2 Peter 2:10-16 “The Character God Condemns”

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church Manhattan KS, 25 Feb. 2024

Introduction

• My Translation: 9 the Lord knows how to rescue those who are godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous for the Day of Judgment when they will be punished, and especially those who go after what is fleshly in lust after uncleanness and who despise authority. Narcissistically daring, they do not tremble when they blaspheme glorious beings, whereas, even though they are greater in strength and in power, angels do not bring against them a blasphemous criticism before the Lord. These guys, however, are like unreasoning, natural animals which were born for domestication and consumption. It is concerning things of which they are ignorant that they are blaspheming. Indeed, they will be consumed by their corruption – they who will be getting the reward of unrighteousness, they who reckon indulgence during the daytime to be a pleasure. They are stains and deformities; they who indulge in their deceptions while partaking food with you. They have eyes full of adultery and unceasing concerning sin, they who seduce unstable souls, those who have a heart that’s been trained by coveting, they who are children of the curse. They were made to wander astray after leaving the right way behind, following the way of Balaam from Bosor (who loved the salary of unrighteousness), but he got a rebuke because of his own transgression: a dumb donkey making utterance with a human voice restrained the madness of the prophet.

• In this passage, Peter profiles the character of unrighteous persons and why they will deserve to be punished by God. This is heavy material; it’s disturbing to meditate on, and yet God wants us to have this information so that we can identify and avoid the false teachers and ungodly influencers we encounter in our lives and so that we can repent of any traces we find in our own hearts and lives of these kinds of ungodly behaviors and attitudes.

• The first character trait of the ungodly highlighted in v.10 is that...

v.10a They Walk According To The Flesh

• What they are “following after/indulging in/walking to/” is “flesh/σαρκὸς” or that which appeals to fleshly senses.

  • Conversely, this phrase [ὀπίσω... πορευομένους] was used by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew to describe following Him as a disciple.

  • Here is a basic watershed – you are either following Jesus or you are following your flesh.

  • Jesus will lead you to eternal life; but if you follow the flesh, it will lead you to eternal death: Romans 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (NKJV)

• Jude used some of the same words Peter did here: “...Sodom and Gomorra and the towns around them, after acting out sexual immorality and degradingly going off into abnormal physical relations are laid out as an example when they suffered the justice of eternal fire. In a similar way, these men, through their dreaming however are both making their physical bodies unclean and also displacing authority...” (Jude 1:7-8, NAW)

• Peter says they “lust after/desire¹” what is “unclean/defiling/corrupt/μιασμοῦ.” The Greek translation of the Old Testament uses this root to describe:

  • Idols (Jeremiah 39:34 “And they set their pollutions [i.e. idols] in the house, on which my name was called, by their uncleannesses.” ~Brenton),

  • Lies (Ezekiel 33:31 “They approach thee as a people comes together, and sit before thee, and hear thy words, but they will not do them: for there is falsehood in their mouth, and their heart goes after their pollutions.” ~Brenton),

  • Mingling with unbelievers (John 18:28 “...did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled…” ~NKJV),

  • Entertaining unbelief yourself (Titus 1:15 “...those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.” ~NKJV),

  • Holding on to Bitterness (Hebrews 12:15 “... lest some root of bitterness cause trouble as it grows up – and on account of this many might be defiled” ~NAW),

  • and sexual immorality (Jude 1:8 “...these men, through their dreaming however are both making their physical bodies unclean and also displacing authority…” ~NAW)

• The Apostle Paul warned Timothy about people with this fleshly orientation that craves defiling things: “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. One of them, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.’ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.” (Titus 1:10-16, NKJV).

  • We also see it in Hebrews: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.” (Hebrews 12:14-16, NKJV)

  • We must fight fornication and profanity with holiness and a true understanding of the grace of God. 1 Thess. 4:7 “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness." (NKJV)

  • How typical it is of sinful human nature to take everything familiar to us and abuse it… until it destroys us, while we make fun of everything we don’t understand! It’s natural to like the hormonal highs of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll. But indulgence in those things (apart from submission to the laws of God) have burned-out, used-up, and destroyed untold millions of lost souls, while they, all the while, speak hatefully of Christians and the Bible because they just don’t comprehend the grace and love of God.

  • Jude 1:16-18 “These guys are grumblers, discontent, conducting themselves according to their own desires... there will be mockers conducting themselves according to their own ungodly desires.” (NAW)

  • Galatians 6:8 “For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” (NKJV)

• Not only is the character of ungodliness fleshly, it also carries the Satanic attitude of anarchy:

vs.10-12 They Despise Authority

• The noun translated “authority” (κυριότητος) is used in the Bible to denote kings and governors as well as perhaps spiritual authorities.

  • God commanded that we “honor... father and mother,” and that principle extends to those whom God has placed over us in the church and civil government as well (although there may be special cases where we have to resist an earthly authority if they command us to dishonor God’s higher authority).

  • The reason most folks “despise [legitimate] authority” is pride. They follow their own flesh instead of following God, and so they will follow their own nose rather than obey any authority which God has instituted in the family, church, or state.

• Peter calls this anti-authoritarian attitude “Presumptuous/bold/daring/audacious/τολμηταὶ,” which can denote either virtuous “courage” or foolish “daring.” This is a case of the latter,

  • which has parallels in Esther 1:18, 7:4-6, Matthew 22:46, Acts 7:32, Romans 15:18, 1 Corinthians 6:1, and Jude 1:9. Stringing these examples together, such a “daring” person might dishonor their spouse, kidnap and enslave others, preach their own ideas in church, get embroiled in lawsuits, question Jesus’ teachings, tangle with demons, and presume to confront God Himself. Watch out for people with obstreperous behavior like that.

• Peter also calls them “self-willed/narcissistic/arrogant,” using a compound of the Greek words autos (“self”) and hedone (“pleasure”). It is instructive to note the four other places this word occurs in the Greek Bible:

  • Genesis 49:3 - describing Reuben’s defiling of his father’s bed,

  • Genesis 49:7 - describing Simeon and Levi’s vigilante massacre of the Shechemites;

  • Prov. 21:24 “A bold [θρασὺς] and self-willed and insolent [ἀλαζὼν] man is called a pest [λοιμὸς]…”, and

  • Titus 1:7 – which uses this word in the list of things that would disqualify a man from being a church overseer. They may seem very strong and confident, but if that strength and confidence is rooted in themselves rather than in Christ, run the other way!

• The main example Peter gives us of this proud disregard for authority - this selfishness which results in never submitting to anybody, is that “they do not tremble when they blaspheme glorious beings.”

  • The Greek word Peter uses to describe what they “blaspheme/revile” is δόξας, a generic word for “glory,” in a feminine plural form. Peter doesn’t explicitly say what these “glories” were, which is probably why the ESV and NET Bible translated it “glorious ones.”

    • The old Geneva and King James Versions, however, interpreted “blaspheming glorious ones” in parallel with “despising authority,” thus the NKJV, “They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries².” And that is a fair application.

    • On the other hand, the NASB, NIV, and NLT assumed that Peter was speaking of “supernatural/celestial/angelic” beings³.

      • This may be based on the appearance of the same Greek word in Exodus 15:11 “Who is like to thee among the gods, O Lord? who is like to thee? glorified in holiness, marvellous in glories, doing wonders.” (Brenton)

      • It is even more likely considering the context of 1 Pet. 2:11 and the parallel passage in Jude which talk about “angels.”

  • Jude 1:8-10 “...these men, through their dreaming however are… also displacing authority – even blaspheming glorious beings. Even Michael the chief angel, when he was hashing it out with the Devil while making an assessment concerning the body of Moses did not go so far as to bear culpability for blasphemy but rather said, ‘May the Lord reprimand you.⁴’ But as for these men, whatever they don't understand they blaspheme, and whatever they, like the unreasoning animals, know instinctively, by these things they are corrupted.” (NAW)

  • This is one of those curious passages in the Bible where scholars can waste a lot of time on rabbit trails, but we need to focus on the main point: Jude is merely citing this story as an illustration of his point that it’s wrong to “trash-talk” things and persons that are “glorious.” If not even an archangel would dare to speak disrespectfully to Satan, how much more stupid it is for a puny human to fling reckless criticism against God and His angels!

  • We, as creatures created by God, are in no position to proudly and selfishly raise ourselves up and shake our fists at God and find fault with Him. Peter (and Jude) warn us that those who do so descend into brutish, ignorant, animal-like behavior which will end in destruction.

    • That’s what led the Jews to crucify their own Messiah, as Paul pointed out in Acts 13:26-28 "...they did not know [ἀγνοήσαντες] Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets... And, though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death.” (NKJV) And that willful ignorance is what kept them from being saved too: Romans 10:1-4 “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes⁵.”

  • Peter is not criticizing animals for being perishable; he is criticizing the wicked for their corruption in blaspheming the God they don’t want to know.

    • This kind of corruption was punished by a flood in Genesis 6:12-14 “And the Lord God saw the earth, and it was corrupted; because all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. And the Lord God said to No[ah], ‘...the earth has been filled with iniquity by them, and, behold, I destroy them and the earth.’” (Brenton)

    • This corruption was punished later in the nation of Israel by the Babylonian exile: Isaiah 24:1-6 “Look, Yahweh: empties the earth and desolates her… The earth mourns and wilts; the world languishes and wilts; the highest people of the earth languish. The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have passed over the Torah, changed statute, broken the eternal covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and inhabitants in her will be held guilty; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.” (NAW)

    • And Peter is warning that it will happen again by fire when Jesus returns.

