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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 V10 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22
OET (OET-LV) where messengers being greater in_strength and power, are_ not _bringing a_slanderous judgement against them before the_master.
OET (OET-RV) whereas even messengers who are greater in both strength and power don’t slander or pass the master’s judgement on those 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 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.
Yet not even angels, though greater in strength and power,
Even angels who are very much stronger than the false teachers,
greater in strength and power: These two expressions mean almost the same thing, so they are probably a pair of words that Peter used together in this sentence in order to emphasize how powerful the angels that he is talking about are. Then this expression means, “have much greater power.”
In the Greek it is not clear whom Peter was saying the angels were stronger than, but in many languages it will be necessary to state this. Many scholars think that Peter meant to say that the angels were stronger than the false teachers. Others think he meant that the angels were stronger than the celestial beings. If your language requires that you say whom the angels are stronger than, we recommend that you say that they are stronger than the false teachers. For example:
so much stronger and mightier than these false teachers (GNT)
dare to bring such slanderous charges against them before the Lord.
do not insult those beings who have honor when they accuse them in front of the Lord God.
dare to bring such slanderous charges against them: Peter said that the angels do not bring slanderous accusations against them. Here is another way to translate this:
do not pronounce a reviling judgement upon them. (GNT)
It is not clear to whom Peter was referring when he used the word them.
In some translations, them refers to the heavenly beings of verse 10c. If this is the correct interpretation, then the meaning is that the false teachers insult the heavenly beings, but the angels, who are even more powerful, do not. (BSB, NIV, NEB, JB)
In the GNT, them refers to the false teachers. If this is the correct interpretation, then Peter was contrasting the false teachers, who insult the heavenly beings, with the angels. Even when the angels are telling God about the wrong things the false teachers have done, they do not use insulting language to do so.
It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1).
Lord: This is referring to God, not Christ, in this verse. See note on 2:9a.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / distinguish
ἰσχύϊ καὶ δυνάμει μείζονες ὄντες
˱in˲_strength (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅπου ἄγγελοι ἰσχύϊ καί δυνάμει μείζονες ὄντες οὒ φέρουσιν κατʼ αὐτῶν παρά Κυρίῳ βλάσφημον κρίσιν)
This clause could refer to: (1) a contrast between the description of the angels in this clause with their behavior in the next clause. Alternate translation: [despite being greater in strength and power] (2) a description of the angels. Alternate translation: [who are greater in strength and power]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
ἰσχύϊ καὶ δυνάμει μείζονες ὄντες
˱in˲_strength (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅπου ἄγγελοι ἰσχύϊ καί δυνάμει μείζονες ὄντες οὒ φέρουσιν κατʼ αὐτῶν παρά Κυρίῳ βλάσφημον κρίσιν)
Peter is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages in order to be complete. These words can be supplied from the surrounding context, which is a description of the false teachers. Alternate translation: [being greater in strength and power than these false teachers]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
ἰσχύϊ καὶ δυνάμει μείζονες ὄντες
˱in˲_strength (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅπου ἄγγελοι ἰσχύϊ καί δυνάμει μείζονες ὄντες οὒ φέρουσιν κατʼ αὐτῶν παρά Κυρίῳ βλάσφημον κρίσιν)
The words strength and power mean similar things. Peter is using them together for emphasis. Together, the words describe extreme power. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this pair of words with a single expression. Alternate translation: [being much more powerful]
Note 4 topic: writing-pronouns
οὐ φέρουσιν κατ’ αὐτῶν & βλάσφημον κρίσιν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅπου ἄγγελοι ἰσχύϊ καί δυνάμει μείζονες ὄντες οὒ φέρουσιν κατʼ αὐτῶν παρά Κυρίῳ βλάσφημον κρίσιν)
Here, them could mean: (1) the “glorious ones.” Alternate translation: [do not bring an insulting judgment against these glorious ones.] (2) the false teachers. Alternate translation: [do not bring an insulting judgment against these false teachers.]
2:11 Even angels . . . do not dare to charge evil supernatural beings with blasphemy, but the false teachers were so arrogant that they did not hesitate to do so.
OET (OET-LV) where messengers being greater in_strength and power, are_ not _bringing a_slanderous judgement against them before the_master.
OET (OET-RV) whereas even messengers who are greater in both strength and power don’t slander or pass the master’s judgement on those 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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