2 Peter 2
1 But there also came false prophets among the people, as there will also be false teachers among you, who will stealthily bring in destructive sects, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing quick destruction to themselves,
But there were false prophets among the people, as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly put forward wrong teachings for your destruction, even turning away from the Lord who gave himself for them; whose destruction will come quickly, and they themselves will be the cause of it.
2 and many will follow out their destructive ways, because of whom the way of the truth will be spoken of [as] evil,
And a great number will go with them in their evil ways, through whom the true way will have a bad name.
3 and in covetousness, with forged words, they will make merchandise of you, whose judgment of old is not idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
And in their desire for profit they will come to you with words of deceit, like traders doing business in souls: whose punishment has been ready for a long time and their destruction is watching for them.
4 For if God did not spare messengers having sinned, but having cast [them] down to Tartarus with chains of deepest gloom, delivered [them], having been reserved to judgment, (Tartaroō g5020)
For if God did not have pity for the angels who did evil, but sent them down into hell, to be kept in chains of eternal night till they were judged; (Tartaroō g5020)
5 and did not spare the old world, but kept the eighth person, Noah, a preacher of righteousness, having brought a flood on the world of the impious,
And did not have mercy on the world which then was, but only kept safe Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he let loose the waters over the world of the evil-doers;
6 and having turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, condemned with an overthrow, having set [them as] an example to those about to be impious,
And sent destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah, burning them up with fire as an example to those whose way of life might in the future be unpleasing to him;
7 and He rescued righteous Lot, worn down by the conduct of the lawless in licentiousness,
And kept safe Lot, the upright man, who was deeply troubled by the unclean life of the evil-doers
8 for the righteous [man] dwelling among them was tormented in [his] righteous soul, day by day, in seeing and hearing unlawful works—
(Because the soul of that upright man living among them was pained from day to day by seeing and hearing their crimes):
9 the LORD has known to rescue [the] pious out of temptation, and to keep [the] unrighteous being punished to [the] day of judgment,
The Lord is able to keep the upright safe in the time of testing, and to keep evil-doers under punishment till the day of judging;
10 and chiefly those following after the flesh in lust [and] defilement, and despising lordship. Bold, self-pleased, they are not afraid to speak evil of glorious ones,
But specially those who go after the unclean desires of the flesh, and make sport of authority. Ready to take chances, uncontrolled, they have no fear of saying evil of those in high places:
11 whereas messengers, being greater in strength and power, do not bear a slanderous judgment against them before the LORD;
Though the angels, who are greater in strength and power, do not make use of violent language against them before the Lord.
12 and these, as irrational natural beasts, made to be caught and destroyed—in what things they are ignorant of, slandering—in their destruction will be destroyed;
But these men, like beasts without reason, whose natural use is to be taken and put to death, crying out against things of which they have no knowledge, will undergo that same destruction which they are designing for others;
13 doing unjustly, [they will receive] a reward of unrighteousness, esteeming pleasure in the day, [and] luxury—[they are] spots and blemishes, reveling in their deceits, feasting with you,
For the evil which overtakes them is the reward of their evil-doing: such men take their pleasure in the delights of the flesh even in the daytime; they are like the marks of a disease, like poisoned wounds among you, feasting together with you in joy;
14 having eyes full of adultery, and unable to cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart exercised in covetousnesses, children of a curse,
Having eyes full of evil desire, never having enough of sin; turning feeble souls out of the true way; they are children of cursing, whose hearts are well used to bitter envy;
15 having forsaken a right way, they went astray, having followed in the way of Balaam the [son] of Bosor, who loved a reward of unrighteousness,
Turning out of the true way, they have gone wandering in error, after the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who was pleased to take payment for wrongdoing;
16 and had a rebuke of his own iniquity—a mute donkey, having spoken in man’s voice, forbid the madness of the prophet.
But his wrongdoing was pointed out to him: an ass, talking with a man's voice, put a stop to the error of the prophet.
17 These are wells without water, and clouds driven by a storm, to whom the deepest gloom of darkness has been kept throughout the age; (questioned)
These are fountains without water, and mists before a driving storm; for whom the eternal night is kept in store. (questioned)
18 for speaking swollen words of vanity, they entice in desires of the flesh—licentiousness, those who had truly escaped from those conducting themselves in error,
For with high-sounding false words, making use of the attraction of unclean desires of the flesh, they get into their power those newly made free from those who are living in error;
19 promising liberty to them, themselves being servants of corruption, for by whom anyone has been overcome, he has been brought to servitude to this one also;
Saying that they will be free, while they themselves are the servants of destruction; because whatever gets the better of a man makes a servant of him.
20 for if having escaped from the defilements of the world, in the acknowledging of the LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, and again being entangled by these things, they have been overcome, the last things have become worse to them than the first,
For if, after they have got free from the unclean things of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again taken in the net and overcome, their last condition is worse than their first.
21 for it were better to them not to have acknowledged the way of righteousness, than having acknowledged [it], to turn back from the holy command delivered to them,
For it would have been better for them to have had no knowledge of the way of righteousness, than to go back again from the holy law which was given to them, after having knowledge of it.
22 and that of the true proverb has happened to them: “A dog turned back on his own vomit,” and, “A sow having bathed herself—to rolling in mire.”
They are an example of that true saying, The dog has gone back to the food it had put out, and the pig which had been washed to its rolling in the dirty earth.
