Chapter 2

1There were also false prophets among the people of Israel. In the same way, there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce teachings that lead to destruction. They will even deny the master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.

2Many people will follow their shameless behavior, and because of them, others will insult the true way.

3Driven by greed, these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their judgment, decided long ago, is not sitting idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

4God did not spare angels when they sinned. He cast them into the deepest prison, bound them in gloomy darkness, and is holding them there for judgment.

5God did not spare the ancient world either. He brought a flood upon a world of people who lived without regard for him. But he protected Noah, who proclaimed what was right, along with seven others.

6God also condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction and reduced them to ashes. He made them an example of what is coming to people who live without regard for him.

7But God rescued Lot, a man who did what was right and was deeply distressed by the shameless conduct of people who rejected all moral limits.

8That man lived among them, and day after day his decent heart was tormented by the lawless things he saw and heard.

9These examples show that the Lord knows how to rescue people devoted to him when they are tested. He also knows how to keep unjust people under punishment until the day of judgment.

10This is especially true of those who follow their physical desires, craving what defiles them, and who despise authority. These false teachers are bold and arrogant. They are not even afraid to insult glorious spiritual beings.

11Yet angels, though greater in strength and power, do not pronounce an insulting judgment against these beings.

12But these teachers are like unreasoning animals—creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed. They insult what they do not understand, and as such animals are destroyed, they too will be destroyed.

13Their wrongdoing will pay them back with harm. They consider self-indulgence in broad daylight a pleasure. They are stains and defects among you, delighting in their deceptions as they feast with you.

14Their eyes are always searching for a woman with whom to commit adultery, and they never stop sinning. They lure unsteady people into traps. They have trained their hearts to be greedy, and they live under a curse.

15They have left the straight path and wandered away. They followed the path of the ancient prophet Balaam, son of Bosor, who loved the money he received for doing wrong.

16But Balaam was rebuked for his wrongdoing. His mute pack animal spoke with a human voice and stopped the prophet’s madness.

17These teachers are springs with no water and mists driven by a violent storm. The deepest darkness has been reserved for them.

18They speak grand but empty words. Through unrestrained physical desires and shameless behavior, they lure people who have barely escaped from those who live in error.

19They promise these people freedom, though they themselves are slaves to corruption. After all, whatever defeats a person also enslaves that person.

20Some people have escaped the world’s corrupting influences by coming to know the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But if they become entangled in those influences again and are defeated, their final condition has become worse than it was at first.

21It would have been better for them never to have known the way of doing what is right than to know it and then turn away from the sacred command handed down to them.

22What the true proverb says has happened to them: “A dog goes back to its own vomit,” and, “A pig, after being washed, goes back to rolling in mud.”