• So beware of anyone – even in the church – who does not carry a respectful attitude toward those in authority, and don’t yield to the temptation to join in their harshly-critical words against authority, but honor authority (1 Tim 6:2).

v. 13 They Are Carousers

• This verse contains three (or four) participial phrases expounding on who will “be destroyed/consumed/perish” from v.12 and why.

• The first phrase in v.13 tells us that God will make sure that the wicked are punished:

  • The Geneva, King James, and NIV Bibles, follow the vast majority of Greek and Syriac manuscripts reading “they will be receiving the reward/getting their salary for unrighteousness,”

  • but the NAS, ESV, and NLT Bibles follow the three oldest-known Greek manuscripts and the Vulgate, which read, “while harm is done to them, the salary of unrighteousness/suffering wrong as wages for doing wrong.”

  • Both textual traditions bring across the idea that sin will not go unpunished by God; He will make sure that those who rebel against Him face the awful consequences.

  • This principle of God’s justice is all over the Bible, for instance:

    • 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (NKJV)

    • Eph. 6:8 “...whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord...”

    • Colossians 3:25 “But he who does wrong [ἀδικῶν] will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.” (NKJV)

    • Matthew 10:41 “The one who receives a prophet in a prophet's name will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous man in a righteous man's name will receive a righteous man's reward.” (NAW)

    • Revelation 22:12 Jesus said, “...I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” (NKJV)

• The second of the Greek participial phrases in v.13 expounds more on what it is that these folks do to deserve “perishing/being destroyed” by God’s wrath: “they consider indulgence/rioting/carousing/reveling during the daytime to be a pleasure.”

  • Now, “considering” certain things to be “pleasure” – like food and affection – is not wrong in-and-of itself. I love the taste and texture of scallops, and I love hugging my wife even more, and that’s healthy. The problem, as Peter explains, is filling the “daytime” with “indulgence” in pleasure – leisure, eating luxury foods, and indulging sexual appetite.

  • Titus 3:3 warns that pleasures can be enslaving: “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures…” (ESV)

  • Spending what would normally be work hours with indulgence in pleasures should be a big red flag – Paul called it “foolish, disobedient, and wayward” in Titus 3:3. It indicates the idolization of the things that bring pleasure, a departure from loving God (and others), and a heart consumed with getting more than is needed and seeking pleasure at inappropriate times. Modern psychologists call that “compulsive behavior” or an “addiction.”

  • However, many of us might have a hard time seeing what’s so bad about that, because we’ve watched so many movies of people pursuing adventure and leisure during daytime work hours that we have trained our minds to think it is normal. Similarly, we have spent so many years aspiring to retirement that we have trained our minds to think that not working during the day is actually our goal in life. But neither secular media nor secular industrial culture give us a Biblical view of work and leisure. The Bible’s view is clear:

    • Exodus 20:9-11 “Six days you shall labor and do all your work... For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day…” (NKJV)

    • Nehemiah 4:21 “...labored in the work [of rebuilding Jerusalem]... from daybreak until the stars appeared.” (NKJV)

    • Ecclesiastes 2:23 “For all his days are... his work burdensome; [and] in the night his heart takes... rest... 5:18 Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him...” (NKJV, cf. Matt. 20:12)

    • Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” (John 9:4, NKJV)

    • and Paul said “...we… worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you” (1 Thess 2:9 || 2 Thess. 3:8, NKJV). Elsewhere he said, “...those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.” (1 Thess. 5:7, NKJV) (Paul is not condoning drunkenness; he’s just saying that getting drunk during the day is taking sin to a whole new level.)

    • Romans 13:13-14 “Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (NKJV)

  • So beware of men and women who have hours during the day to spend “shooting the breeze.”

  • I should mention, by the way, that the Bible affirms some jobs like guard duty which require working at night (e.g. Neh. 4:21-22), but Peter here is talking about the wrongness of rebelling against the norm of doing the daily work which God has given us to do.

• The third of the Greek participial phrases in v.13 continues to expound on what it is that these folks do to deserve “perishing/being destroyed” by God’s wrath: they “indulge/carouse/revel in their deceptions while they feast with you.”

  • This “delighting/reveling” is mentioned only one other place in the N.T. (in a simplified form) in James 5:5 “You [rich men] lived luxuriously [ἐτρυφήσατε] upon the earth, and y'all indulged [ἐσπαταλήσατε] yourselves. Y'all feasted [ἐθρέψατε] your hearts like one would on butchering-day.” (NAW)

  • The root word in 2 Peter here is used in the Greek Old Testament to describe:

    • talking carelessly (Hab. 1:10 & Isa. 57:4),

    • eating steak (Isa. 55:2), and playing games (4 Mac. 8:8).

    • Similar language also occurs in Jude 1:12 “These men are reefs at y'all's love-feasts, fearlessly partaking of good things, feeding themselves…” (NAW)

  • But the most significant problem is not their “pleasures” (as the NIV mistakenly reads) but their “deceptions” – plural. They are not only headed for destruction, they are trying to deceive and drag other people down with them. Deception is dangerous – whether it’s in the form of exaggerated statements to impress people or downplaying the harm of evil (“You shall not surely die!”) or shifting blame to others to avoid accountability.

  • Deception, rebellion against authority, and pride are the three earmarks of a person under the control of the Devil, who is the father of lies (John 8:44) and who was the first to rebel against God’s authority in pride. If you see these three character traits in another person, don’t follow them even for a moment!

• There is a fourth phrase in v.13 describing the ungodly who will be destroyed. It could be considered as part of one of the other participial phrases since it does not have a participle of its own, or it could stand on its own ; I prefer to take it on its own. The phrase is, “They are stains and deformities/blots and blemishes.”

  • This is generally describing moral failure – disobedience to God.

  • The wisdom book of Sirach in the Apocrypha noted: “Take heed of a mischievous man, for he worketh wickedness; lest he bring upon thee a perpetual blot” (11:3, Brenton) and it goes on to identify “lying” (20:24) and sexual immorality (47:19-20) as particular “blots/stains.” (Brenton)

v.14 They Are Sexual Predators

• Their “eyes are full of adultery” in the sense of Matthew 5:28 where Jesus said, “...everyone who looks at a woman for the purpose of lusting after her already has committed adultery with her in his heart." (NAW)

  • And when the heart is full of lust like that, (cf. Rom 1:29) it spills out into actions, taking advantage of others and violating them.

  • Often this sin is carefully hidden. (Remember how David tried all kinds of ways to cover up his adultery with Bathsheba.) But eventually the truth comes out. I’m sure you can think of a few spiritual leaders in our day who were scandalized by the exposure of their secret sexual sins.

  • Billy Graham popularized the very sensible standard that never being alone with a member of the opposite sex works pretty well at keeping you from having any illegitimate children.

• But the ungodly “have a heart that’s been trained by coveting/greed”

  • Sin can easily develop unchallenged in the heart of a proud person who has no authority to submit to, and a selfish heart can justify any sin that’s convenient.

  • Unfortunately, pride, selfishness, and disregard for authority come naturally in a child’s heart, so doing nothing to challenge these attitudes trains their heart in greed and (barring a miracle) prepares them to be cursed by God.

  • Parents, you are currently in the process of training your child’s heart.

    • Are you training your children in covetousness by giving them whatever they want whenever they want it, or are you training them in righteousness by giving them what they need while helping them learn that they aren’t the center of the universe?

    • Are you training them to despise authority by not not bringing discipline and accountability into their lives, or are you exercising your God-given authority with them to train them in righteousness?

    • The popular “gentle parenting” approach is one of the best ways to ensure that your child grows up to be a narcissist. I know parents who went down that road and didn’t realize the damage they were doing to their children until years later when they had to struggle to recover their children’s hearts which they had trained in greed.

• Daniel 9:11 "Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.” (Brenton) Daniel reminds us that it’s not hopeless if we turn to God in repentance and faith in Christ – sin can be forgiven, but Peter assures us that as long as that unholy combination of pride, despising authority, deception, selfishness and greed reign unchallenged in the heart, that heart is under God’s “curse.”

• And, as an example of greed, Peter compares these ungodly men to the Canaanite prophet Balaam from the book of Numbers, saying...

vs. 15-16 They Follow The Way of Balaam

• Jude 1:11 also mentions Balaam in the same vein: “Woe to them, because they conducted themselves into the way of Cain and they poured themselves into the error of Balaam for reward, and... were destroyed." (NAW)

• Jesus also mentioned Balaam in Revelation 2:14 “But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.” (NKJV)

• Let me mention in passing that Beor was indeed the name of Balaam’s father, (the book of Numbers tells us that), but here in 2 Peter, the Geneva Bible, King James and the NET Bible are correct in giving the place-name “Bosor” instead of the father’s name “Beor.” Practically all the Greek manuscripts⁶ and editions⁷ of 2 Peter 2:15 read “Bosor,” so we know where Balaam lived as well as who his father was.

• The point is that Balaam loved money more than he loved God. He was willing to do anything to “make a buck” – especially if it meant doing subversive things to God’s people.

• So, when he saw all the riches that the king of Moab was willing to pay him to put a curse on the Hebrews (Num. 22:7), Balaam became eager to figure out a way to do just that – so eager that God made Balaam’s donkey call him down for it. But Balaam didn’t give up. When he couldn’t turn a profit at cursing the Hebrews, he came up with another strategy – send Moabite women in to the Hebrew camp to invite all the men to worship Baal and commit sexual immorality (Num. 31:16).

