2 Peter 2:17-22 “Don’t Get Caught In False Teaching”

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church Manhattan KS, 3 Mar. 2024

Introduction

• Read translation, starting at v.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 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. 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). 17 These guys are fountains without water {and} clouds propelled by a storm, for whom the gloom of eternal darkness has been kept, because, by uttering overstatements of vanity, they are seducing, through the immoral lusts of the flesh, those who had actually fled from the guys that were conducting themselves in error. They are promising liberty to them while they themselves are slaves of their corruption, for, what a person has been defeated by, to this he has also become enslaved. For since they are defeated, after having fled from the unclean things of the world into the certain knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, yet having been entangled in them again, their latter circumstances have become worse for them than their initial circumstances, so, it was better for them not to certainly-know the way of righteousness than, after certainly-knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment which was delivered to them. But the thing from the true proverb has happened to them: “A dog returns to its own vomit.” (Also, “A sow washes itself in a mud wallow.”)

• For the entirety of chapter 2, Peter has been calling-out false teachers. We are picking up in v.17 in the middle of this diatribe, where Peter turns from listing the character qualities and actions of these bad influencers, to warning us not to be influenced by them. In other words, in the middle of chapter 2 we were concerned with identifying false teachers, but now at the end of chapter 2, we are concerned with resisting them.

• To underscore the importance of resisting these false teachers, Peter introduces two metaphors to describe them in v.17: They are “fountains/wells/springs without water” and “clouds propelled/carried/driven by a storm-tempest.”

vs. 17-19 Beware The Ways False Teachers Ensnare

• What is so problematic with a dry spring?

  • In our culture, it’s hard to imagine not having access to drinking water, but in a situation where water is not abundantly-provided, it can be a big problem to have one’s expectations raised about getting water, only to find there is none.

  • When I was in Jr. High School, I went on a backpacking trip in the wilderness of Alabama. The U.S. Geological Survey maps indicated that, a few miles down that trail, there was a water source, so we started on the trail with only enough water in our canteens to make it those first few miles, and we counted on refilling our water bottles at the spring marked on the map. (We also had a good trail guide who had hiked this trail and had refilled his water bottles in the past at that spring himself.) However, when we got to the spring, we found that it was dry. There we were in the middle of the wilderness – about a dozen thirsty hikers, and all but a few of us had already drunk all the water in our canteens, and it would be another day’s hike to get anywhere where there was water. I remember the agony of being so thirsty that night and having no water of my own left to drink. I have a vivid memory of some of the other kids who had packed macaroni and cheese for supper. Since they had no water left, their supper consisted of crunching on the hard noodles and spooning dry, powered cheese mix into their already-parched mouths. My Dad, however, had wisely conserved his drinking water, so he had enough that night to share a drink with me, and I was so thankful he did!

  • Let’s be sure that we ourselves are not empty inside but have living water to share with thirsty souls around us!

• Likewise, the storm cloud in v.17. Peter had seen such “storms” whip up around the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:37). But what could be so subversive about a “cloud/mist”?

  • Peter may be thinking about the prophecy from Hosea 6:4, where God compared the faithfulness of Israel and Judah to a cloud that goes away¹.

  • The thing about the cloud that is emphasized by Peter here is that is “driven by a storm-wind,” so it doesn’t stick around to deliver any life-giving rain; it is blown away and does no good for the land.

  • “[T]hey are driven with the wind, but not of the Spirit, but the stormy wind or tempest of their own ambition and covetousness.” ~M. Henry, 1714 AD

  • It might be compared to a politician who promises benefits if people will vote for him, but then doesn’t deliver on his promises once elected to office, leaving his people defrauded and disillusioned.

• Peter tells us at the end of v.17 that these people who look like they can help but instead make matters worse are destined for punishment: “the gloom/black/mist of [eternal] darkness has been reserved for them.”

  • cf. v.4 “For, since God did not spare – but rather dungeoned – angels in chains of gloom when they sinned… 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.” (NAW)

  • The Geneva & King James versions follow the hundreds of Greek manuscripts in v.17 that say this “gloom” will be “for ever,” while all the contemporary English versions follow the three oldest-known manuscripts which omit the “for ever.” This is merely a matter of stylistic editing, not a doctrinal question, because the parallel passage in Jude undisputedly states that this punishment of the ungodly is “forever”: Jude 1:12-13 These men are reefs at y'all's love-feasts, fearlessly partaking of good things, feeding themselves, clouds without water carried along by winds, fruitless trees at harvest-time, having died a second time after having been uprooted, wild waves of the sea foaming up their own shameful deeds, wandering stars for whom the gloom of darkness has been kept for eternity.” (NAW)

• This is consistent with the rest of the Bible:

  • In Psalm 55:23 David said, “You, O God, will send… murderous and deceitful men... down to the grave to rot...” (NAW)

  • and Jesus said in Matthew 8:12 “...the sons of the kingdom [those who were part of God’s kingdom among the Jews but who did not place their trust in Jesus] will be thrown out into the outer darkness. Weeping and the gnashing of teeth will be there." (NAW)

  • and in John 15:6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” (NKJV)

• In v.18, the point Peter emphasizes is the danger of getting seduced by this company. Yes, they are in error, but their words are powerfully persuasive; Yes they are fools, but they have figured out how to harness the powerful allurement of fleshly lusts and sensuality, so, escaping from them is only barely possible.

  • Variants among the Greek manuscripts have led to some debate as to how recently they had escaped before getting lured back in:

    • The King James Version follows the majority of the manuscripts indicating that some time had passed between escaping and being seduced,

    • while the NIV and ESV followed several manuscripts that indicate that the victims got sucked back in while they were still in the act of escaping²,

    • and the NAS indicates that the enticement happened before they escaped.

