Amplified Bible
2 Peter 2:15
15Abandoning the straight road [that is, the right way to live], they have gone astray; they have followed the way of [the false teacher] Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the reward of wickedness;
2 Peter 2:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
- New International Version (NIV)They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,
- New King James Version (NKJV)They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
Context of 2 Peter 2:15
13suffering wrong [destined for punishment] as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a delight to revel in the daytime [living luxuriously]. They are stains and blemishes [on mankind], reveling in their deceptions even as they feast with you. 14They have eyes full of adultery, constantly looking for sin, enticing and luring away unstable souls. Having hearts trained in greed, [they are] children of a curse. Abandoning the straight road [that is, the right way to live], they have gone astray; they have followed the way of [the false teacher] Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the reward of wickedness; 16but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a mute donkey spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. 17These [false teachers] are springs without water and mists driven by a tempest, for whom is reserved the gloom of black darkness.
Read all of 2 Peter 22 Peter 2:15 word by word
εὐθεῖαν ὁδὸν ἐπλανήθησαν, ἐξακολουθήσαντες τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ Βαλαὰμ τοῦ Βοσόρ, ὃς μισθὸν ἀδικίας ἠγάπησεν,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Which have forsakenκαταλείπωkataleipō · to leave behindG2641
- the rightεὐθύςeuthus · StraightG2117
- wayὁδόςhodos · roadG3598
- and are gone astrayπλανάωplanaō · to lead astrayG4105
- followingἐξακολουθέωexakoloutheō · to followG1811
- of BalaamΒαλαάμBalaam · BalaamG903
- of BosorΒοσόρ, ΒεώρBosor · BeorG1007
- whoὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- lovedἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
- the wagesμισθόςmisthos · wageG3408
- of unrighteousnessἀδικίαadikia · unrighteousnessG93
Cross-references for 2 Peter 2:15
- 1 Samuel 12:23Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.
- 1 Kings 18:18Elijah said, “I have not brought disaster on Israel, but you and your father’s household have, by abandoning (rejecting) the commandments of the Lord and by following the Baals.
- 1 Kings 19:10He said, “I have been very zealous (impassioned) for the Lord God of hosts (armies) [proclaiming what is rightfully and uniquely His]; for the sons of Israel have abandoned (broken) Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I, only I, am left; and they seek to take away my life.”
- Ezekiel 9:10But as for Me, My eye will have no pity, nor will I spare, but I will bring their [wicked] conduct upon their [own] heads.”
- Proverbs 28:4Those who set aside the law [of God and man] praise the wicked, But those who keep the law [of God and man] struggle with them.
- Hosea 14:8O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? It is I who have answered and will care for you and watch over you. I am like a luxuriant cypress tree; With Me your fruit is found [which is to nourish you].
- Acts 13:10and said, “You [Elymas] who are full of every [kind of] deceit, and every [kind of] fraud, you son of the devil, enemy of everything that is right and good, will you never stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?
- Numbers 22:5So he sent messengers to Balaam [a famous prophet-diviner] the son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the [Euphrates] River, in the land of the descendants of his people, to call for him, saying, “There is a people who have come out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me.
- Numbers 22:18Balaam answered the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of the Lord my God.
- Numbers 31:16Look, these [are the women who] caused the Israelites, by the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and so a plague came among the congregation of the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 23:4because they did not meet you with bread (food) and water on the road as you came out of Egypt, and because they hired [to act] against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
- Micah 6:5My people, remember now What Balak king of Moab devised [with his evil plan against Israel] And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him [turning the curse into blessing for Israel], [Remember what the Lord did for you] from Shittim to Gilgal, So that you may know the righteous and saving acts [displaying the power] of the Lord.”
- Jude 1:11Woe to them! For they have gone the [defiant] way of Cain, and for profit they have run headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of [mutinous] Korah.
- Revelation 2:14But I have a few things against you, because you have there some [among you] who are holding to the [corrupt] teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, [enticing them] to eat things that had been sacrificed to idols and to commit [acts of sexual] immorality.
- Acts 1:18(Now Judas Iscariot acquired a piece of land [indirectly] with the [money paid him as a] reward for his treachery, and falling headlong, his body burst open in the middle and all his intestines poured out.
Commentaries on 2 Peter 2:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Which have forsaken the right way - As Balaam did, who, although God showed him the right way, took one contrary to it, preferring the reward offered him by Balak to the approbation and blessing of God. The way of Balaam - Is the counsel of Balaam. He counselled the Moabites to give their most beautiful young women to the Israelitish youth, that they might be enticed by them to commit idolatry. See the notes on Numbers 22:5, etc., and Numbers 23:1…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Which have forsaken the right way - The straight path of honesty and integrity. Religion is often represented as a straight path, and to do wrong is to go out of that path in a crooked way. Following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor - See Numbers 22:5, following. In the Book of Numbers, Balaam is called the son of “Beor.” Perhaps the name Beor was corrupted into Bosor; or, as Rosenmuller suggests, the father of Balaam may have had two names. Schleusner…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-16Verses 10-16 Impure seducers and their abandoned followers, give themselves up to their own fleshly minds. Refusing to bring every thought to the obedience of Christ, they act against God's righteous precepts. They walk after the flesh, they go on in sinful courses, and increase to greater degrees of impurity and wickedness. They also despise those whom God has set in authority over them, and requires them to honour. Outward temporal good things are the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15who loved the wages of wickedness: Balaam asked God for guidance, but he still wanted to go his own way so that he could receive Balak’s money (see Numbers 22–24). The Old Testament account suggests that Balaam was greedy. Jewish tradition later expanded this idea (see Numbers Rabbah 20:10; Mishnah Avot 5:22; Philo, Moses 1:266–268).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. have--Some of the seducers are spoken of as already come, others as yet to come. following--out: so the Greek. the way--(Nu 22:23, 32; Is 56:11). son of Bosor--the same as Beor (Nu 22:5). This word was adopted, perhaps, because the kindred word Basar means flesh; and Balaam is justly termed son of carnality, as covetous, and the enticer of Israel to lust. loved the wages of unrighteousness--and therefore wished (in order to gain them from Balak) to…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Peter 2:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Peter 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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