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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
2 Pet 2 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22
OET (OET-LV) and most_of_all the ones pursuing after the_flesh in the_lusts of_defilement, and despising of_mastership.
Darers self-willed, they_are_ not _trembling slandering at_glories,
OET (OET-RV) especially those who follow their fleshly lusts that defile themselves and despise his being master over us.
¶ Those bold, self-willed people don’t worry about insulting the glorious ones,
In this section, Peter warned the people who read his letter against false teachers who behaved wickedly and who would try to encourage believers to behave in the same immoral way as they did. But God would certainly destroy these false teachers.
Many of the verses in this section are similar to verses in Jude’s letter. Whoever wrote second, Peter or Jude, may have had a copy of the other one’s letter and used words and ideas out of that letter. Or perhaps someone else had written something with similar words and ideas in it, and Peter and Jude both used words and ideas from that writing. Why these two letters are so similar is not the most important thing. But if you have already translated Jude, it is important to have that translation open in front of you while you are studying and translating this section of 2 Peter. However be careful not to copy any verse exactly from Jude’s letter to your translation of 2 Peter, because there are differences between them which must remain in your translation.
Peter wrote this paragraph mainly to support what he said in 2:3b–c. He supported what he had said by telling three examples from the OT of how God punished wicked people and rescued people who obeyed him. These were examples with which the people to whom he wrote this letter would have been familiar.
In the Greek this whole paragraph is one long sentence, but it may be necessary for you to break it up. Read GNT and notice how that version has broken the one sentence into several shorter sentences. Perhaps you should begin this paragraph with “See” or “You know that.” Think about whether that would help people who read your translation to understand that Peter was starting to prove a point here. You may even need to repeat the “See” or “You know that” each time Peter used a new example.
Although verses 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 begin with “if” in the BSB, this is not because the events which Peter was talking about may not have happened. These events all did happen. This use of “if” in English (and Greek) was to prove a point, here what Peter said in verse 9. The GNT shows one way to communicate this meaning without using the word “if” at all.
Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority.
Above all, he will severely punish those people who do shameful things which their bodies want to do and which defile them, and who reject God’s right to rule over them.
God will punish all wicked people but he will punish very severely those who do the shameful things which they want to do and which make them morally impure and those who think they do not need to obey his commands.
God will punish all people who do wrong. In verses 4–9, Peter had been talking about such people in general, but now in verse 10, he returned to the false teachers whom, he said, God would punish especially severely. He gave two reasons for this: their immoral behavior and the way they despised authority.
the flesh: The BSB translates the Greek word literally as flesh. This refers to the fact that people want to do what their bodies desire to do, even if this is something wrong. In this verse, Peter was referring to sinful sexual behavior which causes people to think and behave in an impure way.
authority: This probably refers to the right that God and Christ have to rule people. GNT: “and despise God’s authority.” But some scholars think it means the right that any person has to rule people. If these scholars are correct, Peter was talking about people who not only despised God’s right to rule people but also despised the right that humans, for example government and church leaders, have to rule other people.
Peter was saying that the false teachers did all kinds of wicked things. They did not show respect for anyone, not even those greater than themselves. They behaved like wild animals, doing only what their bodies desired to do. Because they were so evil, and because they enticed others to behave as they themselves did, God would destroy them.
Bold and self-willed,
¶ These false teachers whom I am speaking about are not afraid to do what they want to do. They are proud.
Bold: This word can mean “courageous,” which is something good. But here it described people who dared to do all kinds of wrong things because they did not respect and fear God as people should respect and fear him, and because they did not care about other people.
self-willed: This word described people who were proud and stubborn. They did not listen to anyone else. Instead, they did exactly what they wanted to do.
they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.
They are not afraid to insult those beings up above who have honor.
unafraid to slander: Most versions interpret these words like BSB in a way that refers to only one action. This is the most likely interpretation. Here is another example:
are not afraid of offending the glorious ones (JB)
GNT follows the other interpretation and refers to two actions:
“they show no respect—instead they insult them.”
glorious beings: The literal meaning of the Greek is “glorious ones.” It is difficult to know to whom Peter was referring. The word may refer to:
angels or other heavenly beings, maybe the wicked angels that Peter mentioned in verse 4. The parallel verses 8–11 in Jude clearly refer to angels.
important people such as emperors, magistrates, or important church leaders. But this is less likely since the word usually refers to spiritual beings.
