2 Petrus 2:1

The False Teachers’ Ungodly Lifestyle

2:1 But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. ¹  These false teachers ²  will ³  infiltrate your midst ⁴  with destructive heresies, ⁵  even to the point of ⁶  denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring ⁷  swift destruction on themselves.

2 Petrus 2:18-19

2:18 For by speaking high-sounding but empty words ⁸  they are able to entice, ⁹  with fleshly desires and with debauchery, ¹⁰  people ¹¹  who have just escaped ¹²  from those who reside in error. ¹³  2:19 Although these false teachers promise ¹⁴  such people ¹⁵  freedom, they themselves are enslaved to ¹⁶  immorality. ¹⁷  For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved. ¹⁸ 

[2:1]  ¹ sn There will be false teachers among you. Peter uses the same verb, γίνομαι (ginomai), in 2 Pet 2:1 as he had used in 1:20 to describe the process of inspiration. He may well be contrasting, by way of a catchword, the two kinds of prophets.

[2:1]  ² tn Grk “who”; verse 1 is one sentence in Greek, the second half constituting a relative clause.

[2:1]  ³ sn By the use of the future tense (will infiltrate), Peter is boldly prophesying the role that false teachers will have before these Gentile believers. It was necessary for him to establish both his own credentials and to anchor his audience’s faith in the written Word before he could get to this point, for these false teachers will question both.

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “will bring in,” often with the connotation of secretiveness; “your midst” is implied.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Or “destructive opinions,” “destructive viewpoints.” The genitive ἀπωλείας (apwleia") could be taken either attributively (“destructive”) or as a genitive of destination (“leading to destruction”). Although the preferable interpretation is a genitive of destination, especially because of the elaboration given at the end of the verse (“bringing swift destruction on themselves”), translating it attributively is less cumbersome in English. Either way, the net result is the same.

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “even.” The καί (kai) is ascensive, suggesting that the worst heresy is mentioned in the words that follow.

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “bringing.” The present participle ἐπάγοντες (epagonte") indicates the result of the preceding clause.

[2:18]  ⁸ tn Grk “high-sounding words of futility.”

[2:18]  ⁹ tn Grk “they entice.”

[2:18]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “with the lusts of the flesh, with debauchery.”

[2:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “those.”

[2:18]  ¹² tn Or “those who are barely escaping.”

[2:18]  ¹³ tn Or “deceit.”

[2:19]  ¹⁴ tn Verse 19 is a subordinate clause in Greek. The masculine nominative participle “promising” (ἐπαγγελλόμενοι, epangellomenoi) refers back to the subject of vv. 17-18. At the same time, it functions subordinately to the following participle, ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte", “while being”).

[2:19]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “them.”

[2:19]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “slaves of.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[2:19]  ¹⁷ tn Or “corruption,” “depravity.” Verse 19 constitutes a subordinate clause to v. 18 in Greek. The main verbal components of these two verses are: “uttering…they entice…promising…being (enslaved).” The main verb is (they) entice. The three participles are adverbial and seem to indicate an instrumental relation (by uttering), a concessive relation (although promising), and a temporal relation (while being [enslaved]). For the sake of English usage, in the translation of the text this is broken down into two sentences.

[2:19]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “for by what someone is overcome, to this he is enslaved.”