New International Version
2 Peter 2:4
4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
2 Peter 2:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
- English Standard Version (ESV)For 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;
- New King James Version (NKJV)For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
- New Living Translation (NLT)For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment.
Context of 2 Peter 2:4
2Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; 5if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
Read all of 2 Peter 22 Peter 2:4 word by word
Εἰ γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ἀγγέλων ἁμαρτησάντων οὐκ ἐφείσατο, ἀλλὰ σειραῖς ζόφου ταρταρώσας παρέδωκεν εἰς κρίσιν τηρουμένους,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Forγάρgar · forG1063
- ifεἰei · ifG1487
- Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- sparedφείδομαιpheidomai · to spareG5339
- notοὐou · noG3756
- the angelsἄγγελοςaggelos · angelG32
- that sinnedἁμαρτάνωhamartanō · to sinG264
- butἀλλάalla · butG235
- castταρταρόωtartaroō · hell: TartarusG5020
- and deliveredπαραδίδωμιparadidōmi · to deliverG3860
- into chainsσειράseira · chainG4577
- of darknessζόφοςzophos · darknessG2217
- to be reservedτηρέωtēreō · to keep: guardG5083
- untoεἰςeis · towardG1519
- judgmentκρίσιςkrisis · judgmentG2920
Cross-references for 2 Peter 2:4
- 2 Peter 2:5if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
- Deuteronomy 29:20The Lord will never be willing to forgive them; his wrath and zeal will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the Lord will blot out their names from under heaven.
- Psalms 78:50He prepared a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague.
- Ezekiel 5:11Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you.
- Ezekiel 7:4I will not look on you with pity; I will not spare you. I will surely repay you for your conduct and for the detestable practices among you. “ ‘Then you will know that I am the Lord.’
- Romans 8:32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
- Romans 11:21For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
- Job 4:18If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error,
- Luke 10:18He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
- John 8:44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
- 1 John 3:8The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
- Jude 1:6And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
- Isaiah 14:12How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
- Matthew 8:29“What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
- Matthew 25:41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- Mark 5:7He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!”
Commentaries on 2 Peter 2:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4For if God spared not the angels - The angels were originally placed in a state of probation; some having fallen and some having stood proves this. How long that probation was to last to them, and what was the particular test of their fidelity, we know not; nor indeed do we know what was their sin; nor when nor how they fell. St. Jude says they kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation; which seems to indicate that they got discontented…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4For if God spared not the angels that sinned - The apostle now proceeds to the proof of the proposition that these persons would be punished. It is to be remembered that they had been, or were even then, professing Christians, though they had really, if not in form, apostatized from the faith 2 Peter 2:20-22, and a part of the proofs, therefore, are derived from the cases of those who had apostatized from the service of God. He appeals, therefore, to the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The first example of judgment is the angels when they sinned. The common Jewish tradition was that "the sons of God" in Genesis 6:1–5 (understood as angels) had sexual relations with women. As a result, God judged them at that time (see 1 Enoch 6–10; compare 1 Peter 3:19–20; Jude 1:6). in chains of darkness: This phrase reflects a common ancient description of the underworld. It is probably a metaphor that pictures a place of deep darkness and confinement.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. if--The apodosis or consequent member of the sentence is not expressed, but is virtually contained in 2Pe 2:9. If God in past time has punished the ungodly and saved His people, He will be sure to do so also in our days (compare end of 2Pe 2:3). angels--the highest of intelligent creatures (compare with this verse, Jude 6), yet not spared when they sinned. hell--Greek, "Tartarus": nowhere else in New Testament or the Septuagint: equivalent to the usual…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Peter 2:4
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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries