2Pe 2-3 | ESV | STEP | But false prophets also arose among the people , just as there will be false teachers among you , who will secretly bring in destructive heresies , even denying the Master who bought them , bringing upon themselves swift destruction .

2 Peter 2

False Prophets and Teachers

1 But ^afalse prophets also arose among the people, ^bjust as there will be false teachers among you, who will ^csecretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master ^dwho bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth ^ewill be blasphemed. 3 And ^fin their greed they will exploit you ^gwith false words. ^hTheir condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

4 For if God did not spare ⁱangels when they sinned, but ^jcast them into hell ^{▼▼Greek Tartarus} and committed them to chains ^{▼▼Some manuscripts pits} of gloomy darkness ^mto be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but ⁿpreserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought ^oa flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by ^pturning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, ^qmaking them an example of ^rwhat is going to happen to the ungodly; ^{▼▼Some manuscripts an example to those who were to be ungodly} 7 and ^tif he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, ^uhe was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then ^vthe Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, ^{▼▼Or temptations} and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially ^xthose who indulge ^{▼▼Greek who go after the flesh} in the lust of defiling passion and ^zdespise authority.

Bold and willful, they do not tremble ^aaas they blaspheme the glorious ones, 11 ^abwhereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. 12 ^acBut these, like irrational animals, ^adcreatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, 13 suffering wrong as ^aethe wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure ^afto revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts love feasts} while ^ahthey feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery, ^aiinsatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts ^ajtrained in greed. ^akAccursed children! 15 Forsaking the right way, ^althey have gone astray. They have followed ^amthe way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved ^angain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; ^aoa speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

17 ^apThese are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. ^aqFor them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 18 For, ^arspeaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely ^asescaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them ^atfreedom, ^aubut they themselves are slaves ^{▼▼Greek bondservants} of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 20 For if, ^awafter they have escaped the defilements of the world ^axthrough the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, ^aythe last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For ^azit would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from ^bathe holy commandment delivered to them. 22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The ^bbdog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

2 Peter 3

The Day of the Lord Will Come

1 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them ^bcI am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 ^bdthat you should remember the predictions of ^bethe holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come ^bfin the last days with scoffing, ^bgfollowing their own sinful desires. 4 ^bhThey will say, “Where is the promise of ^bihis coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth ^bjwas formed out of water and through water ^bkby the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed ^blwas deluged with water and ^bmperished. 7 But by the same word ^bnthe heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and ^bodestruction of the ungodly.

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and ^bpa thousand years as one day. 9 ^bqThe Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise ^bras some count slowness, but ^bsis patient toward you, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts on your account} ^bunot wishing that any should perish, but ^bvthat all should reach repentance. 10 But ^bwthe day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then ^bxthe heavens will pass away with a roar, and ^bythe heavenly bodies ^{▼▼Or elements; also verse 12} will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. ^{▼▼Greek found; some manuscripts will be burned up}

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, ^cbwhat sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 ^ccwaiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and ^cdthe heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for ^cenew heavens and a new earth ^cfin which righteousness dwells.

Final Words

14 ^cgTherefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him ^chwithout spot or ^ciblemish, and ^cjat peace. 15 And count ^ckthe patience of our Lord as salvation, just as ^clour beloved brother Paul also wrote to you ^cmaccording to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. ^cnThere are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, ^coas they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, ^cpknowing this beforehand, ^cqtake care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But ^crgrow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ^csTo him be the glory both now and to the day of ^cteternity. Amen.