| English Standard Version | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. | 1There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. |
| 2And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. | 2Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them. |
| 3And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. | 3They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep. |
| 4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; | 4For if God didn't spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell and delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment; |
| 5if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; | 5and if he didn't spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly; |
| 6if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; | 6and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly; |
| 7and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked | 7and if he rescued righteous Lot, distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral |
| 8(for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); | 8(for as that righteous man lived among them day by day, his righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)-- |
| 9then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, | 9then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, |
| 10and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, | 10especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones; |
| 11whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. | 11however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord. |
| 12But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, | 12But these people, like irrational animals--creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed--slander what they do not understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed. |
| 13suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. | 13They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are spots and blemishes, delighting in their deceptions while they feast with you. |
| 14They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! | 14They have eyes full of adultery that never stop looking for sin. They seduce unstable people and have hearts trained in greed. Children under a curse! |
| 15Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, | 15They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness |
| 16but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. | 16but received a rebuke for his lawlessness: A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. |
| 17These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. | 17These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them. |
| 18For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. | 18For by uttering boastful, empty words, they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped from those who live in error. |
| 19They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. | 19They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them. |
| 20For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. | 20For if, having escaped the world's impurity through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first. |
| 21For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. | 21For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command delivered to them. |
| 22What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” | 22It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and, "a washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud." |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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