2 Peter 2:17–22

¹⁷Those false prophets are like springs without water. They are like mists driven by a storm. The blackest darkness is reserved for them.

¹⁸They speak empty, bragging words. They make their appeal to the earthly longings of people’s sinful nature. They tempt new believers who are just escaping from the company of sinful people. ¹⁹They promise to give freedom to the new believers. But they themselves are slaves to sinful living. A person is a slave to anything that controls him.

²⁰They may have escaped the sin of the world. They may have come to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But what if they are once again caught up in sin? And what if it has become their master? Then they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.

²¹What if they had not known the way of godliness? That would have been better than to have known it and then to have turned their backs on it. The way of godliness is the sacred command that was passed on to them.

²²What the proverbs say about them is true. “A dog returns to where it has thrown up.” And, “A pig that is washed goes back to rolling in the mud.”