• Anyone who carries such greed for wealth and such disregard for God’s will and animus against God’s people is dangerous, and God will punish him, just as God punished Balaam at the edge of a sword (Num. 31)⁸.

Conclusion

• These character traits of ungodliness: fleshliness, despising authority, carousing, deceiving, having adulterous eyes and hearts, and greed are all things God will judge and punish and are all things we should repent of in ourselves and confront and avoid in others.

• But each of those negative character traits has an opposite: Godliness is spiritual, self-denying, authority-honoring, careful, humble, respectful, doing right, working during the day, honest, sexually pure, and content. Repentance includes putting on these godly traits ourselves, training our children in them, and encouraging others in them.

Comparison of Bible Translations of 2 Peter 2:1-16

GNTA	NAWB	KJVC	MurdockD (Peshitta)	RheimsE (Vulgate)
1 ᾿Εγένοντο δὲ καὶ ψευδο­προφῆταιF ἐν τῳ῀ λαῳ῀, ὡς καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν ἔσονταιG ψευδο­διδάσκαλοιH, οἵτινεςI παρεισ­άξουσινJ αἱρέσειςK ἀπωλείαςL, καὶM τὸν ἀγοράσανταN αὐτοὺς δεσπότηνO ἀρνούμενοιP, ἐπάγοντεςQ ἑαυτοῖς ταχινὴνR ἀπώλειαν·	1 Nevertheless, there were also false prophets among the people, as also among y’all there will be false teachers – those who will slip destructive heresies in, even denying the Master Who bought them, thus bringing upon themselves sudden destruction.	1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teac­hers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even deny­ing the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.	1 But there were also false proph­ets among the people, even as there shall be among you lying teach­ers who shall X bring in sects of perdition and deny the Lord who bought them: bring­ing upon themselves swift destruction.	1 But in the world, there have been also false prophets, as there will likewise be false teach­ers among you, who will X bring in destructive heresies, X denying the Lord that bought them; thus bringing on them­selves swift destruction.
2̈ καὶ πολλοὶ ἐξακολουθή­σουσινS αὐτῶν ταῖς ἀσελγεί­αιςT, δι᾿ οὓςU ἡ ὁδὸς τῆς ἀλη­θείας βλασ­φημηθήσεται·	2 And many will follow into their immoralities, on account of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.	2 And many shall follow X their perni­cious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.	2 And many shall follow X their riotous­ness, throughV whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.	2 And many will go after X their pro­faneness; on account of whom, the way of truth will be reproached.
3̈ καὶ ἐν πλεονεξίᾳW πλαστοῖςX λόγ­οις ὑμᾶς ἐμπορεύ­σονταιY, οἷς τὸ κρῖμα ἔκπαλαιZ οὐκ ἀργεῖAA, καὶ ἡ ἀπώλεια αὐτῶν οὐ νυστάζειAB.	3 In greed they will also market them­selves to y’all using plastic words, against whom the judgment from of old is not inact­ive, and their destruction is not dormant.	3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judg­ment [now] of a long time linger­eth not, and their damna­tion slum­bereth not.	3 And through cov­etousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you. Whose judg­ment [now] of a long time linger­eth not: and their perdi­tion slum­bereth not.	3 And, in the cupidity of raving words, they will make merchandise of you: whose judg­ment, of a long time, is not idle; and their destruc­tion slum­bereth not.
4̈ εἰAC γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἀγγέλωνAD ἁμαρτησάντωνAE οὐκ ἐφείσατο, ἀλλὰ σειραῖςAF ζόφουAG ταρταρ­ώσαςAH παρέδω­κεν εἰςAI κρίσιν τηρουμένουςAJ,	4 For, since God did not spare – but rather dungeoned – angels in chains of gloom when they sinned (He committed them so they are kept-secure for judgment.),	4 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;	4 For if God spared not [the] angels that sinned, but delivered them, drawn down by in­fernal ropes to the lower hell, [unto tor­ments,] to be reserved unto judgment:	4 For, if God spared not [the] angels that sinned, but cast them down to the infernal re­gions in chains of darkness, and delivered them up to be kept unto the judgment [of torture],
5̈ καὶ ἀρχαίου κόσμου οὐκ ἐφείσατο, ἀλλὰ ὄγδοονAK Νῶε δικαιοσύνης κήρυκα ἐφύλαξε, κατακλυσμὸνAL κόσμῳ ἀσεβῶν ἐπάξαςAM,	5 nor did He spare the ancient world, but rather protected the eight [under the name of] Noah the preacher of righteousness, after bringing on the flood upon the world of those who were ungodly,	5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;	5 And spared not the ori­ginal world, but preserved Noe, the eighth per­son, the preacher of justice, bring­ing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.	5 and spared not the for­mer world, but preserved Noah the eighth per­son, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the wicked;
6 καὶ πόλεις ΣοδόμωνAN καὶ Γομόρρας τεφρώσαςAO καταστροφῃ῀AP κατέκρινενAQ, ὑπόδειγμα μελλόντωνAR ἀσεβε[σ]ῖνAS τεθεικώςAT,	6 and He condemned to catastrophe the cities of Sodom and of Gomorrah, turning them to ash (thereby instituting an example of the things about to happen to the ungodly),	6 And turn­ing the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes con­demned them with an over­throw, making them an en­sample unto those that after should live ungodly;	6 And reduc­ing the cities of the Sodom­ites and of the Gomor­rhites into ashes, con­demned them to be overthrown, making [them] an example to those that should after act wickedly,	6 and burned up the cities of Sodom and Gomor­rah, and condemned them by an overthrow, making [them] a demonstra­tion to the wicked who should come after [them];
7̈ καὶ δίκαιον Λὼτ καταπονού­μενονAU ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν ἀθέσμωνAV ἐν ἀσελγείᾳAW ἀναστροφῆςAX ἐρρύσατο·	7 yet rescued righteous Lot, who was over­whelmed by the lifestyle of those who were depraved in immorality	7 And deliv­ered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conver­sation of the wicked:	7 And deliv­ered just Lot, oppressed by the injustice and lewd con­versation of the wicked:	7 and [also] delivered righteous Lot, who was tor­mented with the fil­thy conduct of the lawless;
8̈ βλέμματι γὰρ καὶ ἀκοῃ῀ ὁ δίκαιος, ἐγκατ­οικῶνAY ἐν αὐ­τοῖς, ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας ψυχὴν δικαίαν ἀνόμοις ἔργοις ἐβασάνιζεν·	8 (because while that righteous man was dwelling down among them, day by day, he was tormenting a righteous soul by seeing and by listening to unlawful exploits),	8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day [to] day with their unlaw­ful deeds;)	8 For in sight and hearing he was X just, dwelling among them [who] from day [to] day vexed [the] just soul with unjust works.	8 for that up­right man dwell­ing among them, in seeing and hearing from day [to] day, [was] distres­sed [in his] right­eous soul by [their] lawless deeds;
9 οἶδε Κύριος εὐσεβεῖς ἐκ πειρασμοῦAZ ῥύεσθαι, ἀδίκους δὲ εἰς ἡμέραν κρίσεως κολαζομένουςBA τηρεῖν,	9 the Lord knows how to rescue those who are godly out of temptation and to keep the un­righteous for the Day of Judgment when they will be punished -	9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:	9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly from temptation, but to reserve the unjust unto the day of judg­ment to be tormented:	9 the Lord knoweth how to rescue from afflictions those who fear [him]; and he will re­serve the wick­ed for the day of judgment to be tormented,
GNT Majority	NAW	KJV	Murdock (Peshitta)	Rheims (Vulgate)
10̈ μάλιστα δὲ τοὺς ὀπίσωBB σαρκὸς ἐν ἐπι­θυμίᾳ μιασ­μοῦBC πορευ­ομένους καὶ κυριότητοςBD καταφρον­οῦντας. τολμη­ταίBE αὐθάδ­ειςBF, δόξαςBG οὐ τρέμ­ουσιBH βλασφημ­οῦντεςBI,	10 and especially those who go after what is flesh­ly in lust after uncleanness and who despise authority. Narcissistically daring, they do not tremble when they blaspheme glorious beings,	10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptu­ous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.	10 And especially them who walk after the flesh in the lust of un­cleanness and despise government: audacious, self willed, they fear not to bring in sects, blas­pheming.	10 and esp­ecially them who go after the flesh in the lust[s] of pollution, and despise gov­ernment. Daring [and] arrogant, they shudder not with aweX while they blaspheme;
11 ὅπουBJ ἄγγελοι, ἰσχύϊ καὶ δυνάμει μείζονες ὄντες, οὐ φέρουσι κατ᾿ αὐτῶν παρὰ ΚυρίῳBK βλάσφημον κρίσιν.	11 whereas, even though they are great­er in strength and in power, angels do not bring against them a blas­phemous criti­cism before the Lord.	11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.	11 Whereas angels, who are greater in strength and power, bring not against themselves a railing judg­ment X XBL.	11 whereas angels, great­er than they in might and valor, bring not against them a re­proachful denunciation X X.
12 οὗτοιBM δέ, ὡς ἄλογα ζῷαBN φυσικὰ BOγεγεννημένα εἰς ἅλωσινBP καὶ φθοράν, ἐν οἷς ἀγνοοῦσιBQ βλασφημ­οῦντες, ἐν τῃ῀ φθορᾳ῀ αὐτῶνBR κατα­φθαρήσονταιBS,	12 These guys, however, are like unreason­ing, natural ani­mals which were born for dom­estication and consump­tion. It is con­cerning things of which they are ignorant that they are blaspheming. Indeed, they will be con­sumed by their corruption –	12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; [and] shall utterly perish in their own corruption;	12 But these men, as irra­tional beasts, naturally tend­ing to [the] snare and to dest­ruction, blas­pheming X those things which they know not, shall X per­ish in their cor­ruption:	12 But these, like the dumb beasts that by nature are for slaughter and corruption, while revil­ing X the things they know not, will X per­ish in their own corrup­tion;
13 κομιούμεν­οιBT μισθὸνBU ἀδικίας· ἡδονὴνBV ἡγού­μενοιBW τὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τρυφήνBX, σπίλοιBY καὶ μῶμοι, ἐν­τρυφῶντεςBZ ἐν ταῖς ἀπάταιςCA αὐτῶν συν­ευωχούμενοιCB ὑμῖν,	13 they who will be getting the reward of un­righteous­ness, they who reckon indulg­ence during the daytime to be a pleasure. They are stains and deformi­ties; they who indulge in their decep­tions while partaking food with you -	13 [And] shall receive the reward of un­righteousness, as they that count it pleas­ure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemish­es, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;	13 Receiving the reward of [their] injust­ice, counting for a pleasure [the] delight[s] of a day: stains and spots, sporting themselves to excess, X rioting in [their] feasts with you:	13 they being persons [with whom] iniquity is the reward of iniquity, [and] by them riot­ing in the daytime is accounted delightful; defiled and full of spots are they, indulging themselves at their ease, while they give themselves up to pleasure X X;
14̈ ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντες μεσ­τοὺς μοιχαλίδος καὶ ἀκαταπαύσ­τουςCC ἁμαρτί­αςCD, δελεάζ­οντεςCE ψυχὰς ἀστηρίκτουςCF, καρδίαν γεγυμ­νασμένην πλεονεξίαςCG ἔχοντες, κατάραςCH τέκνα·	14 they who have eyes full of adultery and unceasing concerning sin, they who seduce unsta­ble souls, those who have a heart that’s been trained by coveting, they who are children of the curse.	14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous prac­tice[s]; cursed children:	14 Having eyes full of adultery and of sin that ceaseth not: alluring un­stable souls: having [their] heart exer­cised with covet­ous­ness: child­ren of male­diction.	14 having eyes that are full of adult­ery, and sins that never end; seducing unstable souls; and having a heart exer­cised in cu­pidity; child­ren of male­diction:
15 καταλείπ­οντεςCI εὐθεῖαν ὁδὸνCJ ἐπλανήθησαν, ἐξακολουθή­σαντες τῃ῀ ὁδῳ῀ τοῦ ΒαλαὰμCK τοῦ ΒοσόρCL, ὃς μισθὸν ἀδικίας ἠγάπησεν,	15 They were made to wander astray after leaving the right way behind, following the way of Bal­aam from Bosor (who loved the salary of un­righteousness),	15 Which have forsak­en the right way, [and] are gone astray, foll­owing the way of Bal­aam the son of Bosor, who loved the wage[s] of unright­eousness;	15 Leaving the right way, they have gone astray, hav­ing followed the way of Balaam of Bosor who loved the wage[s] of iniquity,	15 [and], having left the way of rectitude, they have wandered [and] gone in the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wage[s] of iniquity,
16̈ ἔλεγξινCM δὲ ἔσχεν ἰδίας παρανομίαςCN· ὑποζύγιον ἄφωνον ἐν ἀνθρώπου φωνῃ῀ φθεγ­ξάμενον ἐκώλυσε τὴν τοῦ προφήτου παραφρονίαν.	16 but he got a rebuke be­cause of his own trans­gression: a dumb donkey making utter­ance with a human voice restrained the madness of the prophet.	16 But was rebuked for his X iniquity: [the] dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.	16 But had a check of his X madness, [the] dumb beast used to the yokeCO, which, speaking with man's voice, for­bade the folly of the prophet.	16 and who had for the reprover of his transgres­sion a dumb ass, which, speaking with the speech of men, rebuked the madness of the prophet.

