Dual Panel1But <1161> false prophets <5578> arose <1096> among <1722> the people <2992>, just as <5613> there will be <1510> false teachers <5572> among <1722> you <5213>. These false teachers <3748> will infiltrate <3919> your midst with destructive <684> heresies <139>, even <2532> to the point of denying <720> the Master <1203> who bought <59> them <846>. As a result, they will bring <1863> swift <5031> destruction <684> on themselves <1438>.
2And <2532> many <4183> will follow <1811> their <846> debauched lifestyles <766>. Because of <1223> these false teachers <3739>, the way <3598> of truth <225> will be slandered <987>.
3And <2532> in <1722> their greed <4124> they will exploit <1710> you <5209> with deceptive <4112> words <3056>. Their <3739> condemnation <2917> pronounced long ago <1597> is <691> not <3756> sitting idly <691> by; their <846> destruction <684> is <3573> not <3756> asleep <3573>.
4For <1063> if <1487> God <2316> did <5339> not <3756> spare <5339> the angels <32> who sinned <264>, but <235> threw <5020> them into hell <5020> and locked <4577> them up in chains <4577> in utter darkness <2217>, to be kept <5083> until <1519> the judgment <2920>,
5and <2532> if he did <5339> not <3756> spare <5339> the ancient <744> world <2889>, but <235> did protect <5442> Noah <3575>, a herald <2783> of righteousness <1343>, along with seven others <3590>, when <1863> God brought <1863> a flood <2627> on an ungodly <765> world <2889>,
6and <2532> if he turned to ashes <5077> the cities <4172> of Sodom <4670> and <2532> Gomorrah <1116> when he condemned <2632> them to destruction <2632>, having appointed <5087> them to serve as an example <5262> to future generations <3195> of the ungodly <765>,
7and <2532> if he rescued <4506> Lot <3091>, a righteous man <1342> in anguish <2669> over <5259> the debauched <766> lifestyle <391> of lawless men <113>,
8(for <1063> while <1460> he lived <1460> among <1722> them <846> day <2250> after <1537> day <2250>, that righteous man <1342> was tormented <928> in his righteous <1342> soul <5590> by the lawless <459> deeds <2041> he saw <990> and <2532> heard <189>)
9–if so, then the Lord <2962> knows <1492> how to rescue <4506> the godly <2152> from <1537> their trials <3986>, and <1161> to reserve <5083> the unrighteous <94> for punishment <2849> at <1519> the day <2250> of judgment <2920>,
10especially <3122> those who indulge <3394> their fleshly <4561> desires <1939> and <2532> who despise <2706> authority <2963>. Brazen <5113> and insolent <829>, they are <5141> not <3756> afraid <5141> to insult <987> the glorious <1391> ones,
11yet even angels <32>, who <3699> are <1510> much more <3173> powerful <2479> <2532> <1411>, do <5342> not <3756> bring <5342> a slanderous <989> judgment <2920> against <2596> them <846> before <3844> the Lord <2962>.
12But <1161> these men <3778>, like <5613> irrational <249> animals <2226>– creatures <249> of instinct <5446>, born <1080> to <1519> be caught <259> and <2532> destroyed <5356>– do not understand <50> whom <3739> they are insulting <987>, and consequently in <1722> their <846> destruction <5356> they will be destroyed <5351>,
13suffering harm <91> as the wages <3408> for their harmful ways <93>. By considering <2233> it a pleasure <2237> to carouse in <1722> broad <5172> daylight <2250>, they are stains <4696> and <2532> blemishes <3470>, indulging <1792> in <1722> their <846> deceitful pleasures <539> when <4910> they feast together <4910> with you <5213>.
14Their eyes <3788>, full <2192> <3324> of adultery <3428>, never stop sinning <180>; they entice <1185> unstable <793> people <5590>. They have trained <1128> their hearts <2588> for greed <4124>, these cursed <2192> <2671> children <5043>!
15By forsaking <2641> the right <2117> path <3598> they have gone astray <4105>, because they followed <1811> the way <3598> of Balaam <903> son of Bosor <1007>, who <3739> loved <25> the wages <3408> of unrighteousness <93>,
16yet <1161> was <2192> rebuked <1649> for his own <2398> transgression <3892> (a dumb <880> donkey <5268>, speaking <5350> with <1722> a human <444> voice <5456>, restrained <2967> the prophet’s <4396> madness <3913>).
17These men <3778> are <1510> waterless <504> springs <4077> and <2532> mists <3507> driven <1643> by <5259> a storm <2978>, for whom <3739> the utter depths <2217> of darkness <4655> have been reserved <5083>.
18For <1063> by speaking <5350> high-sounding <5246> but empty words <3153> they are able to entice <1185>, with <1722> fleshly <4561> desires <1939> and with debauchery <766>, people who have just escaped <668> from those who reside <390> in <1722> error <4106>.
19Although these false teachers <846> promise <1861> such people <846> freedom <1657>, they themselves are <5225> enslaved <1401> to immorality <5356>. For <1063> whatever <3739> a person <5100> succumbs <2274> to, to that <5129> he is enslaved <1402>.
20For <1063> if <1487> after <668> they have escaped <668> the filthy things <3393> of the world <2889> through <1722> the rich knowledge <1922> of our Lord <2962> and <2532> Savior <4990> Jesus <2424> Christ <5547>, they <2274> again <3825> get entangled <1707> in them <5125> and <1161> succumb <2274> to them <846>, their last state <2078> has become <1096> worse <5501> for them than their first <4413>.
21For <1063> it would have been <1510> better <2909> for them <846> never <3361> to have known <1921> the way <3598> of righteousness <1343> than <2228>, having known <1921> it, to turn back <5290> from <1537> the holy <40> commandment <1785> that had been delivered <3860> to them <846>.
22They <846> are illustrations <4819> of this true <227> proverb <3942>: “A dog <2965> returns <1994> to <1909> its own <2398> vomit <1829>,” and <2532> “A sow <5300>, after washing <3068> herself, wallows <2946> in the mire <1004>.”