  • This appears to be describing folks who had grown up in the pagan world, then had heard the gospel and became Christians, but then had encountered false teachers who led them astray. These false teachers lured them into falsehood through wining and dining, and probably free prostitutes too, all the while making grand (but empty) claims about the superiority of their religion, and this deceived some of those recent converts.

  • The same sort of thing happens today. The Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ can easily be encountered in our culture, but it is not-as-easy to get well-grounded in the godly community of a healthy church, so cults often take advantage of sincere seekers of God who don’t have much knowledge or grounding yet in Biblical faith.

• The power of their dangerous seduction, according to Peter in v.18, lies in their “uttering overstatements/boastful/arrogant/swelling words of emptiness/folly/vanity” and using “the immoral lusts/passions/desires of the flesh by sensuality/lewdness/wantonness.”

  • “They are as artful and as successful as the fisher[man]... they suit their bait to those they desire to catch.” ~M. Henry

  • One December evening, an attractively-dressed young couple knocked on the door of my apartment. They wore name tags saying they were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They admired our Christmas decorations and then said, “Did you know that Jesus never actually claimed to be God?” I said, “Actually, you interrupted my family as we were worshiping Jesus just now because we believe He IS God...” But I wonder how many other people they seduced into their false religion that evening?

  • Another summer day, two well-dressed guys knocked on the door of my house and said, “Did you know that most churches have corrupted the Holy Bible? God’s real name is Jehovah; that’s what the Bible used to say, until the Roman Catholics changed it.” I said, “Well, you just interrupted me as I was studying my Greek New Testament. Let’s look at what it says. The critical apparatus here indicates that there is not a single manuscript that actually says Jehovah instead of theos here...” But I wonder how many of my less-informed neighbors they turned away from good churches by their subversive words?

  • Back in the 16^th Century, John Calvin commented, “[T]hey dazzled the eyes of the simple by high-flown stuff of words, that they might not perceive their deceit... Let us be reminded of what we ought especially to beware of, after having been once enlightened, that is, lest Satan entice us under the pretense of liberty, so as to give ourselves up to lasciviousness to gratify the lusts of the flesh.”

• And this doesn’t have to be religious cults. The strongest allurements to our flesh today probably come from secular media. The Bible warns us all over the place about this:

  • Galatians 4:9 “But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how [can] you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements... to be in bondage?” (NKJV)

  • James 1:14 “...each one is tempted when carried away and enticed by his own lust” (NAW)

  • 1 Peter 2:11 “Loved ones... keep yourselves away from the fleshly desires which are at war against your soul” (NAW)

  • 1 Timothy 6:9 “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition." (NKJV)

  • Proverbs 1:10 “My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent... 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” (NKJV, cf. 16:29)

  • 2 Tim. 3:6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts," (NKJV)

  • Jude 1:16 These guys are grumblers, discontent, conducting themselves according to their own desires, and their mouths utter over-statements, admiring faces for the benefit of an advantage.” (NAW)

  • 2 Cor. 11:3 “...I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (NKJV, cf. Gen. 3:6)

  • Gal. 5:16 “I say then: ‘Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.’” (NKJV)

• v.19 specifies that one of the empty promises made by false teachers is that if you follow them you will be truly free, finally liberated from all those fuddy-duddy rules that Bible-thumpers follow.

  • But Peter points out that those who are “slaves to corruption/depravity” are not free from their own lusts, and so they can’t free anybody else from bondage to selfish lusts, “for, what anyone has been conquered/mastered/overcome by, to this he has also become enslaved/in bondage.”

  • In his previous epistle, Peter intimated that there would be those who “...maintain their freedom to be a cover-up for wickedness...” (1 Pet. 2:16, NAW)

  • And Paul warned of the same thing in Galatians 5:13 “as for you brothers, y'all were called into liberty; just don't let your liberty become a launching-point in fleshliness. Instead, serve one another through love." (NAW)

  • Romans 6:16 “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (NKJV)

  • That’s what Jesus also said in John 8:34 “...whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” (NKJV)

  • “The name of liberty is sweet, and they abused it for this end, that the hearer, being loosed from the fear of the divine law, might abandon himself unto unbridled licentiousness. But the liberty which Christ has procured for us, and which he offers daily by the gospel, is altogether different, for he has exempted us from the yoke of the law as far as it subjects us to a curse, that he might also deliver us from the dominion of sin, as far as it subjects us to its own lusts.” ~J. Calvin, 1554 AD

• This language of “slavery” and “mastery” vs. “liberty/freedom” is talking about the addictiveness of sin – the compulsive behaviors that take control of a person who has given-in to temptation and indulged in a sin that creates bonds that are hard to break out of.

  • Both indicative verbs are in the Perfect tense, indicating that a single defeat in the past can bring a person under the continuing control of a besetting sin.

    • The Apostle Paul mentioned in Ephesians 4:27 that the Devil can gain a “foothold” in your life if you hold on to a bitter grudge overnight.

    • He also mentioned in 1 Cor. 6:16 how sexual sin creates bonds that don’t just go away.

    • This is not to say that addictions can’t be broken (Jesus came “to set at liberty those who are oppressed” – Luke 4:18, and “He whom the Son sets free is free indeed” John 8:36), and this isn’t saying that a single mistake is going to make you lose your salvation.

  • What Peter is saying is that people who hate God and want to live in rebellion against Him are dangerous to be around, because they will try to drag you down with them. (cf. 1 Pet. 4:4)

  • The world tells you that freedom is the goal and that freedom means doing anything you feel like doing and not having anybody tell you what to do. What they don’t tell you is that this means living in bondage to the desires of your flesh and becoming progressively enmeshed in compulsive patterns of thought and action which are corrupt and self-destructive.

