2 Peter 2:18

2 Peter 2:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
• New International Version (NIV)For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error.

Context of 2 Peter 2:18

16but received a rebuke for his lawlessness: A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. 17These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them. For 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, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them. 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.

2 Peter 2:18 word by word

Ὑπέρογκα γὰρ ματαιότητος φθεγγόμενοι δελεάζουσιν ἐν ἐπιθυμίαις σαρκὸς ἀσελγείαις τοὺς ἀποφεύγοντας τοὺς ἐν πλάνῃ ἀναστρεφομένους,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• when they speakφθέγγομαιphtheggomai · to speakG5350
• great swellingὑπέρογκοςhuperogkos · boastfulG5246
• of vanityματαιότηςmataiotēs · futilityG3153
• they allureδελεάζωdeleazō · to enticeG1185
• throughἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the lustsἐπιθυμίαepithumia · desireG1939
• of the fleshσάρξsarx · fleshG4561
• wantonnessἀσέλγειαaselgeia · debaucheryG766
• those that were cleanὄντωςontōs · reallyG3689
• escapedὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• escapedἀποφεύγωapopheugō · to escapeG668
• from them who liveἀναστρέφωanastrepho · to live/returnG390
• errorπλάνηplanē · errorG4106

Cross-references for 2 Peter 2:18

• Psalms 52:1Why boast about evil, you hero! God’s faithful love is constant.
• Psalms 73:8They mock, and they speak maliciously; they arrogantly threaten oppression.
• Daniel 4:30the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great that I have built to be a royal residence by my vast power and for my majestic glory?”
• Daniel 11:36“Then the king will do whatever he wants. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will say outrageous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, because what has been decreed will be accomplished.
• Acts 8:9A man named Simon had previously practiced sorcery in that city and amazed the Samaritan people, while claiming to be somebody great.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:4He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.
• Jude 1:13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.
• Revelation 13:5The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies. It was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.
• Romans 13:13Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy.
• James 5:5You have lived luxuriously on the earth and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
• 2 Peter 2:20For 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.
• 2 Peter 1:4By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
• Acts 2:40With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!”

Commentaries on 2 Peter 2:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18They speak great swelling words of vanity - The word ̔ signifies things of great magnitude, grand, superb, sublime; it sometimes signifies inflated, tumid, bombastic. These false teachers spoke of great and high things, and no doubt promised their disciples the greatest privileges, as they themselves pretended to a high degree of illumination; but they were all false and vain, though they tickled the fancy and excited the desires of the flesh; and indeed…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18For when they speak great swelling words of vanity - When they make pretensions to wisdom and learning, or seem to attach great importance to what they say, and urge it in a pompous and positive manner. Truth is simple, and delights in simple statements. It expects to make its way by its own intrinsic force, and is willing to pass for what it is worth. Error is noisy and declamatory, and hopes to succeed by substituting sound for sense, and by such tones…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-22Verses 17-22 The word of truth is the water of life, which refreshes the souls that receive it; but deceivers spread and promote error, and are set forth as empty, because there is no truth in them. As clouds hinder the light of the sun, so do these darken counsel by words wherein there is no truth. Seeing that these men increase darkness in this world, it is very just that the mist of darkness should be their portion in the next. In the midst of their…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18those who are just escaping: The false teachers cleverly targeted new believers. These were people who had only recently committed themselves to Christ.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. allure--Greek, "lay baits for." through--Greek, "in"; the lusts of the flesh being the element IN which they lay their baits. much wantonness--Greek, "by licentiousness"; the bait which they lay. clean escaped--Greek, "really escaped." But the oldest manuscripts and Vulgate read, "scarcely," or "for but a little time"; scarcely have they escaped from them who live in error (the ungodly world), when they are allured by these seducers into sin again…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Peter 2:18

• Affections
• Anarchy
• Company
• Doctrines
• Fellowship
• Lust
• Minister, Christian
• Temptation
• Vanity
• Wicked (People)
• Worldliness

In the dictionaries

• Allure
• Chain
• Damnable
• Perish
• Privily
• Railing
• Reserve
• Riot
• Swift
• Wantonness

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