2 Peter Chapter 2
Showing all 22 verses for 2 Peter Chapter 2.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"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. "
"Just as false prophets appeared among God's people in the past, false teachers will also arise among you, secretly introducing destructive false teachings and even denying the Lord who redeemed them - bringing swift ruin on themselves."
Watch for people who quietly twist good things towards their own ends rather than announcing themselves as dangerous - real harm rarely knocks and introduces itself. I want you discerning, not naive, about who you let shape your thinking.
"And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. "
"Many people will follow their destructive practices, and because of them, the true way will be spoken of badly by others."
How you act reflects on everyone who shares your values, whether that's fair or not - so live in a way that doesn't give people a false reason to write off something good. I care more about the damage done to truth's reputation than about who gets the blame.
"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. "
"Driven by greed, they'll use made-up, deceptive words to exploit you for profit - but their judgement has long been on its way and their downfall isn't sleeping."
If someone's message always somehow circles back to what they can get from you, that's the real message - listen to what people ask of you, not just what they say. Judgement doesn't need your help to arrive; it's already moving.
"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; "
"God didn't spare even the angels who sinned - he threw them down and bound them in chains of darkness, kept there awaiting judgement."
No one is too important, too powerful, or too special to answer for how they treat others - not even the highest beings imaginable. That should be sobering for the powerful and comforting for anyone who's ever been exploited by them.
"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; "
"God didn't spare the ancient world either, but rescued Noah - one of eight people, a man who spoke up for what was right - when he sent the flood on a world that had turned away from him."
Speaking up for what's right doesn't always get an audience straight away - sometimes you're the only voice in the room for a very long time. Keep speaking anyway; being right doesn't depend on being popular.
"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; "
"God reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, condemning them completely, setting an example of what happens to those who choose to live against what's right."
History remembers the pattern, not just the moment - what you build or destroy through your choices becomes a lesson for people who never even knew you. Live in a way you'd be glad to have others learn from.
"And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy of the wicked: "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"God rescued Lot, a righteous man who was deeply troubled by the immoral behaviour of the wicked people around him."
You can live in the middle of a toxic environment and still keep your own integrity intact, as long as it genuinely troubles you rather than numbs you. Notice if you've stopped being bothered by what should bother you - that's the real danger.
"(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) "
"That righteous man, living among them, was tormented day after day in his heart, just from seeing and hearing their lawless behaviour."
If your surroundings genuinely wear you down because you know they're wrong, that discomfort is not weakness - it's your conscience doing exactly what it should. Don't feel you have to toughen up and stop caring; caring is the point.
"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 Lord knows how to rescue godly people from trials, while keeping the unjust under judgement, awaiting punishment."
You're not left to face hard trials alone or unprotected - and the people causing harm are not getting away with it forever, even if it looks that way right now. Trust that both things are true at once.
"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. © root-to-fruit.co.uk "
"This applies especially to those who live driven by impure desires and who reject authority - bold and self-centred, unafraid to speak contemptuously of those in positions of respect."
Real strength respects boundaries and other people's dignity - contempt for anyone in authority, dressed up as fearless independence, is usually just self-interest wearing a brave face. Question anyone who answers to nobody but themselves.
"Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. "
"Yet even angels, who are far greater in power and strength, don't bring insulting accusations against these beings in front of the Lord."
The more power or standing you're given, the more restraint you should show with it, not less - true greatness holds its tongue when lesser things would lash out. Watch how someone handles power over others weaker than them; that tells you everything.
"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; "
"But these people, like unthinking animals born only to be caught and killed, mock things they don't actually understand - and they will be destroyed by their own corruption."
Mocking what you haven't taken the time to understand says more about you than about what you're mocking. Slow down and actually learn before you dismiss something - contempt born of ignorance eventually turns back on the person holding it.
"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; "
"They'll get exactly what their wrongdoing deserves. They treat brazen indulgence, even in broad daylight, as pure pleasure - stains and blemishes among you, enjoying their own deceptions while they eat at your table."
The people who do the most damage are often the ones sitting closest to you at the table, not strangers at the door - so pay attention to conduct, not just closeness or charm. Trust should be earned continually, not assumed from proximity.
"Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: © root-to-fruit.co.uk "
"Their eyes are always looking for the next affair, unable to stop sinning; they trick unstable, easily-led people, and their hearts are trained in greed - people heading for a curse."
Manipulators look for people who are unsteady, not for people who are strong - so building your own inner steadiness is one of the best protections you have against being used by someone with bad intentions. Take care of your own stability; it isn't selfish, it's self-defence.
"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; "
"They've abandoned the right path and wandered off, following the example of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the profit that came from doing wrong."
Watch what someone does when money is on the table and it conflicts with what's right - that's often the truest test of character there is. I'd rather you walked away poorer than compromised.
"But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. "
"But he was corrected for his wrongdoing - his own donkey spoke with a human voice and stopped the prophet's reckless madness."
Don't be too proud to accept a correction just because of who or where it comes from - sometimes the most obvious warning comes from the least expected voice. Stay humble enough to actually hear it.
"These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. "
"These people are like wells with no water in them, or clouds blown around by a storm - promising something they can't deliver, and heading for permanent darkness."
Judge people by what they actually provide, not by how promising they look on the surface - an empty well is more disappointing than an honest admission of having nothing to give. Look past the appearance to the substance.
"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. © root-to-fruit.co.uk "
"They speak impressive-sounding but empty words, luring back into unrestrained indulgence those who had genuinely broken free from people living in error."
The people most at risk of being pulled backwards are often those who've already made real progress and let their guard down - stay alert even after you've come a long way. Impressive-sounding words aren't the same as trustworthy ones; check the substance.
"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. "
"They promise freedom, while they themselves are slaves to corruption - because whatever controls a person is what actually owns them."
True freedom isn't about doing whatever you want - it's about not being controlled by anything, including your own cravings. Ask honestly what actually has power over your choices; that's the real measure of how free you are, whatever anyone promises you.
"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. "
"If someone has escaped the corruption of the world through genuinely knowing Jesus, and then gets tangled back up in it and overwhelmed again, they end up worse off than before they ever started."
Slipping back into old patterns after real progress hits differently and hurts more - so protect the ground you've gained, and don't treat backsliding as harmless just because you've been there before. I'm not here to shame you if it happens, but I do want you to take it seriously.
"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. "
"It would have been better for them never to have known the right way at all, than to know it and then turn their backs on the instruction they were given."
The more you know better, the more it matters when you choose worse - that's not a threat, it's just honesty about how responsibility works. Don't let that scare you away from learning; let it motivate you to actually live by what you learn.
"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. "
"What's happened to them fits the old saying: "A dog returns to its own vomit," and "A washed pig goes back to rolling in the mud.""
Going back to what harmed you can feel oddly comfortable, even familiar - but comfort isn't the same as good for you. I'd rather give you an unflattering picture that keeps you moving forward than a soft one that lets you slide back unaware.