    • Christianity is a religion of true freedom, and true freedom means being able to choose to follow God without being controlled by human compulsions. This can happen when Jesus and His Holy Spirit set you free from sin.

• In verses 20-22, Peter shifts from raising awareness about the ways false teachers ensnare to warning Christians against going back into bondage to sin.

v. 20-22 Beware Of Going Back Into Bondage To Sin

• The Greek grammar³ at the beginning of v.20 indicates that the condition is true that these victims have been “overcome/defeated” by sin – and not just once but repeatedly (ATR). What follows is an explanatory sentence: “after having escaped/fled from the pollutions/defilements/corruptions/unclean things of the world by/through/into the certain knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, yet having been entangled in them again, their latter circumstances have become worse for them than their initial circumstances.”

• Now, does this mean that the elect can disqualify themselves from salvation?

  • If this was all the Holy Scripture we had, it might appear that way, but this is only one of many Scriptures which bear on the subject, and, it should be noted, that Peter’s application is not, “Turn to faith in Christ or burn in hell” (as though they had lost their salvation); it is more “You who know Christ, don’t let yourselves be influenced by those who are on their way to hell.”

  • I agree with what 20^th Century commentator Gordon Clark wrote on this point, “What is said of the false teachers in 2 Peter, namely that they had fled the corruptions of the world through their knowledge of Christ, could also be said of Judas... By what they had learned [from Christ], they were able to avoid the most obvious iniquities of the pagan world... but... they have never been anything else than dogs and pigs, even though for a time they might have been cleaned up externally. Hence the false teachers had never been Christians, and the verse does not teach that a regenerated person can become un-regenerated… [furthermore,] knowledge, profession, and association with Christ or Christians increases one’s responsibility and makes these false teachers all the more culpable.”

  • “Some men are, for a time, kept from the pollutions of the world, by the knowledge of Christ, who are not savingly renewed in the spirit of their mind. A religious education has restrained many whom the grace of God has not renewed: if we receive the light of the truth, and have a notional knowledge of Christ in our heads, it may be of some present service to us; but we must receive the love of the truth, and hide God's word in our heart, or it will not sanctify and save us.” ~M. Henry, 1714 AD

• For Christians, the application is to steer clear when what is lustful, covetous, unbridled, liscentious, and sensual is advertised, in order to avoid getting “entangled” by it.

  • Proverbs 28:18 “He that walks justly is assisted: but he that walks in crooked ways shall be entangled therein.” (Brenton)

  • 2 Timothy 2:3-4 “...endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” (NKJV) You are a soldier in a spiritual war. Don’t get yourself sidetracked and injured.

  • “When men are once entangled, they are easily overcome; therefore should Christians keep close to the word of God, and watch against those who seek to perplex and bewilder them.” ~M. Henry, 1714 AD

• The end of v.20 is a direct quote from Jesus: “Then it [the unclean spirit which has been cast out] goes and brings with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself and, upon entering, they take up residence there, and that man's last [state of affairs] become worse than the first. Thus it will be also to this evil generation.” (Matthew 12:45 || Luke 11:26, NAW)

  • Jesus also said in Luke 9:62 "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (NKJV) Don’t look back! Your past sins are not something you want to go back to!

  • Hebrews 10:26 “For, if we keep sinning willingly after receiving the full-knowledge of the truth, a sacrifice for sins is no longer left available… 39 But as for us, we are not about holding back, resulting in destruction, rather, we are about faith, resulting in preservation of the soul!” (NAW)

  • 2 Peter 1:2-8 “...y’all have fled from the corruption in the world caused by lust... into the certain knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NAW)

• v.21 restates positively what v.20 stated negatively: “it would have been better for them not to know for certain the way of righteousness than, after certainly-knowing it, to turn back...”

  • To be sure, neither scenario is good; not knowing God’s way of righteousness and knowing but rejecting God’s way of righteousness both land a person in hell, but since God’s punishment is just, the more rebellion and rejection a person commits, the worse their punishment will be – there is a range of punishment in eternity just as there is a range of rewards in heaven.

    • James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and isn't doing it – to him it is a sin." (NAW, cf. Ezek. 18:24)

    • Luke 12:47 "And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes." (NKJV)

    • If two people are pulled over by the police for running a red light, and the first one cooperates with the ticketing process, and the second one makes the police chase him across town and ends it with a shootout, the second one is going to face more-severe consequences; that’s just the nature of justice.

    • “[A] state of apostasy is worse than a state of ignorance; for... it carries in it a declaring that they have found some [fault] in the way of righteousness [or] some falsehood in the word of truth. Now to bring up such an evil report upon the good way of God, and such a false charge against the way of truth, must necessarily expose to the heaviest condemnation…” ~M. Henry

    • “[T]hough there is no excuse for ignorance, yet the servant who knowingly and wilfully despises the commands of his lord, deserves a twofold punishment... He then alone makes a right progress in the gospel who faithfully learns Christ; and he truly knows Christ, who has been taught by him to put off the old man and to put on the new man, as Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:22… ” ~J. Calvin

  • Peter is encouraging us to keep the long-view in mind and not give up the faith too easily. We need to remember that there is an eternity yet to come and we need to live in light of that rather than fooling around with quick, cheap pleasures.

  • A corollary from the books of James, Jude, and Galatians is that we should help our brothers and sisters who are also going through these trials. James 5:19-20 “My brothers, if someone among you…. wanders from the truth and someone should return him, he should know that the one who returns a sinner out of his wandering way will save a soul out of death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (NAW, cf. Gal 5:1-2, Jude 22-23)

• What is “the holy commandment delivered to them” in v.21?

  • Some say it is the whole of God’s moral law – the 10 Commandments referred to all-at-once. This can be supported by the way “commandment” in the singular is related to the word “holy” in Romans 7:12 “...the commandment is holy, just and good.”

