International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
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 there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. |
2Many people will follow their immoral ways, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned. | 2Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. |
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. | 3In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. |
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 God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of 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; | 5And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood. |
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; | 6Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people. |
7and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man who was greatly distressed by the immoral conduct of lawless people— | 7But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. |
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— | 8Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. |
9then the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and to hold unrighteous people for punishment on the day of judgment, | 9So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final 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. | 10He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority. These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling. |
11Yet even angels, although they are greater in strength and power, do not bring a slanderous accusation against them from the Lord. | 11But the angels, who are far greater in power and strength, do not dare to bring from the Lord a charge of blasphemy against those supernatural beings. |
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, | 12These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed. |
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. | 13Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals. |
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 commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse. |
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. | 15They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. |
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 Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice. |
17These men are dried-up springs, mere clouds driven by a storm. Gloomy darkness is reserved for them. | 17These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. |
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. | 18They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. |
19Promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves to depravity, for a person is a slave to whatever conquers him. | 19They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. |
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. | 20And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. |
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. | 21It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. |
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." | 22They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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