If possible, it is better to choose a neutral expression which could refer to any living beings, heavenly or human leaders. But if this is impossible, choose one of these interpretations and translate it that way. Then if you are using footnotes, explain the other interpretation in a note.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
δὲ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μάλιστα δέ τούς ὀπίσω σαρκός ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ πορευομένους καί κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας Τολμηταί αὐθάδεις δόξας οὒ τρέμουσιν βλασφημοῦντες)
Here, but indicates a connection between the last clause of the previous verse and what follows. It does not indicate a contrast between “the unrighteous” in the previous verse and “those going after the flesh” in this verse. Alternate translation: [and especially those going after the flesh]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
τοὺς ὀπίσω & πορευομένους
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μάλιστα δέ τούς ὀπίσω σαρκός ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ πορευομένους καί κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας Τολμηταί αὐθάδεις δόξας οὒ τρέμουσιν βλασφημοῦντες)
Peter uses the phrase going after to refer to habitually doing something. This expression is frequently used in the Bible to describe people worshiping false gods or engaging in sexual immorality. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this plainly. Alternate translation: [those habitually engaging in]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
σαρκὸς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μάλιστα δέ τούς ὀπίσω σαρκός ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ πορευομένους καί κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας Τολμηταί αὐθάδεις δόξας οὒ τρέμουσιν βλασφημοῦντες)
Here, flesh is used to refer to person’s sinful nature. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this figure of speech literally. Alternate translation: [their sinful nature]
ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ
in ˓the˒_lusts ˱of˲_defilement
Here, in indicates that this phrase shows the means by which the wicked people go after the flesh. Alternate translation: [by means of practicing its lusts of defilement]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ
in ˓the˒_lusts ˱of˲_defilement
If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract noun defilement with a verbal phrase. Alternate translation: [in its lusts that defile]
Note 5 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
καὶ κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μάλιστα δέ τούς ὀπίσω σαρκός ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ πορευομένους καί κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας Τολμηταί αὐθάδεις δόξας οὒ τρέμουσιν βλασφημοῦντες)
Here, and indicates that this clause provides an additional characteristic of those mentioned in the previous clause. It does not indicate a second group of wicked people. These wicked people not only pursue their sinful desires, but also despise authority. Alternate translation: [and who also despise authority]
κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας
˱of˲_lordship despising
Here, authority could refer to: (1) God’s authority, as suggested from the examples of rebelling against God in the previous verses. Alternate translation: [despising God’s authority] (2) angelic authority, as suggested by the insulting of “glorious ones” mentioned in the remainder of the verse. Alternate translation: [despising the authority of angels]
τολμηταὶ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μάλιστα δέ τούς ὀπίσω σαρκός ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ πορευομένους καί κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας Τολμηταί αὐθάδεις δόξας οὒ τρέμουσιν βλασφημοῦντες)
Audacious ones marks the beginning of the second section of this chapter, which continues until the end of [2:22](../02/22.md). In this section Peter describes the wicked character and deeds of the false teachers.
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / exclamations
τολμηταὶ αὐθάδεις
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μάλιστα δέ τούς ὀπίσω σαρκός ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ πορευομένους καί κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας Τολμηταί αὐθάδεις δόξας οὒ τρέμουσιν βλασφημοῦντες)
The words Audacious ones and Self-willed ones are exclamations that emphasize the bold pride of the false teachers. Alternate translation: [They are so audacious and self-willed!] or [How audacious and self-willed they are!]
αὐθάδεις
self-willed
Self-willed means “doing whatever one wants to do.” Alternate translation: [Those who do whatever they want]
Note 7 topic: writing-pronouns
οὐ τρέμουσιν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μάλιστα δέ τούς ὀπίσω σαρκός ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ πορευομένους καί κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας Τολμηταί αὐθάδεις δόξας οὒ τρέμουσιν βλασφημοῦντες)
Here, They refers to the false teachers Peter introduced in [2:1](../02/01.md). If it would be helpful to your readers, you could express this explicitly. Alternate translation: [These false teachers do not tremble]
δόξας & βλασφημοῦντες
˱at˲_glories & slandering
This clause indicates the time when the false teachers do not tremble. Alternate translation: [when insulting glorious ones]
δόξας
˱at˲_glories
Here, glorious ones could refer to: (1) spiritual beings, such as angels, demons, or both. Alternate translation: [glorious spiritual beings] (2) important human beings, such as church leaders. Alternate translation: [glorious people]
OET (OET-LV) and most_of_all the ones pursuing after the_flesh in the_lusts of_defilement, and despising of_mastership.
Darers self-willed, they_are_ not _trembling slandering at_glories,
OET (OET-RV) especially those who follow their fleshly lusts that defile themselves and despise his being master over us.
¶ Those bold, self-willed people don’t worry about insulting the glorious ones,
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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