  • Others say it is the gospel command to “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.” 2 Peter 3:2 supports this idea “...be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour” (KJV)

  • And really, you can’t have one without the other; to trust Jesus is to obey Jesus.

• Passages related to this command being “delivered” include:

  • Luke 1:2 “...those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us” (NKJV). That’s where Luke got his Gospel from.

  • 1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you in first [place] what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (NAW, cf. 11:2 & 23). That’s the gospel message that the apostle Paul communicated,

  • and that is the “faith” to which Jude refers when he wrote in Jude 1:3 “...step up the fight for the faith once delivered to the saints” (NAW).

• V.22 ends with a double-proverb

  • The first one about dogs comes from the Hebrew text of Proverbs 26:11 “As a dog returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly.” (NKJV)

    • Of course, dogs were unclean animals for Jews, but even Jews knew how indiscriminate dogs could be in their diet.

    • I remember the first time I saw my family’s dog eagerly slurping up something it had just thrown up. It was so unbelievably disgusting that it took me a moment before I could even respond and shoo the dog out of the house.

    • And that paints a picture of a person in bondage to sin. Even though any objective observer would say, “How could you do something so disgusting?!” The strength of fleshly urges and the weakness of the will to resist sin lead to engagement in utter depravity. Addiction does horrifying things to people.

    • If you find yourself caught in compulsive sinful behavior, get help from godly brothers and sisters. The world will offer psychotropic drugs and secular counseling to help, but that will not free you. Freedom is only possible with the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of God’s word to change the way you think.

  • In most English Bibles, the second proverb in v.22 about the pig, parallels the idea of the first proverb about the dog, basically that the sow washed herself clean (or somebody else washed her clean), and then it went and undid-it-all by wallowing in the mire.

    • It is a bit odd, however, for a proverb to start with something that is contrary to nature: I am not a pig farmer, but, I don’t think pigs wash themselves clean, and I don’t think that ancient farmers were so stupid as to waste time washing their pigs.

    • Furthermore, it requires quite a bit of editing of the actual Greek text to come up with this interpretation, including interpreting the same verb form in two very different ways, changing a noun into a verb, adding a pronoun, adding a verb, and changing the standard meaning of the Greek genitive case.

    • I suggest it would be much more accurate to translate the second proverb simply, “A sow washes itself in a mud wallow.” That doesn’t require changing the Greek text, and it’s what pigs normally do.

    • Secular proverbs from ancient Greek, Syriac, and Arabic literature have been identified⁴ which may have been the basis of Peter’s second proverb. The most notable is a Syriac document called the Wisdom of Kikhar, written at least 600 years before Peter’s epistle, and Proverb #24 reads, “Son, they took the swine to the bath, and he plunged into it, then rolled himself in the bog, saying: ‘You wash in your own, and I will in mine.’”

    • At any rate, this is another graphic picture of what sinners addicted to sin do. They surround themselves with filth because they want to, and they think it feels good.

  • Peter warns us that we don’t want to end up like that. We need to resist the siren calls of false teachers with a Biblical understanding of eternal realities.

Conclusion

• “The emphasis is on the certainty of the destiny of these false teachers… [T]heir destiny is… the deepest darkest gloom… also used in verse 4 to refer to hell.” ~D.F. Zeller

• “[T]hey who make themselves slaves again to the pollutions of the world fall away from the gospel. The faithful also... sin; but, as they allow not dominion to sin, they do not fall away from the grace of God, nor do they renounce the profession of sound doctrine which they have once embraced. For they are not to be deemed conquered, while they strenuously resist the flesh and its lusts.” ~J. Calvin

• “Be therefore always upon your guard, maintain a godly jealousy of yourselves, search the scriptures, pray for the Spirit to instruct and establish you in the truth, walk humbly with God, and watch against every thing that may provoke him to give you up to a reprobate mind, that you may not be taken with the fair and specious pretences of these false teachers, who promise liberty...” ~Unknown author quoted by Matthew Henry

