| Chapter text (World English Bible version) |  |
Warnings for believers. | |
| 1 But false prophets also arose amongst the people, as false teachers will also be amongst you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction. 2 Many will follow their immoral ways, and as a result, the way of the truth will be maligned. | What will false teachers do among the people, and how will others respond to them? |
| 3 In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber. | What motivates the false teachers, and what does Peter say about their judgment? |
4 For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus,* and committed them to pits of darkness to be reserved for judgement; 5 and didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly, 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, having made them an example to those who would live in an ungodly way, * In Greek mythology Tartarus is the place where the dead are. | What examples does Peter give to show that God punishes the wicked? |
| 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man dwelling amongst them was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgement, | How does God show that He can rescue the godly while punishing the wicked? |
| 10 but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, 11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, don’t bring a slanderous judgement against them before the Lord. | How are the false teachers described in their attitude toward authority? |
| 12 But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant, will in their destroying surely be destroyed, 13 receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and defects, revelling in their deceit while they feast with you; 14 having eyes full of adultery, and who can’t cease from sin, enticing unsettled souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children! | How do these people behave, and what are they compared to? |
| 15 Forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrongdoing; 16 but he was rebuked for his own disobedience. A speechless donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the madness of the prophet. | What example from the Old Testament does Peter use to describe their greed? |
| 17 These are wells without water, clouds driven by a storm, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. 18 For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping from those who live in error; 19 promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for a man is brought into bondage by whoever overcomes him. | What false promises do these teachers make, and what is their true condition? |
20 For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in it and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, “The dog turns to his own vomit again,”* and “the sow that has washed to wallowing in the mire.” * Quotation from Proverbs 26 v 11 | What warning does Peter give about those who turn back after knowing the truth? |
Back to chapter page
Or
Choose a chapter with questions