2 Peter 2 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 But just as there were false prophets among the people then, there will be false teachers among you. They subtly introduce false and destructive teachings, even denying the Lord who redeemed them, quickly bringing destruction on themselves.
1 Ἐγένοντο δὲ καὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐν τῷ λαῷ, ὡς καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν ἔσονται ψευδοδιδάσκαλοι, οἵτινες παρεισάξουσιν αἱρέσεις ἀπωλείας, καὶ τὸν ἀγοράσαντα αὐτοὺς δεσπότην ἀρνούμενοι, ἐπάγοντες ἑαυτοῖς ταχινὴν ἀπώλειαν·
2 Many will follow their immoral perversions, and because of them people will condemn the way of truth.
2 καὶ πολλοὶ ἐξακολουθήσουσιν αὐτῶν ταῖς ἀσελγείαις, δι᾽ οὓς ἡ ὁδὸς τῆς ἀληθείας βλασφημηθήσεται·
3 They will greedily exploit you with false tales. However, they are already condemned: their sentence has been hanging over them for a long time, and their destruction won't be postponed.
3 καὶ ἐν πλεονεξίᾳ πλαστοῖς λόγοις ὑμᾶς ἐμπορεύσονται, οἷς τὸ κρῖμα ἔκπαλαι οὐκ ἀργεῖ, καὶ ἡ ἀπώλεια αὐτῶν οὐ νυστάξει.
4 For God didn't even spare the angels when they sinned. He threw them into Tartarus, holding them in dark pits ready for judgment.
4 εἰ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἀγγέλων ἁμαρτησάντων οὐκ ἐφείσατο, ἀλλὰ σειραῖς ζόφου ταρταρώσας παρέδωκεν εἰς κρίσιν τηρουμένους,
5 God didn't spare the ancient world either, but he protected Noah who told people about the God who did right. He was one of the eight who were saved when God sent a flood upon a world of evil people.
5 καὶ ἀρχαίου κόσμου οὐκ ἐφείσατο, ἀλλὰ ὄγδοον Νῶε δικαιοσύνης κήρυκα ἐφύλαξε, κατακλυσμὸν κόσμῳ ἀσεβῶν ἐπάξας,
6 God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to total destruction, burning them to ash, as an example of what will happen to those who live evil lives.
6 καὶ πόλεις Σοδόμων καὶ Γομόρρας τεφρώσας καταστροφῇ κατέκρινεν, ὑπόδειγμα μελλόντων ἀσεβεῖν τεθεικώς,
7 But God rescued Lot because he was a good man, sickened by the disgusting immorality of his neighbors.
7 καὶ δίκαιον Λὼτ καταπονούμενον ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν ἀθέσμων ἐν ἀσελγείᾳ ἀναστροφῆς ἐρρύσατο·
8 (Lot lived among them, but he did what was good and right. He saw and heard what they did day after day, and their wickedness tormented him.)
8 βλέμματι γὰρ καὶ ἀκοῇ ὁ δίκαιος, ἐγκατοικῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς, ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας ψυχὴν δικαίαν ἀνόμοις ἔργοις ἐβασάνιζεν· —
9 As you can see, the Lord is able to rescue from their troubles those who respect him, and to keep the wicked until the day of judgment when their punishment is completed.
9 οἶδε Κύριος εὐσεβεῖς ἐκ πειρασμοῦ ῥύεσθαι, ἀδίκους δὲ εἰς ἡμέραν κρίσεως κολαζομένους τηρεῖν,
10 This is especially so for those who follow their corrupt human desires, and contemptuously disregard authority. Arrogant and proud, they're not even afraid to defame heavenly beings.
10 μάλιστα δὲ τοὺς ὀπίσω σαρκὸς ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ πορευομένους καὶ κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας. τολμηταί, αὐθάδεις! δόξας οὐ τρέμουσι βλασφημοῦντες,
11 Angels, on the other hand, even though they are stronger and more powerful, don't disparage them before the Lord.
11 ὅπου ἄγγελοι, ἰσχύϊ καὶ δυνάμει μείζονες ὄντες, οὐ φέρουσι κατ᾽ αὐτῶν παρὰ Κυρίῳ βλάσφημον κρίσιν.
