Traditionally, ‘souls.’ The word psuche refers to being a living being, having life energy flowing with each breath.
x The word translated here as ‘worked hard developing’ is gumnazo, literally ‘to give effort to exercise or athletic training.’
y ‘Heart’ or kardia represented desire or motivation rather than all emotion as it does today in English.
z Traditionally, ‘children of a curse.’
aa Or ‘Beor.’ While the Hebrew of the passage about Balaam names him as son of Beor, the Greek spelling of the name is clearly Bosor. Later manuscripts attempted to harmonize them and changed the Greek spelling to match the Hebrew.
bb Agape refers to a love that is committed to promoting wellbeing for what is loved. In this case, it is working to increase and nurture payment by means of acting unjustly.
cc Referring back to the egocentric, overconfident people in verse 10.
dd This is the same word in verse 16 referring to the beast of burden speaking like a human, effectively causing good by sounding more impressive than expected. The implication seems to be that these people are trying to seem more impressive but are ineffective and even cause harm, worse than the donkey.
ee The modern phrase ‘delusion of grandeur’ seems to apply appropriately. Narcissism could also be an appropriate modern term. The phrase huperonka mataiotetos could mean literally ‘pointlessly overly-powerful/overly-wealthy,’ which fits the context somewhat, but taking the whole chapter in view, the people being discussed seem not to actually be the most powerful but rather are those who speak against the powerful in order to promote themselves. Therefore, the alternately possible literal meaning of ‘empty self-importance’ seems more appropriate.
ff Literally, ‘being immigrants/foreign residents in their wandering.’
gg Or ‘decay’ or ‘death.’
hh This word can apply to being overcome by enemies as well as overcome by passion or one’s own impulses.
ii Or ‘lower status’
jj Literally, ‘the last thing has become worse than the first thing.’
kk Or ‘more powerful’
ll Literally, ‘the proverb of truth has happened/corresponded/been fulfilled/met up with’
mm Reference to Proverbs 26:11
nn Or ‘allowing herself to be washed’
oo The source of this quotation is unknown.