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2 Peter 2

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The Rise of False Teachers 1–3

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. ​
2
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
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. ​

God's Certainty of Judgment and Deliverance 4–9

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; ​
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; ​
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; ​
7
And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
8
(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
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: ​

The Immorality and Arrogance of the Teachers 10–16

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. ​
11
Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. ​
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; ​
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; ​
14
Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: ​
15
Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; ​
16
But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. ​

The Deception and Fate of the Apostates 17–22

17
These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. ​
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. ​
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. ​
20
For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. ​
21
For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. ​
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. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 2 Peter 2

Verse 1

denying the Lord that bought them — ‘Lord’ is despotes, the master who owns; ‘bought’ is agorazo, the verb of ‘ye are bought with a price’ (1 Cor 6:20). ‘False teachers’ (pseudodidaskalos) and ‘privily shall bring in’ (pareisago) occur only here. Jude 4 describes the same men: ‘crept in unawares’, ‘denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ’.

Verse 3

make merchandise of you — Emporeuomai is to trade as a merchant, as in ‘buy and sell, and get gain’ (Jas 4:13); the goods are the hearers, paid for with ‘feigned’ (plastos, moulded, made up) words. Their judgment ‘lingereth not’ (argeo, is not idle) and ‘slumbereth not’ (nystazo, the verb of the virgins who ‘slumbered’, Matt 25:5).

Verse 4

cast them down to hell — Tartaroo, a verb found only here in the New Testament, means to hold in confinement for punishment. ‘Reserved’ is tereo, the verb also of vv.9, 17 and 3:7. Jude 6 parallels it: ‘reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day’. ‘Spared not’ (pheidomai) is the verb of Rom 8:32.

Verse 5

saved Noah the eighth person — 1 Pet 3:20 says, ‘Eight souls were saved by water’. ‘Preacher’ is kerux, a herald, the title Paul takes in 1 Tim 2:7 and 2 Tim 1:11; here it is Noah’s, a herald ‘of righteousness’, who ‘became heir of the righteousness which is by faith’ (Heb 11:7). The same ‘spared not’ of v.4 is repeated.

Verse 6

into ashes — Tephroo, to reduce to ashes, occurs only here. ‘Ensample’ is hypodeigma, an example to be seen: Jude 7 says they ‘are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire’. Moses described the land as ‘brimstone, and salt, and burning… like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah’ (Deut 29:23).

Verse 9

knoweth how to deliver the godly — ‘Deliver’ is rhuomai, the verb used of ‘just Lot’ in v.7; ‘temptations’ (peirasmos) are trials. The verse gathers the examples: Noah and Lot rescued, the angels held for judgment (tereo, as in v.4) and the cities made an example (v.6). Paul gives the same assurance: God ‘will with the temptation also make a way to escape’ (1 Cor 10:13).

Verse 10

despise government — ‘Government’ is kyriotes, lordship; Jude 8 says these men ‘despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities’ (doxai, glories). ‘Presumptuous’ (tolmetes) and ‘uncleanness’ (miasmos) occur only here. ‘Selfwilled’ (authades) is what a bishop must not be (Titus 1:7). The law said, ‘nor curse the ruler of thy people’ (Ex 22:28).

Verse 11

railing accusation — Jude 9 gives the instance: ‘Michael the archangel… durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.’ The angels are ‘greater in power and might’ (ischys, dynamis), yet leave judgment to the Lord. ‘Railing’ is blasphemos, the root of the verb ‘speak evil’ in v.10.

Verse 12

natural brute beasts — ‘Brute’ is alogos, without reason; Jude 10 uses the same picture: ‘they know naturally, as brute beasts’. They ‘speak evil of the things that they understand not’ (agnoeo). ‘Corruption’ (phthora) and ‘utterly perish’ (kataphtheiro) share a root: they perish in the very corruption they serve (v.19).

Verse 13

the reward of unrighteousness — Misthos adikias returns in v.15 as ‘the wages of unrighteousness’, which Balaam loved. ‘Spots’ (spilos) and ‘blemishes’ (momos) invert the picture of the lamb ‘without blemish and without spot’ (1 Pet 1:19). Jude 12 names the same men ‘spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you’.

Verse 14

eyes full of adultery — The word is the adulteress (moichalis); Christ said, ‘whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart’ (Matt 5:28). ‘Cannot cease’ (akatapaustos) occurs only here; ‘unstable’ (asteriktos) again in 3:16. ‘Beguiling’ (deleazo) is James’s ‘enticed’ (Jas 1:14).

Verse 15

the way of Balaam the son of Bosor — ‘Bosor’ is the Greek form of ‘Beor’ (Num 22:5). Balaam’s counsel brought Israel into trespass at Peor (Num 31:16), and Christ says he ‘taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel’ (Rev 2:14). Jude 11 has men who ‘ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward’.

Verse 16

the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice — ‘The LORD opened the mouth of the ass’ (Num 22:28), who had seen the angel when the prophet had not (Num 22:23). ‘Rebuke’ (elenxis) and ‘madness’ (paraphronia, being beside oneself) each occur only here. The beast’s question, ‘was I ever wont to do so unto thee?’ (Num 22:30), checks the prophet.

Verse 17

wells without water — Pege anydros, a dry spring, like the pits where they ‘found no water’ (Jer 14:3); the clouds are those of Prov 25:14, ‘clouds and wind without rain’, and of Jude 12, ‘clouds they are without water, carried about of winds’. The ‘mist of darkness’ is the zophos of v.4, and ‘reserved’ is again tereo.

Verse 18

great swelling words of vanity — Hyperonkos, swollen; Jude 16 has the same ‘great swelling words’. ‘Vanity’ is mataiotes, in Eph 4:17 ‘the vanity of their mind’. ‘Wantonness’ is aselgeia, Jude 4’s ‘lasciviousness’. Those lured had ‘clean escaped’ (apopheugo), the verb of 1:4, ‘having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust’.

Verse 19

servants of corruption — They promise eleutheria, liberty, but are douloi of phthora, corruption, the word of v.12 and of 1:4. ‘Overcome’ (hettao) returns in v.20. Christ gave the rule: ‘Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin’ (John 8:34); Paul warns, ‘use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh’ (Gal 5:13).

Verse 20

the latter end is worse — ‘Pollutions’ (miasma) occurs only here. ‘Knowledge’ is epignosis, the full knowledge of 1:2, 3 and 8. They had ‘escaped’ (v.18), and are now ‘entangled’ (empleko) and ‘overcome’. The verdict echoes Christ’s: ‘the last state of that man is worse than the first’ (Matt 12:45).

Verse 21

the way of righteousness — Peter has named other ways: ‘the way of truth’ (v.2) and ‘the right way’ (v.15). ‘John came unto you in the way of righteousness’ (Matt 21:32); ‘In the way of righteousness is life’ (Prov 12:28). The ‘holy commandment’ (entole) delivered to them is the ‘commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour’ (3:2).

Verse 22

The dog is turned to his own vomit — The first proverb is Prov 26:11: ‘As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.’ The sow is a second picture; hys (sow) and kulisma (wallowing) occur only here. ‘Turned’ is epistrepho, the verb of ‘Repent ye therefore, and be converted’ (Acts 3:19), here a turning back.