1cf. Rom. 1:24, Eph. 4:19, 1 Pet. 4:3, & 2 Pet. 3:3 on the dangers of lust.

2This was also John Calvin’s position.

3This was the position of Vincent & Robertson.

4cf. Zecheriah 3

5Offenses committed against God in ignorance can be pardoned: 1 Tim. 1:13 “...I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.” (NKJV) Heb. 5:2 “He is able to be moderate toward the ignorant ones and erring ones since He Himself is also surrounded with weakness.” (NAW)

6With only one exception: Vaticanus.

7With only one exception: Westcott-Hort.

8Numbers 22:7 “So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner's fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak... 22:28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’... 31:16 these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD… 31:8 They killed... the five kings of Midian. Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword.” (NKJV)

A1904 "Patriarchal" edition of the Greek Orthodox Church, as published by E-Sword in June 2016. Annotated by NAW where the 27^th edition of the Nestle-Aland GNT differs.

BNathan A Wilson’s translation

CKing James Version of the Holy Bible (a.k.a. Authorized Version), 1769 edition, as published by E-Sword in July 2019.

DTranslation of the Peshito Syriac New Testament into English by James Murdock. Published in 1851. Republished by E-sword in June 2016.

ERheims New Testament first published by the English College at Rheims, A.D. 1582, Revised by Bishop Richard Challoner, A.D. 1749-1752, as published by E-sword in June 2016.

FThis term “false-prophet” shows up in Zechariah 13:2 and Jeremiah 6:13; 33:7-16, and 34:9-36:8. In the NT, Jesus mentioned “false-prophets” in Matt. 7:15-17 and indicated that a proliferation of false prophets would be a “sign” of the “close of the age” before His “return” in Matt. 24:4-27 . Paul and Barnabas ran into a false prophet in Crete on their first missionary journey in Acts 13:6-11, and John mentioned how to identify false prophets in 1 John 4:1-3 and prophesied of the coming of a singular “false prophet” who will ultimately be cast into hell in Rev. 16:13, 19:20, and 20:10.

G“Peter speaks of them as future, and Jude (Jude 1:4) as present.” ~Vincent
Gordon Clark theorized that if there were an initial peaceful stage in church-planting without challenges from false teachers yet, followed by the inevitable rise of false teachers, this could explain the difference between Peter’s future tense and Jude’s present tense.
D.F. Zeller suggested that it was a “future of certainty” referring to present conditions which should be taken for granted in the future.

HHapex Legomenon. “The change in wording from pseudo prophetai to pseudo didaskaloi may indicate that prophets and apostles are on a level, but that teachers are on a lower level. At any rate, the Christian community of the second century, as well as the first, made a sharp distinction.” ~Gordon Clark

I“This indefinite relative pronoun is used qualitatively in order to bring out the characteristic, or the class of people to which these false teachers belonged.” ~D.F. Zeller

JHapex Legomenon. An adjectival form occurs once in Galatians 2:4, when Paul relates how “false brothers secretly brought in… came… that they might bring us into bondage” but “we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue…” (NKJV)

KFausset: “heresies — self-chosen doctrines, not emanating from God (compare “will-worship,” Col. 2:23).”

L“Descriptive genitive” ~A.T. Robertson. Regarding this “destruction,” cf. Phil. 1:27-28 & 3:8-9, 2 Thess. 2:1-4, and 2 Peter 3:15-18.

MLander tagged this conjunction as Louw & Nida semantic domain #89.93a “even, indeed (ascensive).” “Heresies” is plural, so the singular action of “denying Christ” seems to describe the worst of (or epitome of?) these heresies.

NJohn Gill, J.B. Mayor, and Gordon Clark postulated that this is referring to Yahweh who redeemed the Jews from slavery in Egypt rather than to Christ redeeming His elect by His blood on the cross. They argue that the absense of any other name for Christ but “despot” and the absense of anything else about the theology of redemption and the cross, and the presuppositions of the Jewish-background audience of Peter’s ministry would all support this interpretation. Gill and Clark were further motivated to by their reformed theology to avoid asserting that God had actually redeemed these false teachers, an assertion that A.T. Robertson didn’t hesitate to make. Problems with this position include the strong parallel with Jude which identifies the “despot” as “Jesus Christ” and the fact that nowhere in the Old Testament is this verb root used to referr to God’s redemption of the Jews from Egypt, whereas it is used to refer to the redemption of Christians by Jesus on the cross in four places in the New Testament (1 Cor. 6:20 & 7:23, and Rev. 5:9 & 14:3-4). John Calvin, Matthew Henry, Alford, Lenski, and D.F. Zeller interpreted it as Jesus’ redemption of Christians, and A.R. Fausset concurred, “The denial of His propitiatory sacrifice is included in the meaning (compare 1 Jn. 4:3).” Lenski and Alford used this as a platform to advocate universalism, whereas the others did not grapple with the problem of a redeemed person being a false teacher. The New Geneva Study Bible seems to offer the best solution that this is “describing the false teachers in terms of their own profession,” in other words, “the Master whom [they profess to have] bought them” - and, as such they should not be in rebellion against Him, but since their profession is fake, they are not actually redeemed but destined for perdition.

