Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT but especially the ones going after the flesh in its lusts of defilement, and despising authority. Audacious ones! Self-willed ones! They do not tremble while insulting glorious ones;

UST And he will punish especially those who keep on doing what their sinful hearts want to do, which are things that make them displeasing to God. These people also scorn divine authority. How bold they are! They do whatever they wish! They are not even afraid to insult God’s glorious angels.

BLB and especially those walking after the flesh in the passion of defilement and despising authority. Bold, self-willed, they do not tremble blaspheming glorious ones,

AICNT especially those who follow after the flesh in the desire of defilement and despise authority.
¶  Bold and arrogant, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones.

OEB especially those who, following the promptings of their lower nature, indulge their polluting passions and despise all control. Audacious and self-willed, they feel no awe of the celestial beings, maligning them,

WEBBE but 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,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET especially those who indulge their fleshly desires and who despise authority.
¶ Brazen and insolent, they are not afraid to insult the glorious ones,

LSV and chiefly those following after the flesh in lust [and] defilement, and despising lordship. Bold, self-pleased, they are not afraid to speak evil of glorious ones,

FBV This is especially so for those who follow their corrupt human desires, and contemptuously disregard authority. Arrogant and proud, they're not even afraid to defame heavenly beings.

TCNT especially those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and who despise authority.
¶ Bold and self-willed, they do not tremble when they blaspheme glorious beings,

T4T He will punish especially severely those ungodly teachers who teach false things who do the things that their self-directed nature desires, things that ◄defile them/cause them to be completely impure►. Those teachers of false teachings despise all beings who rule over them.
¶ Because those teachers of false doctrines are extremely arrogant/proud [DOU], they ◄are not afraid to insult/boldly speak evil about► glorious beings in heaven (OR, glorious/wonderful beings who rule over people).

LEB and especially those who go after the flesh in defiling lust[fn] and who despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they do not tremble in awe as they[fn] blaspheme majestic beings,

2:10 Literally “in lust of defilement,” translated here as an attributive genitive

2:10 *Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“blaspheme”) which is understood as temporal

BBE But specially those who go after the unclean desires of the flesh, and make sport of authority. Ready to take chances, uncontrolled, they have no fear of saying evil of those in high places:

Moff particularly those who fall in with the polluting appetite of the flesh and despise the Powers celestial. Daring, presumptuous creatures! they are not afraid to scoff at the angelic Glories;

Wymth and especially those who are abandoned to sensuality—craving, as they do, for polluted things, and scorning control. Fool-hardy and self-willed, they do not tremble when speaking evil of glorious beings;

ASV but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at dignities:

DRA And especially them who walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government, audacious, self willed, they fear not to bring in sects, blaspheming.

YLT and chiefly those going behind the flesh in desire of uncleanness, and lordship despising; presumptuous, self-complacent, dignities they are not afraid to speak evil of,

Drby and specially those who walk after the flesh in [the] lust of uncleanness, and despise lordship. Bold [are they], self-willed; they do not fear speaking injuriously of dignities:

RV but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, selfwilled, they tremble not to rail at dignities:
(but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, selfwilled, they tremble not to rail at dignitys: )

SLT And chiefly them going after the flesh in eager desire of defilement, and despising dominion. Self-sufficient, rash men, they tremble not, defaming glories.

Wbstr But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they , self-willed; they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

KJB-1769 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
(But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitys. )

KJB-1611 But chiefly them that walke after the flesh in the lust of vncleannesse, and despise [fn]gouernment. Presumptuous are they; selfe willed: they are not afraid to speake euill of dignities:
(But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they; self willed: they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitys:)

2:10 Or, dominion.

Bshps But chiefely them that walke after the fleshe in the lust of vncleanenesse, and despise auctoritie. Presumptious are they, and stande in their owne conceyte, whiche feare not to speake euyl of them that excell in worship.
(But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise authority. Presumptious are they, and stand in their own conceyte, which fear not to speak evil of them that excell in worship.)