Comparison of Bible Translations of 2 Peter 2

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᾿ αὐτῶνBK παρὰ ΚυρίῳBL 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 XBM.	11 whereas angels, great­er than they in might and valor, bring not against them a re­proachful denunciation X X.
12 οὗτοιBN δέ, ὡςBO ἄλογα ζῷαBP φυσικὰ BQγεγεννημένα εἰς ἅλωσινBR καὶ φθοράνBS, ἐν οἷςBT ἀγνοοῦσιBU βλασφημ­οῦντες, ἐν τῃ῀ φθορᾳ῀BV αὐτῶνBW κατα­φθαρήσονταιBX,	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 κομιούμεν­οιBY μισθὸνBZ ἀδικίας· ἡδονὴνCA ἡγού­μενοιCB τὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τρυφήνCC, σπίλοιCD καὶ μῶμοι, ἐν­τρυφῶντεςCE ἐν ταῖς ἀπάταιςCF αὐτῶν συν­ευωχούμενοιCG 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 ἀκαταπαύσ­τουςCH ἁμαρτί­αςCI, δελεάζ­οντεςCJ ψυχὰς ἀστηρίκτουςCK, καρδίαν γεγυμ­νασμένην πλεονεξίαςCL ἔχοντες, κατ­άραςCM 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 καταλείπ­οντεςCN εὐθεῖαν ὁδὸνCO ἐπλανήθησαν, ἐξακολουθή­σαντες τῃ῀ ὁδῳ῀ τοῦ ΒαλαὰμCP τοῦ ΒοσόρCQ, 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 ἔλεγξινCR δὲ ἔσχεν ἰδίαςCS παρανομίαςCT· ὑποζύγιον ἄφωνον ἐν ἀνθρώπου φωνῃ῀ φθεγ­ξάμενον ἐκώ­λυσε τὴν τοῦ προφήτου πα­ραφρονίανCU.	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 yokeCV, 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.
17 οὗτοί εἰσι πηγαὶ ἄνυδροι, CWνεφέλαι ὑπὸ λαίλαποςCX ἐλαυνόμεναι, οἷς ὁ ζόφος τοῦ σκότους CYεἰς αἰῶνα τετήρηται.	17 These guys are fountains without water {and} clouds propelled by a storm, for whom the gloom of eternal darkness has been kept,	17 These are wells without water, clouds that are car­ried with a tempest; to whom the mist of dark­ness is reser­ved for ever.	17 These are fountains without wat­er and clouds tossed with whirlwind[s], to whom the mist of dark­ness is reserved.	17 These are wells without water, clouds driven by a tempest, [persons] for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness.
18 ὑπέρογκαCZ γὰρ ματαιότη­τος φθεγγ­όμενοιDA δελεά­ζουσινDB ἐν ἐπιθυμίαις σαρκὸς ἀσελ­γείαιςDC τοὺς ὄντως ἀποφυγ­όνταςDD τοὺς ἐν πλάνῃ ἀνα­στρεφομένους,	18 because, by uttering over­statements of vanity, they are seducing, through the immoral lusts of the flesh, those who had actually fled from the guys that were con­ducting them­selves in error.	18 For when they speak [great] swelling words of van­ity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wanton­ness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.	18 For, speaking proud [words] of vanity, they allure by the desires of fleshly riotousness those who [for] a little [while] escape, such as converse in error:	18 For, while they utter astonishing vanity, they seduce, with obscene lusts of the flesh, them who have almost abandoned these that walk in error.
19 ἐλευθερίαν αὐτοῖς ἐπ­αγγελλόμενοι, αὐτοὶ δοῦλοι ὑπάρχοντες τῆς φθορᾶς· ὧDEͺ γάρ τις ἥττηταιDF, τούτῳ [και]DG δεδούλωται.	19 They are promising liberty to them while they themselves are slaves of their corruption, for, what a person has been defeated by, to this he has also become enslaved.	19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is over­come, of the same is he brought in bondage.	19 Promising them liberty, whereas they themselves are the slaves of corruption. For by whom a man is overcome, of the same [also] he is the slave.	19 [And] they promise them liberty, while they them­selves are the slaves of corruption: for, by what­ever thing a man is van­quished, to that is he enslaved.
20 εἰDH γὰρ ἀποφυγόντες τὰ μιάσματαDI τοῦ κόσμουDJ ἐν ἐπιγνώσειDK τοῦ ΚυρίουDL καὶ σωτῆρος ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τού­τοιςDM δὲ πάλιν ἐμπλακέντεςDN ἡττῶνταιDO, γέγονεν αὐτοῖςDP τὰ ἔσχατα χείροναDQ τῶν πρώτωνDR.	20 For since they are defeated, after having fled from the unclean things of the world into the certain knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, yet having been entangled in them again, their latter circumstances have become worse for them than their initial circumstances,	20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, X they are again entang­led therein, [and] over­come, the latter endX is worse with them than the beginningX.	20 For if, flying from the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, X they be again en­tangled in them [and] overcome: their latter stateX is be­come unto them worse than the formerX.	20 For if, when they have escaped the pollutions of the world by the know­ledge of our Lord and Re­deemer Jesus the Messiah, X they be­come again involved in the same, [and] are van­quish­ed, their latter stateX is worse X X than the formerX.
21 κρεῖττον γὰρDS ἦνDT αὐτοῖς μὴ ἐπεγνωκέναι τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνηςDU ἢ ἐπιγνοῦσινDV ὑποστρέψαιDW ἐκ τῆς παραδοθείσης αὐτοῖς ἁγίας ἐντολῆςDX.	21 so, it was better for them not to know for certain the way of right­eousness than, after certain­ly-knowing it, to turn back from the holy command­ment which was delivered to them.	21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turnX from the holy com­mandment delivered unto them.	21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice than, after they have known it, to turn back from that holy command­ment which was delivered to them.	21 For it would have been better for them, not to have known the way of righteousness, than after having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was delivered to them.
22 συμβέβηκεDY δὲDZ αὐτοῖς τὸEA τῆς ἀληθοῦς παροιμίαςEB, κύωνEC ἐπι­στρέψας ἐπὶ τὸ ἴδιον ἐξέραμαED, καί, ὗςEE λουσαμένηEF εἰς κυλισμὸνEG βορβόρουEH.	22 But the thing from the true proverb has happened to them: “A dog returns to its own vomit.” (Also, a sow washes itself in a mud wallow.)	22 But it is happened un­to them acc­ording to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to [her] wallow­ing in the mire.	22 For, that of the true proverb has happened to them: The dog is re­turned to his vomit; and: The sow that was washed to [her] wal­lowing in the mire.	22 But X X the true proverb hath happened to them: the dog returneth to his vomit and the sow that was washed, to [her] wallowing in the mire.

1"O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, And like the early dew it goes away.” (NKJV)

2Gordon Clark was of this opinion, explaining, “Chapter one as a whole and the last five verses of chapter 3, give the impression that Peter is addressing stable Christians who have pretty much, or even really (ontos) escaped the enticements of Evil… On the other hand, the present participle, which which oligos so well fits, would seem to envisage a minority in the church who, having been converted so recently, have not made much progress… they entice the new converts… Its difficulty lies in the apparent shift in address from the main body to a smaller group… without proper textual introduction… [F]alse teachers … enticing the new converts who are just escaping thefalse eachers… is at least extremely awkward… it is more likely that recent converts have fled the heathern community… This is the view of Keil, Alford, and Bigg.”