OAlthough uncommon as a designation for God, this term is used as such in the N.T. a few other times: Lk. 2:29, Acts 4:24, 2 Tim. 2:21, Jude 1:4, and Rev. 6:10. It matches the Accusative Masculine Singular substantive participle “the one who bought.”

PThis Present tense participle is epexegetical, explaining at least one (perhaps the worst) of the aforementioned heresies. It is the same verb Peter used to describe what the Jews did to Jesus in Acts 3:13. (See also: 2 Tim. 2:12, Titus 1:16, 1 John 2:22-23, Jude 1:4, Rev. 2:13 & 3:18.)

QThis Present tense participle denotes the result of the previous action. Fausset commented, “[C]ompare ‘God bringing in the flood upon the world,’ 2 Pet. 2:5. Man brings upon himself the vengeance which God brings upon him.”

RWhen God’s “punishment” comes, it will be “swift” and “destructive,” as we’ll see in chapter 3, but, as we will also see in chapter 3, that “swiftness” does not necessarily characterize the entire length of time between the commission of sin and the judgment of it.
“Peter’s death is tachine; the destruction of the false teachers is tachinen. It seems to make little difference whether we translate it as suddenly or swiftly.” ~G. Clark

SThis verb is used in the NT only in 2 Peter. Cf. 1:16 “... it was not after following sophisticated stories that we made [Christ] known to y'all...” and 2:15 “...following the way of Balaam…” In the LXX, it appears in Job 31:9; Amos 2:4; Isa. 56:11; Jer. 2:2; and Dan. 3:41, sometimes indicating faithfully “following” God, and sometimes indicating “following” ungodly influences into apostasy. The standard English versions are missing something by translating this word as simply “follow.”

TCf. Gal. 5:19, Eph. 4:17-19, 1 Peter 4:3-5, and Jude 1:4. Textus Receptus reads apwleiaiV (“destructions”), which is why the NKJV reads “destructive ways,” but there is no known Greek manuscript which contains that word. The word in all the Greek manuscripts is the alpha-privative of the Greek word for “continent.” But in both the Greek manuscripts and the T.R., this noun is Dative. It is appropriate to render the Dative case by the English preposition “into,” but no standard English translation does this, perhaps because, in almost every occurrence of this verb “follow” in the Greek Bible, the thing followed is in the Dative case (the exception being Dan. 3:41), so it is assumed by many that the verb requires the Dative case and that the Dative case therefore has no lexical meaning in this instance, but I am not convinced, nor was A.T. Robertson, who labelled this as an “Associative instrumental.”

UThe Greek is unclear whether this relative pronoun in the Accusative case (“whom”) relates to the Nominative (“many”) or to the Genitive “their” (presumably identical with the Nominative “pseudo-prophets” and “pseudo-didactics” in the previous verse). Calvin thought it was the former, but Fausset, ATR, Clark, Zeller, and I think the latter.

VThis Greek preposition indicates instrumentality (“through/by means of”) when its object is Genitive, but causality (“because/on account of”) when its object is Accusative, and the object is Accusative here.

WThe Dative case of this noun indicates the emotional state “in” which the false teachers exist and which motivates them to “market” falsehood (cf. Fausset & Vincent). It occurs again in v.14. This is in stark contrast to the ministry of the Biblical Apostles who upheld the value of Holy Scripture and operated under the authority of Christ and so were not greedy or man-centered. (1 Thess. 2:4-6 “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness--God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.” ~NKJV) This “covetous/greed” is the exact opposite of relying on God’s word according to Psalm 119:36 “Incline mine heart to thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.” (Brenton) Biblical prophets spoke out against covetousness in the leaders of their days (Jeremiah 22:17, Ezek. 22:27), and Jesus said, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:15, NKJV) In Ephesians 4:1-19, the Apostle Paul adds, “...you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” (NKJV) That is life without the truth of the Bible or the divine authority of Christ.

XHapex Legomenon. The tendency for Secular Humanists to fabricate new vocabulary is an intriguing thesis. (c.f. Orwell’s 1984)
“...not necessarily ‘false’ words, but... words suited to their objective – greed for money… [I]n the papyri and Josephus it is used to refer to a forged document.” ~D.F. Zeller

YThis Greek word denotes “doing business/conducting trade/marketing,” and nowhere else in the Bible does it connote doing so dishonestly, as all the contemporary English versions imply here (Viz. Gen. 34:10, 21; 42:34; 2 Chr. 1:16; 9:14; Prov. 3:14; 31:14; Hos. 12:2; Amos 8:6; Ezek. 27:13, 21; Jas. 4:13. A noun form is in John 2:16 “...my Father’s house an emporium.”). This verb is in the middle voice, which would normally mean that they “market themselves.” Throughout the Biblical use of this verb, the things traded are marked with the Dative (or Genitive) case, whereas the persons with whom the trade is conducted are marked with the Accusative case; “y’all” here is accusative, so “y’all” are the ones to whom they are trying to “market themselves” (i.e. their false teachings).

ZThe only other occurrence of this word is in 3:5, where it describes the “being of the heavens.” Without the ek- prefix, the root refers to the “beginning” of things – as in creation in Isa. 37:26 & 48:5-7 (and probably Heb. 1:1), or to relatively “long ago” in Matt. 11:21 || Lk. 10:13 (“they would have repented long ago”), or to a “long duration” of time Mk. 15:44 (“has he been dead long?”). (See also 2 Cor. 12:19 & Jude 1:4). Fausset, Vincent, Clark, and Zeller advocated for “long ago” over “of long duration.”

AAThis verb is found nowhere else in the NT, but is in Ezr. 4:24, 2 Mac. 5:25, Eccl. 12:3, and Sir. 33:28, indicating people pausing an activity. The NIV is quite a stretch from this idea of “not suspending.”

ABCuriously, the majority of Greek manuscripts throw this word into the future tense (nustaxei), emphasizing the future-ness of the judgment, but all 5 of the oldest-known manuscripts, as well as a sizable minority of the Byzantine manuscripts, read Present tense (nustazei, matching the previous verb “is idle”), emphasizing the current-ness of the operations of God’s judgment. The latter is followed by both Critical GNT editions and Textus Receptus editions, as well as by the ancient Latin and Syriac versions and all the standard English versions (except for the NIV, which oddly rendered both verbs perfect tense). Greek Orthodox GNT editions are split between the two spellings. It is often paired with the verb for “sleep” coming after it, so it could indicate the early stages of falling asleep. It is also found in Matt. 25:5 and in the LXX 2 Sam. 4:6, Ps. 75:7, 120:3-4, Prov. 6:10, 24:33, Nah. 3:18, Isa. 5:27, 56:10, & Jer. 23:31.

ACThis is not a hypothetical “if,” since it refers to historical facts as the grounds for knowing what God will do. Thus ATR calls it a first class conditional, even though it is not a textbook example. (Normally a first class condition would use present indicatives but this uses aorists.) This extended conditional contains three protases, and the apodosis is in v.9.

ADThe fact that “angels” has no definite article led ATR to believe it was emphatic “even angels.”
What historical event is Peter describing? This Greek noun could mean “angels” or could mean human “messengers,” but nowhere else in the Greek Bible is this noun

• the subject of the verb “sin,” or the verb “delivered” or of the verb “Tartarized/cast into hell” (or even associated with “Tartarus/the depths”)

• or the object of the verb “spare” (or “not spare” - although there are 3 instances of God sending “angels” to “spare” His people: Gen. 19:16-Lot, 2 Chr. 36:15; Isa. 63:9),

• nor is it ever associated with the word for “chains” mentioned in this verse (although Jude 1:6 associates it with a synonym for this word for “chains”).

• There is one (and only one) verse in the Greek Bible, however, which associates “angels” with the word for “darkness/gloom” as well as with God “keeping them for judgment,” and that is Jude 1:6 “...He [God] has been keeping in everlasting chains [δεσμοῖς] under gloom for the judgment of the Great Day the angels which did not keep their own principality but instead have left their proper home.” (NAW)

The fact that it would be hard to understand this verse in 2 Peter without the book of Jude to explain it is a point in favor of Jude being written first and Peter alluding to Jude here.

AEThe contemporary English versions translate this participle temporally “when they sinned,” while the older versions translate it adjectivally “who/that sinned.” D.F. Zeller commented that “it is probably best to consider it as both [temporal and adjectival].”

AFThis noun occurs only two other places in the Greek Bible: in Judges 16:13-19 (Describing the seven ‘locks’ of Sampson’s hair) and in Prov. 5:22 (describing the way sin ‘binds up’ the wicked). The NASB (followed by the NLT) decided to use the odd spelling of a single Greek manuscript (Sinaiticus, the curators of which recognized that the original word was misspelled and corrected it in the margin to the root found in all other Greek manuscripts, two of which are older than Sinaiticus) and identified it with a Greek word used nowhere else in the Bible (“σιρός ... a pit for grain storage” ~NASEC). The parallel passage in Jude, however, uses a synonym for “chains,” not “pits,” and nowhere in the Bible is the place of the dead a plurality (as in “pits”), whereas “chains” are naturally plural. D. F. Zeller left his usual deference to the UBS to support “chains.”

AGcf. Jude 1:6 where this “gloomy darkness” is part of the punishment of rebellious angels, and Jude 1:12-13 (|| 2 Pet. 2:17) where this is part of the punishment for wicked men.