Gnva And chiefly them that walke after the flesh, in the lust of vncleannesse, and despise gouernement, which are bolde, and stand in their owne conceite, and feare not to speake euill of them that are in dignitie.
(And chiefly them that walk after the flesh, in the lust of uncleanness, and despise governement, which are bolde, and stand in their own conceite, and fear not to speak evil of them that are in dignity. )

Cvdl but specially them that walke after the flesh in ye lust of vnclennes, and despyse the rulers: beynge presumptuous, stubborne, and feare not to speake euell of the yt are in auctorite
(but specially them that walk after the flesh in ye/you_all lust of uncleanness, and despise the rulers: being presumptuous, stubborn, and fear not to speak evil of the it are in authority)

TNT namely them that walke after the flesshe in the lust of vnclennes and despyse the rulars. Presumpteous are they and stubborne and feare not to speake evyll of them that are in auctorite.
(namely them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise the rulers. Presumpteous are they and stubborn and fear not to speak evil of them that are in authority. )

Wycl but more hem that walken aftir the fleisch, in coueytinge of vnclennesse, and dispisen lordschiping, and ben boold, plesynge hem silf, and dreden not to bringe in sectis, blasfemynge; where aungels,
(but more hem that walken after the flesh, in coueytinge of uncleanness, and despise lordshiping, and been boold, pleasinge himself, and dreading not to bring in sectis, blasfeming; where angels,)

Luth allermeist aber die, so da wandeln nach dem Fleisch in der unreinen Lust und die Herrschaft verachten, türstig, eigensinnig, nicht erzittern, die Majestäten zu lästern,
(allmeist but that, so there walk after to_him flesh in the/of_the impure desire/lust(n) and the rule/reign despise/scorn, türstig, ownsinnig, not ertremble/shake, the Mayestäten to/for gossip(v),)

ClVg Magis autem eos, qui post carnem in concupiscentia immunditiæ ambulant, dominationemque contemnunt, audaces, sibi placentes, sectas non metuunt introducere blasphemantes:
(Magis however them, who/which after the_flesh in/into/on desire uncleanness they_walk, dominationmque they_despise, audaces, to_himself pleasees, sectas not/no with_fearunt to_introduce blasphemantes: )

UGNT μάλιστα δὲ τοὺς ὀπίσω σαρκὸς ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ πορευομένους, καὶ κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας.
¶  τολμηταὶ αὐθάδεις, δόξας οὐ τρέμουσιν, βλασφημοῦντες;
(malista de tous opisō sarkos en epithumia miasmou poreuomenous, kai kuriotaʸtos katafronountas.
¶  tolmaʸtai authadeis, doxas ou tremousin, blasfaʸmountes;)

SBL-GNT μάλιστα δὲ τοὺς ὀπίσω σαρκὸς ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ πορευομένους καὶ κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας. Τολμηταί, αὐθάδεις, δόξας οὐ τρέμουσιν, βλασφημοῦντες,
(malista de tous opisō sarkos en epithumia miasmou poreuomenous kai kuriotaʸtos katafronountas. Tolmaʸtai, authadeis, doxas ou tremousin, blasfaʸmountes,)

RP-GNT μάλιστα δὲ τοὺς ὀπίσω σαρκὸς ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ πορευομένους, καὶ κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας. Τολμηταί, αὐθάδεις, δόξας οὐ τρέμουσιν βλασφημοῦντες·
(malista de tous opisō sarkos en epithumia miasmou poreuomenous, kai kuriotaʸtos katafronountas. Tolmaʸtai, authadeis, doxas ou tremousin blasfaʸmountes;)

TC-GNT μάλιστα δὲ τοὺς ὀπίσω σαρκὸς ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ πορευομένους, καὶ κυριότητος καταφρονοῦντας.
¶ Τολμηταί, αὐθάδεις, δόξας οὐ τρέμουσι βλασφημοῦντες·
(malista de tous opisō sarkos en epithumia miasmou poreuomenous, kai kuriotaʸtos katafronountas.
¶ Tolmaʸtai, authadeis, doxas ou tremousi blasfaʸmountes; )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–22: Peter warned believers against false teachers

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.

Paragraph 2:4–10a

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.

2:10a

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.

Paragraph 2:10b–13a

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.

2:10b

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.

2:10c

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.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

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)

Connecting Statement:

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

Connecting Statement:

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

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

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

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

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

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]

Parallel 2 PET 2:10

Section 2:1–22: Peter warned believers against false teachers

Paragraph 2:4–10a

2:10a

Paragraph 2:10b–13a

2:10b

2:10c

Connecting Statement:

Connecting Statement:

Parallel 2 PET 2:10