3ει (“If”) with a Present Indicative protasis.

4A.T. Robertson found a proverb along these lines dating back to the 5^th century BC in Story of Ahikar, edited by J. Rendel Harris, p. LXVII. “The following reproach upon Nadan is found in the Karshuni texts and with some modifications in the Armenian and in the Syriac. 'My son, thou hast behaved like the swine which went to the bath with people of quality, and when he came out, saw a stinking drain, and went and rolled himself in it.' Here we find the explanation of the Petrine proverb… where the parallel in Ahikar helps us to translate… not as 'the sow that was washed,' but as ' the sow that went to the bath.'” This is probably based on Proverb #24 in the Wisdom of Khikhar. Robertson also noted in his Word Pictures that the 2^nd century AD “Epictetus and other writers moralize on the habit of hogs, having once bathed in a filthy mud-hole, to delight in it.”

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. ATR and R&R considered them to be demons, while Lenski and Zeller considered them to be Christ’s excellencies (1 Pet. 1:11) or the glories of angels. 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.” This verb will be repeated in the next two verses. “The author is fond of building his case by the repetition of a word in a slightly different context, so that the readers make the necessary connection” ~NET Bible comment. 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.” Zeller disagreed and supported this participle being complementary or purposive.

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

BK“The ‘them’ here are the false teachers.” ~D. F. Zeller

BLThere 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 (This was followed by the KJV, NASB, NIV, ESV, NET, and Zeller.) There are, however, about 10 manuscripts (followed by the Nestle-Aland and UBS editions 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. (The UBS chose this reading because they believed that the most awkward reading should be preferred, under the assumption that smoother readings are more likely the result of subsequent editing. Zeller made a Biblical basis for the Genetive based on the storyline of Jude “The Lord rebuke you.” The NRSV and NLT are the only English versions I found which read “from the Lord.”). 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 and the ASV) 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.

BMThe phrase omitted here is apparently in some Syriac manuscripts.

BNThe 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.

BO“[H]e had contrasted the angels with the false teachers in verses 10b and 11. The ‘ως indicates what he is now going to compare them to – ‘unreasoning animals’.” ~D.F. Zeller

BPThis 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)

BQCritical 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.

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

BSD.F. Zeller interpreted this in terms of the wicked’s own impulses rather than as the function of unreasoning beasts, envisioning the wicked like feline creatures “born with an instinct to ‘catch and destroy.’ ...They are as unreasoning animals, and as such they will be treated as predators – caught and destroyed.”

BT“The ‘οις is probably neuter, not masc., and refers to ‘matters’ pertaining to the Christian faith.” ~D.F. Zeller

BUConsider 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).
A.T. Robertson paraphrased, “loud ignoramuses posing as professional experts.”

BVD.F. Zeller observed that the reduplication of this root in this phrase “in their destroying they will be destroyed” has led many commentators to consider the phrase together as a single unit of meaning: “they will be utterly destroyed” (Lenski, NET), “as/like/when unreasoning animals are destroyed” (NIV, NRS, ESV), or (Zeller’s preference) “while seeking to corrupt/destoy other’s faith, they will be corrupted/destroyed themselves” (ASV, NASB, NET).

BWNASB, 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.

BXThe 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!

BYFuture 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.)

BZsalary/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)
“The false teachers defrauded others, hoping to get financial gain (v.3), but instead they are defrauded themselves… they received what they gave.” ~D.F. Zeller

CAcf. this word used in a compound in v.10b (αυθαδεις). Associated 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.

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

CCThroughout 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.

CDSpiloi (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)

CEThis 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).

CFAlso 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. The Tregelles GNT went out on a limb following the Vaticanus and about two other manuscripts against all the other manuscripts and editions, changing the second letter of the word from π to γ, which changes the meaning of the word from “deceptions” to “loves,” (which is the only reason, besides trying to conform 2 Peter to Jude, that I can think of that the Vulgate and NIV read “ease/pleasures” here, although neither is a good translation of either Greek word).

CGAll 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.

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

CIMoule’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.

CJThis word has to do with a trap that uses “bait.” Only here and v.18 and Jas. 1:14 “...each one is tempted when carried away and enticed by his own lust” (NAW)

CKIn the Greek Bible only here and 3:16. “Even as animals of prey go after the weak and young, so the false teachers kept their eyes open for the weak and young.” ~D.F. Zeller

CLMoule (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.

CMLiterally “not thus” (DFZ). This is covenantal language, denoting the curses for breaking God’s covenant enumerated in Deut. 11 and 27-30. cf. Daniel 9:11.

CNA 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. Most English versions simply translate it “forsaking,” but some were more specific: Wallace and the NET Bible narrowed the meaning of the participle to that of means (“by forsaking”), and DFZ and I narrowed it to a temporal meaning (“while/after forsaking”). 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.

CO“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.

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

CQBosor 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.”

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

CS“[A] very strong possessive… indicates that the evil he did was his very own, no one else was responsible for it.” ~D.F. Zeller (Turner’s Grammar, however, considered it a (“mere possessive pronoun, ‘his transgression.’”)

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

CUHapex Legomenon. “The only known biblical or secular use of this word. ~D.F. Zeller

CVὙποζύγιον literally means “under yoke.”

CW“Clouds” is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts, followed by the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions and by the ancient Vulgate. All the critical editions (and the Peshitta), on the other hand follow about 16 manuscripts, including all five of the oldest-known which read kai omiclai “and clouds.” The former is more-often “bright clouds” while the latter are more-often “dark clouds,” but the nouns are interchangeable, as evidenced by their parallel occurrences in the LXX in Wis. 2:4, Joel 2:2, and Zeph. 1:15, so the meaning is essentially the same.

