But there also arose false prophets among the people, as among you also there will be false teachers, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction. 2Many will follow their immoral ways, and as a result, the way of the truth will be maligned. 3In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old does not linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Hell1, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved to judgment; 5and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Nuh2 with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly; 6and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly; 7and delivered righteous Lut3, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked 8(for that righteous man dwelling among them, was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds): 9the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment; 10but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries; 11whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not bring a railing judgment against them before the Lord4.
12But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant, will in their destroying surely be destroyed, 13receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, reveling in their deceit while they feast with you; 14having eyes full of adultery, and who cannot cease from sin; enticing unsettled souls; having a heart trained in greed; children of cursing; 15forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrong-doing; 16but he was rebuked for his own disobedience. A mute donkey spoke with man’s voice and stopped the madness of the prophet.5
17These are wells without water, clouds driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. 18For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping from those who live in error; 19promising them liberty, while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a man is overcome, by the same is he also brought into bondage.
20For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour ‘ISA6 AL-MASIH7, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state has become worse with them than the first. 21For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22But it has happened to them according to the true proverb,
“A dog returns to its vomit,” 8
and,
“The sow that had washed returns to wallowing in the mire.” 9
- 2:4 Greek, Tartarus, another name for Hell. ↩︎
- 2:5 Nuh, or Noah. ↩︎
- 2:7 Lut, or Lot, the nephew of Prophet Ibrahim. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and deliverance of Lut’s family is recorded in the Taurat, Genesis 19. ↩︎
- 2:11 Lord, translated from the Greek kurios. Depending on context, it can refer to: 1. God, 2. ’ISA AL-MASIH, 3. men in authority, such as kings, landlords, etc., 4. a respectful salutation meaning, “sir.” ↩︎
- 2:15-16 Citing the story of Balaam and his donkey is recorded in the Taurat, Numbers 22 to 25. ↩︎
- 2:20 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH saves.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
- 2:20 AL-MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH. Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎
- 2:22 Quoting the Taurat, Proverbs 26:11 which says: “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” ↩︎
- 2:22 Citing the well-known ancient Words of Ahikar 7:27 which says: “O my son! You have been to me like the pig that went into the hot bath with people of quality, and
when it came out of the hot bath, it saw a filthy hole and went down and wallowed in it.” ↩︎