AHHapex Legomenon. A cognate noun appears 3 times in the Greek O.T. (Prov. 30:16; Job 40:20; 41:24) seeming to denote places so deep underwater or underground as to be inaccessible to mankind, but accessible to mysterious creatures. D. F. Zeller labeled it as “almost an apposition clause to… ‘delivered (them) over to the gloomy darkness.’”

AILander chose Louw & Nida semantic domain #89.57 (“intent... expected result - 'for the purpose of, in order to.'), and most English versions were thinking along the same lines when they rendered this preposition “for” or “unto.” The ESV, NET, and NLT, however, rendered it temporally “until,” which is the second meaning for this word listed in Arndt & Gingrich’s Greek lexicon.

AJHalf of the oldest-known manuscripts add the word “be punished/tortured” which made it into the Vulgate and Peshitta, but not into the popular Greek editions. The Textus Receptus turns the present tense spelling into a perfect tense (tethrhmenouV), which makes slightly clearer sense historically (“they have been kept” rather than “they are being kept”), but is not supported by any known Greek manuscripts, and the KJV & NKJV which followed the T.R. didn’t even give it a perfect tense translation. The Present tense emphasizes that the incarceration of these demons is the present situation and that it is ongoing. Most English versions translated this participle with an English infinitive, but the participle denotes the purpose for which God delivered/committed the demons: so that they will be kept secure for judgment.

AKThe spelling of this word is ordinal, so it is literally “eighth,” the previous seven (Noah’s wife, three sons, and their wives) going unnamed. It is lost on me why the NASB, NIV, and ESV should think that changing the number to “seven” and adding the word “others” is any more accurate a translation than the old versions (“the eighth person”). Lightfoot wrote of another possible interpretation: “Noah, the eighth preacher of righteousness,” calculating from Enos, but why would Enos be the starting point? And, since the Bible doesn’t associate any form of the word for “righteousness” with any of Noah’s ancestors, what basis is there to assume they were all “preachers of righteousness”?

ALThe is the word the LXX uses for Noah’s “flood” in Gen. 6-9.

AMThe Aorist tense of this participle denotes that the flood came on before God’s guardianship of the eight, however, all the English versions translate this participle as though it were in present tense and happened only during the flood. This is only a minor point, but the Greek Aorist adds the consideration that God’s preservation of the eight lasted beyond the flood itself so that they could survive and repopulate the world.

ANMoule, ATR, and Wallace all considered “of Sodom” and “of Gomorrah” to be “genitives of apposition,” identifying what was meant by “cities,” but, as ATR admitted, they could just as well be genitives of possession, because there were cities or suburbs surrounding these capitols which were part of their political body.

AOApocryphal instances make clear that this has to do with “ash” but this root appears nowhere else in the Greek Bible. I think many translators chose to pair it with the word “turn” because “στροφη/turn” is part of the following word (“catastrophe”). DFZ believed that the root not only contained the idea of “ash” but also of “covering with ash,” however, he didn’t explain why, and I found no other source confirming him. The Aorist tense could mean that God prepared ashes to be the means of destruction before the condemnation.

APLit. “downturn” This is transliterated “catastrophe,” and it is the word used of God’s destruction of those cities by fire and brimstone in the LXX (Genesis 19:28-29 “And he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrha, and towards the surrounding country, and saw, and behold a flame went up from the earth, as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass that when God destroyed [ἐκτρῖψαι] all the cities of the region round about, God remembered Abraam, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when the Lord overthrew those cities in which Lot dwelt.” ~Brenton) The word is often translated “overthrow” in the Bible, although it shouldn’t be conceived of here in terms of one human agency overthrowing another, but of God wiping out a people whose wickedness could no longer be tolerated (and who were utterly unresponsive to warning or grace). About half of the oldest-known Greek manuscripts do not have the word, but the word was carried through into the Vulgate and Peshitta and into the overwhelming majority of later manuscripts and therefore into both the traditional and (most of the) critical editions. Its omission does not damage the overall meaning, since “condemned, burning to ashes” is not significantly different from “condemned to catastrophe, burning to ashes.” The KJV translated the Dative case of this word with the English word “with,” whereas the contemporary versions translated the Dative case with the English word “to,” the ESV following what Turner suggested in 1963 in his Grammar, “to extinction.”

AQThis is the main verb of Peter’s third instance of God’s judgment: “God did not spare…. Nor did He spare… He also condemned…,” and there are two participles dependent on this main verb: “turning to ash,” and “having set an example.”

ARThe Genitive case of this participle should be more naturally translated “of” than “to,” predisposing the meaning to “of the things about to happen” (NIV, ESV) rather than “to the men about to come” (Alford, NKJV, NASB). The root meaning has to do with what is “impending,” not what is “after.” ATR and DFZ agreed.

ASAbout 10 Greek manuscripts, including a couple of the oldest-known ones, insert a sigma into the ending, transforming the infinitive (“to be ungodly”) into a dative noun (“to the ungodly men”), which makes good sense, and was followed by the ancient Syriac, Coptic, and Armenian versions as well as most contemporary critical Greek editions. The infinitive spelling in the majority of Greek manuscripts (as well as the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions and the ancient Latin versions) seems odd as a verb, but could be interpreted as a substantive infinitive, meaning the same as the noun form, so the variants aren’t substantially different.

ATThe perfect tense of this participle is hard to translate. The NASB and NET are the only English versions I found which actually translated it (“having made [them] an example”). The idea is that at the time of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, God set up an example of judgment which still stands as an example in the present.

AUOnly here and Acts 7:24 (describing a Hebrew slave being mercilessly beaten by an Egyptian) but also in 3 Maccabees 2:2&13. I wonder if this might correlate with παρεβιάζοντο in the LXX of Genesis 19:9. The “righteousness” of Lot and his being “tormented” by the sins of Sodom are hard to reconcile with his greedy choice to edge his uncle Abraham out of the best pastureland, the compromises he made to live in Sodom, the ungodly character of his wife and children and in-laws, and his cowardly permission to the Sodomites to abuse his daughters. But the reason Lot was “righteous” was because God decided to make Abraham righteous, and so everyone in Abraham’s household was holy, from the hundreds of foreign slaves Abraham retained, to his children, to his nephew Lot who lived with him for a time. Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham had haggled God down to committing not to destroy those cities if there were at least 10 “righteous” persons residing there (Gen. 18:32).

AVRare alpha-privative of tithemi (“not positioned” or “dis-oriented” or “de-ranged”) only here and 3:17, where it is also translated “wicked/unprincipled/lawless.” (It’s also in 3 Macc. 5:12.) It reminds me of Rom. 1:28 and Psalm 81:11-12. In Greek, the prepositional phrase “by their conduct” is interrupted by the two prepositional phrases “of the unprincipled/lawless men” and “in sensuality/immorality,” so “in sensuality/filthy” is grouped together with “of unprincipled/lawless/wicked men” and together, the phrases “of those who are disoriented/lawless in sensuality/immorality” then describes what kind of “conduct” was “distressing/oppressing/vexing” Lot.

AWcf. v.2, where the KJV, NKJV, NIV, Murdock, & Rheims all translated it differently. Here, it is a prepositional phrase “in licentiousness,” but all standard English versions translated it as an adverb, which is a legitimate possibility, but curious that this less-usual way of translating it would be unanimous.

AXLit. “upturn” Even if you count Hebrews under Paul’s writings, Peter still uses this word twice as many times, more than any other Biblical author (1 Pet. 1:15, 18; 2:12; 3:1-2, 16; 2 Pet. 2:7; 3:11). It denotes one’s lifestyle and its outcome.

AYHapex Legomenon. The egkata- prefix means “in,” so it emphasizes “making your home among.” DFZ noted, “...Lot was living there as a resident, not just a temporary visitor,” and added, “Here is another participle which can be described as having both a temporal and adjectival emphasis.”

AZ10 Greek manuscripts (the oldest being Sinaiticus) spelled “temptations” plural, and the KJV/NKJV, followed by Scrivener’s and Tischendorf’s editions of the Greek New Testament, followed by the NIV, NET, ESV, and NLT all render “temptations” plural. However, the majority of Greek manuscripts (including P⁷², Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, and Ephraemi Rescriptus) all spell “temptation” singular, and the editions of the GNT which follow the majority text are the Textus Receptus, Patristic and contemporary Greek Orthodox, Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, Tregelles, and UBS. Among the versions, the ancient Latin Vulgate, the Geneva Bible, and the ASV/NASB kept it singular. There is no significant difference in meaning, for in the whole counsel of Scripture, it is never suggested that God will only rescue us once or twice – or three times but then no more after that. The idea is that God keeps his people from losing faith in Him whenever they face any temptation, however many temptations that may be. We also see from the rest of Scripture that “rescuing from temptation” does not mean protecting you from ever experiencing hardships.

BAThis word only occurs here and Acts 4:21 in the Greek Bible, but there are 21 more instances in the Apocrypha. English versions interpret the participial form in two different ways: (1) Calvin, KJV, NET, Rheims, and Murdock interpreted it as purposive: “kept in order to be punished on Judgment Day,” (2) The Geneva Bible, Vincent, NKJV, NASB, NIV, ESV, and NLT interpreted it as descriptive of the circumstances of the main verb: “keep under punishment until Judgment Day,” implying that God punishes before He judges. Of those two options, the former makes better sense to me, but I would suggest that yet another interpretation could be made which is temporal, the present tense of the participle making it contemporary to the event described in the phrase immediately prior to it, namely Judgment Day, thus punishment starting on the day the judgment comes down, although this does not preclude punishment coming before the event as well. DFZ was the only commentator I found to say anything about this, and what he said was, “...where they go first is only temporary… incarceration awaiting the final sentencing which is described in Rev. 20:10, and there is some degree of punishment as they wait for the judgment.”

