2 Peter 2–3

THE JUDGMENT OF FALSE TEACHERS

2There were indeed false prophets^ac among the people, just as there will be false teachers^ad among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought^ae them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. ²Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them.^{af 3}They will exploit^ag you in their greed^ah with made-up stories. Their condemnation,^ai pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.

⁴For if God didn’t spare^aj the angels who sinned but cast them into hell^Aak and delivered them in chains^B of utter darkness to be kept for judgment;^{al 5}and if he didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah,^am a preacher of righteousness, and seven others,^Can when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly; ⁶and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah^a to ashes and condemned them to extinction,^D making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly;^{b 7}and if he rescued righteous Lot,^c distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral ⁸(for as that righteous man lived among them day by day, his righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard^d)—⁹then the Lord knows how to rescue^e the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,^{f 10}especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority.^g

Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones; ¹¹however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord.^{E 12}But these people, like irrational animals—creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed—slander what they do not understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed. ¹³They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are spots and blemishes, delighting in their deceptions^F while they feast with you. ¹⁴They have eyes full of adultery^h that never stop looking for sin. They seduce unstable people and have hearts trained in greed. Children under a curse!^{i 15}They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path^j and have followed the path of Balaam,^k the son of Bosor,^G who loved the wages of wickedness^{l 16}but received a rebuke for his lawlessness: A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.^m

¹⁷These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them.^{n 18}For by uttering boastful, empty words,^o they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped^A from those who live in error. ¹⁹They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.^{p 20}For if, having escaped the world’s impurity through the knowledge of the Lord^B and Savior Jesus Christ,^q they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first.^{r 21}For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness^s than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command^t delivered^u to them.^{v 22}It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit,^Cw and, “A washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud.”

THE DAY OF THE LORD

3Dear friends, this is now the second letter^x I have written to you; in both letters, I want to stir up your sincere^y understanding by way of reminder, ²so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles. ³Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days^z scoffing and following their own evil desires, ⁴saying, “Where is his ‘coming’ that he promised?^aa Ever since our ancestors fell asleep,^ab all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.” ⁵They deliberately overlook this: By the word of God^ac the heavens came into being long ago and the earth was brought about from water and through water.^{ad 6}Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded.^{ae 7}By the same word,^af the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment^ag and destruction of the ungodly.

⁸Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.^{ah 9}The Lord does not delay his promise,^ai as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any^aj to perish^ak but all to come to repentance.^al

¹⁰But the day of the Lord^am will come like a thief;^Dan on that day the heavens will pass away^ao with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved,^ap and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.^{EF 11}Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness ¹²as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming.^Gaq Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat. ¹³But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth,^a where righteousness dwells.^b

CONCLUSION

¹⁴Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace.^{c 15}Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him.^{d 16}He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction,^e as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.

¹⁷Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard,^f so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position. ¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge^g of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.^Ah