| International Standard Version | English Standard Version |
| 1Now there were false prophets among the people, just as there also will be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. | 1But 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. |
| 2Many people will follow their immoral ways, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned. | 2And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. |
| 3In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. The ancient verdict against them is still in force, and their destruction is not delayed. | 3And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. |
| 4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but threw them into the lowest hell and imprisoned them in chains of deepest darkness, holding them for judgment; | 4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; |
| 5and if he did not spare the ancient world but protected Noah, a righteous preacher, along with seven others when he brought the flood on the world of ungodly people; | 5if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; |
| 6and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them by burning them to ashes, making them an example to ungodly people of what is going to happen to them; | 6if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; |
| 7and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man who was greatly distressed by the immoral conduct of lawless people— | 7and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked |
| 8for as long as that righteous man lived among them, day after day he was being tortured in his righteous soul by what he saw and heard in their lawless actions— | 8(for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); |
| 9then the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and to hold unrighteous people for punishment on the day of judgment, | 9then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, |
| 10especially those who satisfy their flesh by indulging in its passions and who despise authority. Being bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to slander glorious beings. | 10and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, |
| 11Yet even angels, although they are greater in strength and power, do not bring a slanderous accusation against them from the Lord. | 11whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. |
| 12These people, like irrational animals, are mere creatures of instinct that are born to be caught and killed. They insult what they don't understand, and like animals they, too, will be destroyed, | 12But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, |
| 13suffering harm as punishment for their wrongdoing. They take pleasure in wild parties in broad daylight. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceitful pleasures while they eat with you. | 13suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. |
| 14With eyes full of adultery, they cannot get enough of sin. They seduce unsteady souls and have had their hearts expertly trained in greed. They are doomed to a curse. | 14They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! |
| 15They have left the straight path and wandered off to follow the path of Bosor's son Balaam, who loved the reward he got for doing wrong. | 15Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, |
| 16But he was rebuked for his offense. A donkey that normally cannot talk spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's insanity. | 16but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. |
| 17These men are dried-up springs, mere clouds driven by a storm. Gloomy darkness is reserved for them. | 17These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. |
| 18By talking high-sounding nonsense and using sinful cravings of the flesh, they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. | 18For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. |
| 19Promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves to depravity, for a person is a slave to whatever conquers him. | 19They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. |
| 20For if, after escaping the world's corruptions through a full knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah, they are again entangled and conquered by those corruptions, then their last condition is worse than their former one. | 20For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. |
| 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and turn their backs on the holy commandment that was committed to them. | 21For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. |
| 22The proverb is true that describes what has happened to them: "A dog returns to its vomit," and "A pig that is washed goes back to wallow in the mud." | 22What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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