BB Jude used this word in a similar manner Jude 1:7 ...ἀπελθοῦσαι ὀπίσω σαρκὸς ἑτέρας… (“…going after strange flesh…” KJV). Conversely, this word was used by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew to describe following Him as a disciple.

BCHapex Legomenon (although twice in the Apocrypha 1 Mac. 4:43 – stones made ceremonially-unclean by bloodshed; Wis. 14:26). The related noun miasma (“shameful thing/crime/misdeed”) is in v.20 as well as Lev. 7:18 (describing meat more than 3 days old), Jeremiah 39:34 (“And they set their pollutions [i.e. idols] in the house, on which my name was called, by their uncleannesses.”) and Ezekiel 33:31 (“They approach thee as a people comes together, and sit before thee, and hear thy words, but they will not do them: for there is falsehood in their mouth, and their heart goes after their pollutions.”) (Brenton).
The verb form miainw is much more common, appearing 122x in the LXX, only 4 times of which are in the NT: John 18:28 (“...did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled…”), Titus 1:15 “...those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.”) (NKJV), Hebrews 12:15 (“... lest some root of bitterness cause trouble as it grows up – and on account of this many might be defiled”) and Jude 1:8 (“...these men, through their dreaming however are both making their physical bodies unclean and also displacing authority…”) (NAW)

BDThis noun (κυριότητος) only occurs in the Greek Bible here and in Eph. 1:21; Col. 1:16, and Jude 1:8. In all the other cases, the context is not speaking of the Lordship of God/Jesus, but of other authoritative entities, some of which may be spiritual and at least some of which seem to be this-worldly. cf. 1 Timothy 6:2 “And those who have believing masters [δεσπότας], let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers and beloved…” (NKJV)

BEHapex Legomenon. Presumptuous, bold, daring, audacious. Its verb form, however, is common, denoting both virtuous “courage” as well as foolish “daring.” This is a case of the latter, which has parallels in the OT in Esther 1:18 (“so... the other ladies… of the Persians and Medes… [might] dare in the same way to dishonour their husbands.”) and Esther 7:4-6 (“...the king said, ‘Who is this that has dared to do this thing?’ ...to sell [my wife and her] people for destruction, and pillage, and slavery… And Esther said, ‘the adversary is [H]Aman, this wicked man…’”) (Brenton). It’s also in the NT in Romans 15:18 “(For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience-- by word and deed”), 1 Corinthians 6:1 (“When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?”), Matthew 22:46 (“And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.”), Acts 7:32 (“'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.”), and Jude 1:9 (“But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’”) (ESV)

BFA compound of autos (“self”) and hedone (“pleasure”), translated “self-willed/narcissistic/arrogant.” Found only 4 other places in the Greek Bible: Gen. 49:3 (describing Reuben’s defiling of his father’s bed), Gen. 49:7 (describing Simeon and Levi’s vigilantism against the Shechemites); Prov. 21:24 (“A bold [θρασὺς] and self-willed and insolent [ἀλαζὼν] man is called a pest [λοιμὸς]…”), and Titus 1:7 (one of the things that would disqualify a man from being a church overseer).

BGδόξας is a generic word for “glories” not used elsewhere in the Bible as a technical term for anything but priestly clothing. Jude 1:8 uses this same word in the same way as it is used here, but these two citations have no counterparts anywhere else in the Greek Bible which would explain to us what these “glories” are. The closest match is Exodus 15:11 “Who is like to thee among the gods, O Lord? who is like to thee? glorified in holiness, marvellous in glories, doing wonders.” (Brenton) This is what led me and perhaps the NASB, NIV, and NLT to assume that this was speaking of supernatural/celestial/angelic beings. The old Geneva and King James Versions interpreted it in parallel with “authorities” as those who should be honored, although the feminine gender does not fit with the gender of the political rulers at the time of writing. The ESV (followed by the NET) made the most literal translation with “glorious ones,” although it erroneously added a definite article which is not there in the Greek. The Syriac is quite an outlier, whereas the Vulgate’s translation might be explained as mistaking the accusative plural form (“glories”) for a genitive singular (“of glory”).

BHLiterally “tremble” or at least “cringe” or “have qualms.” There is a different Greek word for “fear/be afraid.”

BIThe same statement is made positively in Jude 1:8 “... δόξας δὲ βλασφημοῦσιν.” Blass & Debrunner’s Grammar cites this as an example of a participle that is a supplement to a verb “tremble to blaspheme,” but I think the actions denoted by the two verbs are too distinct to conceive of it that way, so I translated this participle temporally “tremble when they blaspheme.”

BJLiterally “where,” but here in a figurative sense of “in a particular hypothetical situation.” Blass & DeBrunner’s Grammar suggested “in so far as.”

BKThere is an interesting textual variant here. The majority of Greek manuscripts and the majority of GNT editions spell this prepositional phrase in the Dative case, which forces the meaning of “para” to be a communication by the angels “in the presence of” the Lord. There are, however, about 10 manuscripts (followed by the SBL edition of the GNT) which spell this phrase in the Genitive case, forcing the meaning of “para” to be a denouncement “from” the Lord carried as a message by the angels to a cursed entity. Another significant minority of manuscripts (followed by the ancient Latin and Coptic versions and half-heartedly followed by Westcott & Hort’s and Tregelles’ critical editions of the GNT) omit the phrase altogether. Each variant is supported by at least one of the five oldest-known manuscripts, although the majority reading is also the reading of the majority of the most-ancient manuscripts, which is significant in a 3-way variant like this.

BLThe phrase omitted here is apparently in some Syriac manuscripts.

BMThe emphatic form could be pejorative. Antecedents are the masculine plural αυτων in v.11, Τολμηταί in v.10, ἀδίκους v.9, ‘οις v.3, and ψευδοδιδασκαλοι v.1.

BNThis phrase is a predicate nominative of the subject “these.” It is found as a phrase describing animals in the apocrypha (4 Macc. 14:14&18, Wisdom 11:15). The comparative ‘ως should not be extended to mean that brute beasts engage in blasphemy, as the KJV, NASB, and ESV seem to imply, but rather should be taken in the sense of Jude 1:10 “But as for these men, whatever they don't understand they blaspheme, and whatever they, like the unreasoning animals, know instinctively, by these things they are corrupted.” (NAW)

BOCritical editions reverse the order of the word before and the word after and read with about 15 Greek manuscripts which do not double the letter ν in the middle of the word, but neither variant makes any change in the meaning.

BPJeremiah 27:46 contains the only other Biblical instance of this Greek word which is the alpha-privative of the root for “be loose.”

BQConsider the correlation to Paul’s message to the Jews in Psidian Antioch in Acts 13: 26-28 "Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent. For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know [ἀγνοήσαντες] Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death.” (NKJV) and Romans 10:1-4 “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” However, offenses committed against God in ignorance can be pardoned: 1 Timothy 1:13 “...I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.” (NKJV) Hebrews 5:2 “He is able to be moderate toward the ignorant ones and erring ones since He Himself is also surrounded with weakness” (NAW, cf. all the uses of this Greek word in the Pentateuch - Gen. 20:4, Lev. 4:13, 5:18, & Num. 12:11).

BRNASB, NIV, ESV, and NET interpret this pronoun as neuter, referring to “brute beasts” and interpret the preposition as a temporal εν (“during”). This could lead to a belief in annihilationism - the erroneous belief that animals and ungodly persons will disappear at Judgment Day. The Old Geneva, King James, and, surprisingly NLT, follow the ancient Latin and Syriac interpretation that this pronoun is masculine, referring to the blasphemers, and therefore the preposition is interpreted instrumentally (“by means of their own corruption they will be corrupted.”) The latter is to be preferred. Peter is not criticizing animals for being perishable, but he is criticizing the wicked for their corruption, and Peter is expecting some kind of punishment for the wicked on Judgment Day.

BSThe majority of Greek manuscripts (followed by the Syriac and Latin versions and the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions) read καταφθαρήσονται “they will be utterly consumed,” but all 5 of the oldest-known manuscripts (plus a half-dozen of less antiquity, followed by the critical GNT editions and the modern English versions) read καιφθαρήσονται (“and /also they will be consumed”). It’s easy to see how a reader could visually mistake one reading for the other. The difference is not significant, but merely whether or not the verb has a more-emphatic meaning, and both forms of the verb are used interchangeably throughout the Greek Bible to speak of man’s sin and God’s judgment:

• In the flood of Noah’s day: Genesis 6:12-14 “But the earth was corrupted [no kata- prefix] before God, and the earth was filled with iniquity. And the Lord God saw the earth, and it was corrupted [with kata- prefix]; because all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. And the Lord God said to Noe, ‘A period of all men is come before me; because the earth has been filled with iniquity by them, and, behold, I destroy [with kata- prefix] them and the earth.’” (Brenton),

• In the corruption of Israel’s sin and God’s judgment of it through the Babylonian exile: In Isaiah 24:3-11, the two terms are used interchangeably (cf. Lev 26:39, 2 Chr. 12:7, and Isa. 13:5, which have the kata- prefix and Hosea 9:9, Jer. 13:9, and Ezek. 16:52 which don’t have the kata- prefix),

• And in the New Testament: 2 Tim. 3:8 speaks of God’s future judgment upon those who are corrupt with the kata- prefix, and 1 Cor. 3:17; Jude 1:10, and Rev. 19:2 speak of the same judgment without the kata- prefix.

