2 Peter 2
1 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;
But there were also false prophets among the people, as there will be teachers of falsehood among you also, who will cunningly introduce fatal divisions, disowning even the Sovereign Lord who has redeemed them, and bringing on themselves swift destruction.
2 And, many, will follow out their wanton ways, —by reason of whom, the way of truth, will be defamed,
And in their immoral ways they will have many eager disciples, through whom religion will be brought into disrepute.
3 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.
Thirsting for riches, they will trade on you with their canting talk. From of old their judgement has been working itself out, and their destruction has not been slumbering.
4 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)
For God did not spare angels when they had sinned, but hurling them down to Tartarus consigned them to caves of darkness, keeping them in readiness for judgement. (Tartaroō g5020)
5 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, —
And He did not spare the ancient world, although He preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a deluge on the world of the ungodly.
6 And, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, reducing to ashes, he condemned, an example of such as should be ungodly, having set forth, —
He reduced to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and condemned them to overthrow, making them an example to people who might in future be living godless lives.
7 And, righteous Lot, when getting worn out by the behaviour of them who were impious in wantonness, he rescued—
But when righteous Lot was sore distressed by the gross misconduct of immoral men He rescued him.
8 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—
(For their lawless deeds were torture, day after day, to the pure soul of that righteous man--all that he saw and heard whilst living in their midst.)
9 [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; —
Since all this is so, the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from temptation, and on the other hand how to keep the unrighteous under punishment in readiness for the Day of Judgement,
10 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,
and especially those who are abandoned to sensuality--craving, as they do, for polluted things, and scorning control. Fool-hardy and self-willed, they do not tremble when speaking evil of glorious beings;
11 where, messengers, though, greater in might and power, are not bringing against them [before the Lord] a defamatory accusation, —
while angels, though greater than they in might and power, do not bring any insulting accusation against such in the presence of the Lord.
12 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, —
But these men, like brute beasts, created (with their natural instincts) only to be captured or destroyed, are abusive in matters of which they are ignorant, and in their corruption will perish,
13 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,
being doomed to receive a requital for their guilt. They reckon it pleasure to feast daintily in broad daylight. They are spots and blemishes, while feeding luxuriously at their love-feasts, and banqueting with you.
14 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, —
Their very eyes are full of adultery--being eyes which never cease from sin. These men set traps to catch unstedfast souls, their own hearts being well trained in greed. They are fore-doomed to God's curse!
15 Forsaking a straight path, they have gone astray, following out the way of Balaam [son] of Beor, who loved, a reward of wrong,
Forsaking the straight road, they have gone astray, having eagerly followed in the steps of Balaam, the son of Beor, who was bent on securing the wages of unrighteousness.
16 But had, a reproof, of his own transgression, a dumb beast of burden, in man’s voice, finding utterance, forbade the prophet’s madness.
But he was rebuked for his transgression: a dumb ass spoke with a human voice and checked the madness of the Prophet.
17 These, are fountains without water, and mists, by a tempest, driven along, —for whom, the gloom of darkness, hath been reserved;
These people are wells without water, mists driven along by a storm, men for whom the dense darkness has been reserved.
18 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;
For, while they pour out their frivolous and arrogant talk, they use earthly cravings--every kind of immorality--as a bait to entrap men who are just escaping from the influence of those who live in error.
19 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, —
And they promise them freedom, although they are themselves the slaves of what is corrupt. For a man is the slave of any one by whom he has been worsted in fight.
20 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;
For if, after escaping from the pollutions of the world through a full knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, people are once more entangled in these pollutions and are overcome, their last state has become worse than their first.
21 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.
For it would have been better for them not to have fully known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandments in which they were instructed.
22 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.
Their case is that described in the true proverb, "A dog returns to what he has vomited," and also in the other proverb, "The sow has washed itself and now goes back to roll in its filth."