CXThis kind of storm is also in Job 21:18; 38:1; Wis. 5:14, 23; Sir. 48:9, 12; Jer. 32:32; Mk. 4:37, and Lk. 8:23.

CYcf. 2:4 & 9. The majority of Greek manuscripts followed by the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions include the phrase “for ever,” but 9 manuscripts (including the 3 oldest-known) don’t (followed by all the critical editions). The “for ever” is in the parallel passage in Jude 1:13 “wild waves of the sea foaming up their own shameful deeds, wandering stars for whom the gloom of darkness has been kept for eternity.” (NAW)

CZLiterally “high/heavy mass,” in NT only here and Jude 1:16, but in the LXX Exod. 18:22, 26; Deut. 30:11; 2 Sam. 13:2; Lam. 1:9; Dan. 5:12. DFZ, Z-G, and NRS translated with “bombast[ic].”

DAParticiple of instrumentality (cf. Geneva Bible and NET). KJV and Rheims interpreted it as temporal, and NIV & NLT translated it as though it were an indicative.

DBThis verb is also in v.14.

DCcf. vs. 2 & 7 and Jude 1:4. Gordon Clark translated it: “through fleshly desires by means of lewdnesses.”

DDThe majority of Greek manuscripts (followed by the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions and the Geneva and King James and NET Versions) read “those who actually fled from” (aorist tense), but about 10 manuscripts (including 3 of the 5 oldest-known) read oligwV apojeugontaV (“those who are barely fleeing from” - Present tense), and all the critical GNT editions follow them (as well as the Peshitta and the NIV and ESV). NASB, NLT and Vulgate, on the other hand, did some mixing and matching, adopting the oligos of the minority but the aorist tense of the majority. Blass & Debrunner’s Grammar gave the meaning of oligws in the variant as “hardly,” but D.F. Zeller preferred the temporal “just,” explaining that “those whom the false teachers baited have just recently left paganism,” also noting that oligws is not anywhere else in the LXX or GNT. The participle for “fleeing/escaping” reappears in v.20 in the aorist tense.

DEInstrumental dative “by which” (Turner, A.T. Robertson)

DFGordon Clark translated “defeated,” Others more-literally “worsted.”

DGThe majority of Greek manuscripts (followed by the Textus Receptus and all the critical editions of the GNT except for Tischendorf’s) insert a conjunction here (so the Geneva, NKJV, and Peshitta), but there are three manuscripts without a conjunction here, and those are the three oldest-known (so the KJV, NASB, NIV, ESV, NET, and NLT). The Greek orthodox editions are split between omitting it (Patriarchal) and including it (GOC). The unanimous voice of the manuscripts from the 5^th century on is unusual and should tip the scales on this editorial decision.

DHThe Present Indicative protasis (ἡττῶνται) connotes the author’s assumption that the condition is true. What follows is an explanatory sentence (the second meaning of gar in the Arndt and Gingrich lexicon), nevertheless, Lander tagged this gar with Louw & Nida semantic domain # 91.1 “markers of a new sentence, but often best left untranslated.”

DIThis denotes an agent by which one becomes unclean, whereas the form in v.10 was a description of the action of making unclean.

DJcf. 2:5 “...the world of the ungodly.”

DKcf. three instances of this same word in 1:2-8.

DLAbout a dozen Greek manuscripts (including 3 of the 4 oldest-known) insert the pronoun “our” to go with “Lord,” and the ancient Syriac, Coptic, and Latin versions followed this tradition (followed by the NIV, NET, NLT, and ESV). Tischendorf included it in his Greek edition, as did the UBS in their 3^rd edition, but it’s not in the majority or traditional orthodox editions, and Aland and the UBS were so opposed to what they believed was a tradition of adding to the name of the Lord that, following Tregelles and Westcott & Hort, they omitted this from the N-A 28^th and UBS 5^th editions, so the ASV/NASB ended up agreeing with the KJV/Geneva with the simpler reading “the Lord.” The definite article, however, could be fairly interpreted pronomially, sidestepping the debate over whether or not the explicit pronoun “our” was original.

DMATR: “locative case (in these ‘defilements’), but it can be instrumental case (‘by these,’ Strachan).”

DNThis word occurs only two other places in the Greek Bible: Proverbs 28:18 and 2 Timothy 2:4.

DOThis verb occurs in the previous verse and nowhere else in the Greek New Testament. (It occurs, however in the LXX in Isa. 8:9; 13:15; 19:1; 20:5; 30:31; 31:4, 9; 33:1; 51:7; 54:17, Jer. 31:1, and Dan. 6:6, 9.)
A.T. Robertson noted that the present tense indicates “‘...repeatedly worsted.’ Predicate in the condition of first class with ei. It is not clear whether the subject here is ‘the deluded victims’ (Bigg) or the false teachers themselves (Mayor).”

DPThis refers back to the neuter plural miasmata “unclean things.” ATR labeled it a “Dative of disadvantage, ‘for them.’”

DQThe antonym of this word starts the next verse.

DRThis is a quote from Jesus: “Then it goes and takes with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself and, upon entering, they take up residence there, and that man's last [state of affairs] become worse than the first. Thus it will be also to this evil generation.” (Matthew 12:45 || Luke 11:26, NAW) Curiously, the Greek words for “first” and “last” are both plural here and in the Gospels, so it is puzzling that every standard English version translates them singular in all three places. Calvin’s editor quoted Macknight rendering the plurals accurately “their last pollutions would become worse to them than their former pollutions.”

DSThis gar appears to be inferential (Arndt & Gingrich’s 3^rd meaning for gar in their lexicon), but Lander tagged it the same as the gar at the beginning of the previous verse with Louw & Nida semantic domain #91.1 “markers of a new sentence… often best left untranslated.”