The absence of the kata- prefix in the clearly-parallel passage of Jude could be used in favor of spelling it the same way in 2 Peter, but the presence of the kata- prefix in practically all Bibles used by Christians from the 6^th to the 19^th century could weigh in favor of not changing back to an earlier form. It is curious that the old Geneva and King James Versions inserted an “and” here, where it did not exist in the Textus Receptus, so the KJV matches the contemporary versions anyway!

BTFuture deponent participle “they will be receiving” – dependent grammatically on the previous indicative verb [κατα-]φθαρήσονται “they will be destroyed/consumed/perish,” expounding on who and why. The GB, KJV, and Peshitta read thus (and to some extent the NIV). This Greek verb for “receiving” does not describe receiving a gift but rather getting/collecting/obtaining something earned/deserved. It shows up in this sense in:

• 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (NKJV)

• Ephesians 6:8 “knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord...” (NKJV)

• Colossians 3:25 “But he who does wrong [ἀδικῶν] will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.” (NKJV)

• Hebrews 10:36 “...after y'all have done the will of God, y'all may obtain what was promised.” (NAW)

• 1 Peter 1:9 “while obtaining the goal of your faith: salvation of souls!” (NAW)

However, on the basis of the three oldest-known (and more recently-discovered) Greek manuscripts (plus four others of less antiquity), the critical Greek NT’s have departed from the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts and from the traditional Greek NT editions by substituting this word with the present passive/middle participle adikoumenoi (“while injustice/harm is done to them” or “doing injustice/harm to themselves”). (The NIV added rather than substituted this word.) This makes the word before and after “reward” to have the same root, so I marked the translations of both of those words from the same root, in the Vulgate, NASB and ESV which followed this variant (NET and NLT also followed this variant). (This word is also found in the subject and object of the Col. 3:25 passage above.)

BUsalary/wage/pay/reward
cf. Matthew 10:41 “The one who receives a prophet in a prophet's name will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous man in a righteous man's name will receive a righteous man's reward” (NAW)
Matthew 20:8 “...Start calling the workers and paying the salary to them, starting from the last ones...” (NAW)
Acts 1:18 “Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity…” (NKJV)
Romans 4:4 “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.” (NKJV)
James 5:4 “Look, the pay of the workers who reaped yall's lands, which has been withheld by y'all, screams out...” (NAW)
Jude 1:11 “Woe to them, because... they poured themselves into the error of Balaam for reward...” (NAW)
Revelation 22:12 “...I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” (NKJV)

BVAssociated in the Greek Bible (including apocrypha) with the pleasure of eating good food (Num. 11:8, Prov. 17:1; 4 Mac. 1:33, Wis. 16:20) and of sex (Wis. 7:2). Tit. 3:3 indicates that pleasures can be enslaving, and Jas. 4:1-3 that pleasures can create conflict.

BWLike the first participle in this verse, this second participle also further describes who and why “they will be destroyed/consumed.”

BXThroughout the Greek Bible this word is most-often used to denote luxury foods – such as kings might eat (Gen. 49:20; Ps. 35:9; Wis. 19:11; Sir. 14:16; 18:32; 37:29; Jer. 28:34; Lam. 4:5), but it is also used to designate places of luxury (namely, the Garden of “Eden” in Genesis 3, the “luxury” palaces of Micah 2:9, the restored land of Israel in Ezekiel 31-36, and “king’s courts” in Luke 7:25), and once in Canticles 7:6-7 to denote sexual delight. While there is an appropriate time and place for such luxuries, pleasure-taking and indulgence are typically not appropriate during daytime when God calls us to be about the work He has given us to do.
(Exodus 20:9-11, Neh. 4:21, Eccl. 2:23, 5:18, Matt. 20:12, John 9:4, Rom. 13:13-14, 1 Thess 2:9 || 2 Thess. 3:8) There are exceptional jobs like guard duty which require working at night (e.g. Neh. 4:21-22), but Peter is not talking about that but rather about the wrongness of rebelling against the norm of work which God has given us.

BYSpiloi (from which we get the English verb “spill”) denotes the spot or stain made by a spill. In the Greek Bible only here and Eph. 5:27 “...without spot/stain or wrinkle…” and Mwmoi, a “blemish/defect/disfigurement/injury” mentioned often in the Greek Old Testament, where the priests and the sacrifices had to be without defects. The wisdom book of Sirach in the Apocrypha noted: “Take heed of a mischievous man, for he worketh wickedness; lest he bring upon thee a perpetual blot,” (11:3) and it goes on to identify “lying” (20:24) and sexual immorality (47:19-20) as particular “blots/stains.” (Brenton)

BZThis is the third participle in this verse, like the others, describing who and why “they will be destroyed/consumed.” This “delighting/reveling” is not mentioned elsewhere in the NT except once in a simplified form in James 5:5. The root word in 2 Peter here is in the LXX (Hab. 1:10 & Isa. 57:4 - describing careless words, Isa. 55:2 – describing fine meat, and Jer. 38:20 – describing a beloved son. Also 4 Ma. 8:8 – describing youth having fun).

CAAlso in Matt. 13:22; Mk. 4:19; Eph. 4:22; Col. 2:8; 2 Thess. 2:10; Heb. 3:13, but not in the O.T.

CBAll the English versions interpret this participle temporally, as dependent on the earlier participle “reveling,” indicating when they are reveling, rather than as a separate appositional participle listing another character trait after “receiving/suffering... counting/reckoning… are [understood participle] stains…[ and] reveling/carousing….” This participle also occurs in Jude 1:12 “These men are reefs at y'all's love-feasts, fearlessly partaking of good things, feeding themselves…” (NAW) Curiously, by transposing two letters, you can change the word “love-feast” in Greek to the word “deceptions,” and by adding two letters to the word “stain” you get the word for “reef.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that Peter or Jude were wrong; it is just curious. It might even point toward a solution to the puzzle of who is quoting who, for this could be explained if both Peter and Jude had read the same document and wrote an inspired commentary on it, while the original was lost.

CCHapex Legomenon. Both “eyes” and “unceasing” are objects of the participle “having.”

CDMoule’s Idiom Book of N.T. Greek suggests that “sin” is genitive due to “the idea of separation” – i.e. “eyes never ceasing from sin,” and most standard English versions reflect that.

CEOnly here and v.18 and Jas. 1:14 “...each one is tempted when carried away and enticed by his own lust” (NAW)

CFIn the Greek Bible only here and 3:16.

CGMoule (Idiom Book of N.T. Greek) and Hanna (Grammatical Aid to the GNT) suggested that this phrase means “a heart trained in exhortation,” reading the genitive as though dative (thus following the lone 15^th century Greek manuscript upon which the Textus Receptus is based). The only English version which followed the genitive instead of the dative (“in”) was the NET Bible “for greed.” Turner’s Grammar suggested, as an alternate, “a heart trained and greedy,” but “a heart trained by (lit. ‘out of’) greed” makes so much more sense to me that it is hard to understand the debate.

CHThis is covenantal language, denoting the curses for breaking God’s covenant enumerated in Deut. 11 and 27-30. cf. Daniel 9:11.

CIA dozen Greek manuscripts (including 4 of the 5 oldest-known ones) lengthen the “ι” vowel to “ει,” but it doesn’t make a difference in the meaning. It is curious that this edition of the Patriarchal text contains this lengthened vowel because it is not in the Majority text or other Greek Orthodox editions, and it’s not even in the latest editions of the Nestle-Aland, UBS, or Tregelles editions of the GNT. The Textus Receptus inserted a definite article afterwards (even though that’s not in any Greek manuscript), but the implication of “right way” is that it is exclusive (“the right way”), so again, it didn’t change the meaning.

CJ“right way” is a common phrase in the Bible denoting following God’s instructions for life: 1 Sam. 12:23; Ezr. 8:21; Ps. 26:11; 106:7; Hos. 14:10; Isa. 40:3; 42:16; Dan. 3:27; Matt. 3:3; Acts 13:10.

CKSee Numbers 22-24 (and his demise in Num. 31).

CLBosor is a place-name in the Bible (Deut. 4:43; Jos. 20:8; 21:36; 1 Sam. 30:9-10, 21; 1 Chr. 6:63; 1 Ma. 5:26, 28, 36; Isa. 34:6; 63:1; Jer. 31:24) whereas Beor is the name of Balaam’s father (Num. 22:5; 24:3, 15; 31:8; Deut. 23:4; Jos. 13:22; Mic. 6:5). The Vaticanus is the only Greek manuscript which reads “Beor;” all the rest read “Bosor.” None of the traditional or critical editions of the GNT (except for Westcott & Hort’s) read “Beor,” but apparently the Peshitta went with “Beor” and thus all the contemporary English versions, except for the NET Bible, which followed the Vulgate and the Geneva and King James Versions with “Bosor.”

CMOnly other instances of this noun are in Job 21:4 and 23:2. The verb form appears 36 times, including in Jude 1:15.

CNIn the Greek Bible only here, Psalm 36:7, and Prov. 5:22 & 10:26.

COὙποζύγιον literally means “under yoke.”

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