2 Petrus 2:5-9

2:5 and if he did not spare the ancient world, but did protect Noah, a herald of righteousness, along with seven others, ¹  when God ²  brought a flood on an ungodly world, ³  2:6 and if he turned to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah when he condemned them to destruction, ⁴  having appointed ⁵  them to serve as an example ⁶  to future generations of the ungodly, ⁷  2:7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man in anguish over the debauched lifestyle of lawless ⁸  men, ⁹  2:8 (for while he lived among them day after day, that righteous man was tormented in his righteous soul ¹⁰  by the lawless deeds he saw and heard ¹¹ ) 2:9 – if so, ¹²  then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, ¹³  and to reserve the unrighteous for punishment ¹⁴  at the day of judgment,

[2:5]  ¹ tn “Along with seven others” is implied in the cryptic, “the eighth, Noah.” A more literal translation thus would be, “he did protect Noah [as] the eighth…”

[2:5]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been repeated here for clarity, although this is somewhat redundant with the beginning of v. 4.

[2:5]  ³ tn Grk “a world of the ungodly.”

[2:6]  ⁴ tc Several important witnesses omit καταστροφῇ (katastrofh, “destruction”; such as Ì^72* B C* 1241 1739 1881 pc), but this is probably best explained as an accidental omission due to homoioarcton (the word following is κατέκρινεν [katekrinen, “he condemned”]).

[2:6]  tn Or “ruin,” or “extinction.” The first part of this verse more literally reads “And [if] he condemned to annihilation the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, by turning them to ashes.”

[2:6]  sn The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is detailed in Gen 18:16—19:29.

[2:6]  ⁵ tn The perfect participle τεθεικώς (teqeikw") suggests an antecedent act. More idiomatically, the idea seems to be, “because he had already appointed them to serve as an example.”

[2:6]  ⁶ tn “To serve as” is not in Greek but is implied in the object-complement construction.

[2:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “an example of the things coming to the ungodly,” or perhaps “an example to the ungodly of coming [ages].”

[2:7]  ⁸ tn Or “unprincipled.”

[2:7]  ⁹ tn This verse more literally reads “And [if] he rescued righteous Lot, who was deeply distressed by the lifestyle of the lawless in [their] debauchery.”

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “that righteous man tormented his righteous soul.”

[2:8]  ¹¹ tn Grk “by lawless deeds, in seeing and hearing [them].”

[2:9]  ¹² tn The Greek is one long conditional sentence, from v. 4 to v. 10a. 2Pet 2:4-8 constitute the protasis; vv. 9 and 10a, the apodosis. In order to show this connection more clearly, a resumptive summary protasis – “if so,” or “if God did these things” – is needed in English translation.

[2:9]  ¹³ tn Grk “from trial,” or possibly “from temptation” (though this second meaning for πειρασμός (peirasmo") does not fit the context in which Noah and Lot are seen as in the midst of trials, not temptation).

[2:9]  ¹⁴ tn The adverbial participle κολαζομένους (kolazomenou") can refer either to contemporaneous time or subsequent time. At stake is the meaning of the following prepositional phrase (at the day of judgment or until the day of judgment). If the participle is contemporaneous, the idea is “to keep the ungodly in a state of punishment until the day of judgment.” If subsequent, the meaning is “to keep the ungodly to be punished at the day of judgment.” Many commentators/translations opt for the first view, assuming that the present participle cannot be used of subsequent time. However, the present participle is the normal one used for result, and is often used of purpose (cf., e.g., for present participles suggesting result, Mark 9:7; Luke 4:15; John 5:18; Eph 2:15; 2 Pet 2:1, mentioned above; for present participles indicating purpose, note Luke 10:25; John 12:33; Acts 3:26; 2 Pet 2:10 [as even most translations render it]). Further, the context supports this: 2:1-10 forms something of an inclusio, in which the final end of the false teachers is mentioned specifically in v. 1, then as a general principle in v. 9. The point of v. 3 – that the punishment of the false teachers is certain, even though the sentence has not yet been carried out, is underscored by a participle of purpose in v. 9.