2 Peter 2
1 But there were false prophets, too, among the people, just as among you also there will be false teachers. These will secretly bring in destructive sects, denying even the Master who bought them, and bringing swift ruin upon themselves.
But there arose false-prophets also among the people, as, among you also, there shall be, false-teachers, —men who will stealthily bring in destructive parties, even the Master that bought them, denying, bringing upon themselves speedy destruction;
2 Then there will be many who will follow their immorality, because of whom the Way of the Truth will be maligned.
And, many, will follow out their wanton ways, —by reason of whom, the way of truth, will be defamed,
3 In their covetousness, with cunning words, they will make merchandise of you; those whose doom has not been idle from of old, and whose destruction has not been slumbering.
And, in greed, with forged words, will they, of you, make merchandise: for whom, the sentence from of old, is not idle, and, their destruction, doth not slumber.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to chains of darkness, and reserved them for judgment; (Tartaroō g5020)
For—if, God, spared not, messengers, when they sinned, but, to pits of gloom, consigning them, in the lowest hades, delivered them up to be kept, unto judgment, — (Tartaroō g5020)
5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon an ungodly world;
And, an ancient world, spared not, but, with seven others, preserved, Noah, a proclaimer, of righteousness, a flood, upon a world of ungodly persons, letting loose, —
6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and reduced them to ashes, thus holding them up as a warning to all who would live ungodly;
And, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, reducing to ashes, he condemned, an example of such as should be ungodly, having set forth, —
7 and he delivered righteous Lot who was worn out by the lascivious life of the wicked
And, righteous Lot, when getting worn out by the behaviour of them who were impious in wantonness, he rescued—
8 (for that righteous man, living among them, tormented his righteous soul in seeing and hearing, day after day, their lawless deeds),
For, in seeing and hearing, since he dwelt right among them, as a righteous man, he used to torment his soul, day by day, with their lawless deeds—
9 then be sure that the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the wicked (who are even now enduring punishment) for the "Day of Judgment";
[Then] the Lord knoweth how to rescue, the godly out of trial; but to keep, the unrighteous unto a day of judgment to be punished; —
10 especially those who spend their lives following the flesh in the lust of defilement, and in despising all authority. Audacious and wilful, they feel no awe in railing against dignities;
Most of all, however, them who go their way, after the flesh, with a coveting of defilement, and who despise, lordship, —daring! willful! before dignitaries, they tremble not, defaming,
11 even where angels, though surpassing them in strength and might, do not bring a railing judgment against them before the Lord.
where, messengers, though, greater in might and power, are not bringing against them [before the Lord] a defamatory accusation, —
12 But these men, like irrational creatures, mere animals, born to be taken and destroyed, continually rail about matters of which they know nothing. In their corruption they will surely be destroyed,
These, however, as unreasoning creatures that have been bred as being, by nature, for capture and destruction, in the things they are ignorant of, uttering defamation, in their spoiling, shall also be made a spoil, —
13 suffering wrong as the wage of wrong which they have done. These are men who count it pleasure to carouse in open daylight; they are spots and blemishes reveling in their deceit, even while they are feasting with you.
Doing wrong themselves, for a reward of wrong, accounting, a delight, their day-time delicacy, spots and blemishes, indulging in delicacies with their stratagems, as they carouse together with you,
14 They have eyes full of harlots, eyes that cannot stop sinning. They entice unsteady souls. Their heart is trained in greed. They are an accursed generation.
Having, eyes, full of an adulteress, and that cannot rest from sin, enticing unstable souls, having, a heart trained in greed, —children of a curse, —
15 They have forsaken the right way; they have lost their way, and followed the road of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrong-doing.
Forsaking a straight path, they have gone astray, following out the way of Balaam [son] of Beor, who loved, a reward of wrong,
16 He was, however, rebuked for his own transgression; a dumb ass spoke with a man’s voice, and stopped the madness of the prophet.
But had, a reproof, of his own transgression, a dumb beast of burden, in man’s voice, finding utterance, forbade the prophet’s madness.
17 Such men are like waterless springs, or mists storm-driven; for them the blackness of darkness has been reserved.
These, are fountains without water, and mists, by a tempest, driven along, —for whom, the gloom of darkness, hath been reserved;
18 For speaking great swelling words of vanity, they entangle, by their lasciviousness, in the lusts of the flesh, those who are just about to escape from the men that live in misconduct.
For, great swelling words of vanity, uttering, they entice with carnal covetings—in wanton ways—them who are, well-nigh, escaping from the men who, in error, have their behaviour;
19 They promise them liberty, while they themselves are slaves of rottenness! (For indeed a man is the slave of anything which masters him.)
Promising, freedom to them, they themselves, being all the while, slaves of corruption, —for, by whom one hath been defeated, by the same, hath he become enslaved, —
20 For if, after having escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, men are again entangled in them and overpowered, their last state is become worse than their first.
For, if, having escaped from the defilements of the world by a personal knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but, by the same having again become entangled, they are defeated, the, last, state hath become, for them, worse than, the first;
21 Indeed it would have been better for them not to have known the Way of Righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command delivered to them.
For, better, had it been for them—not to have obtained a personal knowledge of the way of righteousness, than, having obtained such knowledge, to turn back out of the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22 In their case it has happened according to the true proverb, The dog returns again to his own vomit, and The sow, after washing, to her wallowing in the mire.
There hath befallen them the thing [spoken of] in the true proverb—A dog, turning back unto his own vomit, and—A sow, as soon as washed, unto wallowing in mire.