12 These people are like mindless beasts, produced like farm animals to be captured and slaughtered. They condemn things they don't know anything about, and just like animals they will be destroyed.
12 οὗτοι δέ, ὡς ἄλογα ζῷα φυσικὰ γεγενημένα εἰς ἅλωσιν καὶ φθοράν, ἐν οἷς ἀγνοοῦσι βλασφημοῦντες, ἐν τῇ φθορᾷ αὐτῶν καταφθαρήσονται,
13 They will be paid back in harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of fun is to commit their evil lusts in broad daylight. They are stains and blemishes on your community. They enjoy their deceptive pleasures even while they eat together with you.
13 κομιούμενοι μισθὸν ἀδικίας, ἡδονὴν ἡγούμενοι τὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τρυφήν, σπίλοι καὶ μῶμοι, ἐντρυφῶντες ἐν ταῖς ἀπάταις αὐτῶν, συνευωχούμενοι ὑμῖν,
14 They're always on the lookout for adulterous relationships—they just can't stop sinning. They seduce the vulnerable; they have trained themselves in greed; they are offspring under a curse.
14 ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντες μεστοὺς μοιχαλίδος καὶ ἀκαταπαύστους ἁμαρτίας, δελεάζοντες ψυχὰς ἀστηρίκτους, καρδίαν γεγυμνασμένην πλεονεξίας ἔχοντες, κατάρας τέκνα!
15 They have abandoned the right path and have gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved to be paid for doing evil.
15 καταλιπόντες εὐθεῖαν ὁδὸν ἐπλανήθησαν, ἐξακολουθήσαντες τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ Βαλαὰμ τοῦ Βοσόρ, ὃς μισθὸν ἀδικίας ἠγάπησεν,
16 But he was rebuked for his evil actions—a dumb donkey spoke with a human voice and stopped the prophet's foolishness!
16 ἔλεγξιν δὲ ἔσχεν ἰδίας παρανομίας· ὑποζύγιον ἄφωνον ἐν ἀνθρώπου φωνῇ φθεγξάμενον ἐκώλυσε τὴν τοῦ προφήτου παραφρονίαν.
17 People like these are springs without water, mists blown away by the wind. They are destined for blackest darkness—forever.
17 οὗτοί εἰσι πηγαὶ ἄνυδροι, νεφέλαι ὑπὸ λαίλαπος ἐλαυνόμεναι, οἷς ὁ ζόφος τοῦ σκότους εἰς αἰῶνα τετήρηται.
18 Inflated with their own nonsense, they appeal to sensual desires, luring back into immorality those who have only just escaped from those who live in error.
18 ὑπέρογκα γὰρ ματαιότητος φθεγγόμενοι δελεάζουσιν ἐν ἐπιθυμίαις σαρκὸς ἀσελγείαις τοὺς ὄντως ἀποφυγόντας τοὺς ἐν πλάνῃ ἀναστρεφομένους,
19 They promise them freedom, even though they themselves are slaves to depravity. “You are a slave to whatever conquers you.”
19 ἐλευθερίαν αὐτοῖς ἐπαγγελλόμενοι, αὐτοὶ δοῦλοι ὑπάρχοντες τῆς φθορᾶς· ᾧ γάρ τις ἥττηται, τούτῳ καὶ δεδούλωται.
20 If people manage to escape from the evil influence of the world by knowing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then get tangled up in sin again and are defeated, they are worse off than they were in the first place.
20 εἰ γὰρ ἀποφυγόντες τὰ μιάσματα τοῦ κόσμου ἐν ἐπιγνώσει τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τούτοις δὲ πάλιν ἐμπλακέντες ἡττῶνται, γέγονεν αὐτοῖς τὰ ἔσχατα χείρονα τῶν πρώτων.
21 It would have been better not to have known the right way of truth, than to have known it and then turn away from the sacred instructions they'd been given.