DT“Apodosis of a condition of second class without an, as is usual with clauses of possibility, propriety, obligation.” ~A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures

DUThis is a phrase descriptive of godly living among men used throughout the Proverbs (8:20, 12:28, 16:17, 16:31, 17:23b, 21:16, 21:21 - LXX) and also by Jesus in Matthew 21:32 “for John came to y'all in a way of righteousness and y'all did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him.” (NAW)

DVDative absolute participle, indicating that its subject is the previous “them” (autois).

DWThe Majority of Greek manuscripts read epistreyai, followed by the Textus Receptus and the Greek Orthodox edition of the GNT, but a dozen manuscripts (including 3 of the 5 oldest-known) have a different prefix (‘υπο-) which is followed by the Patriarchal GNT and by all the critical editions. The two words are interchangeable, as evidenced by the fact that, in the parallel passages in the Gospels where Jesus describes an exorcised demon “returning” to his host with seven more demons, Matthew 12:44 uses επιστρεψω and Luke 11:24 υποστρεψω. There is a curious third variant in four Greek manuscripts (including 2 of the 5 oldest-known): eij ta opisw anakamyai (“return into the former things”), but since all three mean the same thing, this is not a problem. “Returning” to the Lord is often used in the Bible to indicate conversion, but there are a couple other passages in the NT about “returning” to sin: Matt. 13:15-23 (Jesus quoting Isa. 6:9-10 & telling Parable Of The Sower & Seeds) and Gal. 4:9. See also the hopeful passage in Jas. 5:19-20. The fact that this idea triggers the recitation in the next verse of a proverb that uses the epi- form would be a point in favor of the traditional text.

DX “‘Holy,’ not that it makes holy, but because it ought to be kept inviolate.” ~Fausset, quoting Tittmann
“It may refer to the saving gospel command to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, OR, it may refer to the totality of the ethical command of God…. More likely … the latter. Alford calls this ‘the moral law of the gospel’…” ~D.F. Zeller
The only places in the Greek Bible where “holy” and “command(s)” are related are: Numbers 15:40, Romans 7:12, 2 Peter 3:2, and Revelation 14:12, and the singular is only in Romans and Peter.
Passages related to this command being “delivered” include: Luke 1:2, Acts 6:14 & 16:4, Rom. 6:14-18, 1 Cor. 15:3, and Jude 1:3.

DYR&R: “The dramatic perf. treats what is certain to befall as already accomplished.”

DZThe majority of Greek manuscripts (followed by the Textus Receptus and Orthodox editions and the ancient Syriac and Latin versions), included this conjunction, thus the Geneva, KJV, and NKJV start with “But,” but about 8 manuscripts (including four of the five oldest-known manuscripts – although one of them was corrected to insert the conjunction) do not have this conjunction, therefore it is not in the critical editions or the contemporary English versions.

EASubstantive article “that which is found in the true proverb” (Blass & Debrunner)

EB“Peter often quoted Proverbs in his First Epistle (1Pet. 1:7; 2:17; 4:8, 4:18); another proof that both Epistles come from the same writer.” ~A.R. Fausset
This appears to be a translation from the Hebrew of Prov. 26:11 (כְּ֭כֶלֶב שָׁ֣ב עַל־קֵא֑וֹ ...׃), rather than a quotation of the LXX (ὥσπερ κύων ὅταν ἐπέλθῃ ἐπὶ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἔμετον ... ). The part about the sow is not in the Bible – perhaps because Hebrews would not have kept pigs, but it is in the ancient Karshuni, Armenian, and Syriac Legends and Wisdom of Ahikar dating back to the 500’s BC.

ECBlass & Debrunner indicated that this word refers specifically to stray dogs, but I’ve seen tame dogs do it. The Jews considered dogs unclean, but the indiscriminate diet of wild dogs was not unknown.

EDHapex Legomenon. Lit. “what is spewed out.”

EEHapex Legomenon. Feminine, so “sow.”

EFThis participle is aorist and middle. Moulton’s Grammar noted that pigs washing themselves clean is so contrary to nature that it must be interpreted in a passive sense instead of middle. However, most of the Bible verses that mention “washing” also mention what the person was washed in. I suggest that the phrase “wash in water” is so common in the Bible because washing might be in other things. The Bible mentions washing “in blood” in the LXX of 1 Kings 22:38 and washing “in milk” in Canticles 5:12, so I see no problem with a pig washing itself in “mud,” as some animals do which are not equipped with sweat glands, and “mud” is indeed specified here. The Geneva, King James, and NLT versions translate this participle as an adjective modifying pig (“that was washed”), and the NKJV, NASB, ESV, and NET translate this participle as a temporal indicator (“after being washed”), but I suggest it be translated indicatively, just like the participle in the first half of this verse (“a dog returns… a sow washes”). Most English versions change the Greek accusative noun “wallow” into a verb “wallowing” and then they create out of thin air a pronoun “her” to be the subject for their new verb, then they change the Greek Genitive phrase “of mud” to instead read “in mud,” and some even add an extra verb (such as “return”) to force the interpretation that the pig was first washed in water and then it wallowed in mud, but that is not what the Greek says; it says “washing herself in a wallow of mud.” That’s what pigs do, and it creates a graphic picture of what sinners addicted to sin do. They surround themselves with filth and think it feels good.

EGHapex Legomenon. The majority of Greek manuscripts (followed by the Textus Receptus and at least one Greek Orthodox edition) read neuter (κυλισμα), but 18 manuscripts (including half the oldest-known ones) read masculine κυλισμον instead (and this is the reading of the Patriarchal edition and most critical editions). It makes no difference in meaning, however, for it is just a matter of different spelling conventions.

EHIn the Greek Bible only here and at the bottom of Jeremiah’s well (Jeremiah 45:6).

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