21 κρεῖττον γὰρ ἦν αὐτοῖς μὴ ἐπεγνωκέναι τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἢ ἐπιγνοῦσιν ἐπιστρέψαι ἐκ τῆς παραδοθείσης αὐτοῖς ἁγίας ἐντολῆς.
22 This proverb has come true for them: “The dog has returned to its own vomit, and the washed pig has gone back to rolling in the mud.”
22 συμβέβηκε δὲ αὐτοῖς τὸ τῆς ἀληθοῦς παροιμίας, κύων ἐπιστρέψας ἐπὶ τὸ ἴδιον ἐξέραμα, καί, ὗς λουσαμένη εἰς κύλισμα βορβόρου.
Cross references (22)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Matthew 7:15; Jude 4; Deuteronomy 13:1–3; 2 Timothy 4:3; Matthew 24:11
- 2 Romans 2:24; Jude 10; Matthew 24:24; 2 Peter 2:15; Titus 2:8
- 3 2 Corinthians 2:17; Romans 16:18; Deuteronomy 32:35; 1 Thessalonians 2:5; Jude 15
- 4 Jude 6; Matthew 25:41; Romans 8:32; Revelation 20:1–3; Revelation 12:7–9
- 5 2 Peter 3:6; Hebrews 11:7; Luke 17:26–27; Jude 14–15; 1 Peter 3:19–20
- 6 Jude 7; Luke 17:28–30; Deuteronomy 29:23; Genesis 19:24–25; Numbers 26:10
- 7 Genesis 19:16; Genesis 19:29; Genesis 19:7–8; Genesis 19:22; Genesis 13:13
- 8 Psalm 119:158; Ezekiel 9:4; Psalm 119:136; 1 Timothy 1:9; Proverbs 25:26
- 9 Psalm 34:15–19; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Revelation 3:10; 2 Timothy 3:12; Jude 14–15
- 10 Jude 16; Jude 10; Exodus 22:28; Jude 18; 2 Peter 3:3
- 11 Jude 9; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; Psalm 103:20; Daniel 6:22; Psalm 104:4
- 12 Jude 10; Jeremiah 12:3; Galatians 6:8; 2 Peter 2:19; Psalm 92:6
- 13 Romans 13:13; Romans 2:8–9; Hebrews 2:2–3; Philippians 3:19; Jude 12–16
- 14 2 Peter 2:3; 2 Peter 2:18; Ephesians 2:3; 2 Peter 3:16; Ephesians 4:14
- 15 Revelation 2:14; Jude 11; Deuteronomy 23:4–5; Numbers 31:16; Numbers 22:5–7
- 16 Numbers 22:21–33; Acts 26:11; Luke 16:11; Ecclesiastes 7:25; Ecclesiastes 9:3
- 17 Jude 12–13; Jeremiah 14:3; Ephesians 4:14; Matthew 25:30; 2 Peter 2:4
- 18 2 Peter 2:20; Jude 15–16; Romans 13:13; James 5:5; Revelation 13:5–6
- 19 John 8:34; Romans 6:16–22; Galatians 5:13; Galatians 5:1; 1 Peter 2:16
- 20 Hebrews 10:26–27; Hebrews 6:4–8; Philippians 3:19; Luke 11:24–26; Deuteronomy 32:29
- 21 Ezekiel 18:24; Hebrews 6:4–6; James 4:17; Ezekiel 3:20; Luke 12:47
- 22 Proverbs 26:11
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… saved out of Sodom when all the country round was punished by means of fire and brimstone, the Lord thus making it manifest that He does not forsake those that hope in Him, but gives up such as depart from Him to punishment and torture. For Lot's wife, who went forth with him, being of a different mind from himself …
… incarcerated till their final damnation in the day of judgment, the Apostle Peter very plainly declares, when he says that "God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved into judgment." Who, then, can doubt that God, either in foreknowledge or in act, separated between these …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
… that time have so fallen, nor can I think that it is of them the Apostle Peter said, "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." I think he rather speaks of these who first apostatized from God, along with their …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
… one who doeth sin is the servant of sin." And thus there are many wicked masters who have religious men as their slaves, and who are yet themselves in bondage; "for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." And beyond question it is a happier thing to be the slave of a man …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)