Passage

2 Peter 2.1

Book: 2 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

1. But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

And many shall follow their lascivious doings; by reason of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of. 3. And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not. (2 Peter 2:1-3, ASV)

WEB

1. But false prophets also arose among the people, as false teachers will also be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction.

Many will follow their immoral ways, and as a result, the way of the truth will be maligned. 3. In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber. (2 Peter 2:1-3, WEB)

KJV

1. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. ^{pernicious ways: or, lascivious ways, as some copies read} 3. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. (2 Peter 2:1-3, KJV)

YLT

1. And there did come also false prophets among the people, as also among you there shall be false teachers, who shall bring in besides destructive sects, and the Master who bought them denying, bringing to themselves quick destruction,

and many shall follow out their destructive ways, because of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of, 3. and in covetousness, with moulded words, of you they shall make merchandise, whose judgment of old is not idle, and their destruction doth not slumber. (2 Peter 2:1-3, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Simon Peter, writing as an apostle and eyewitness (1:1, 1:16), aware that his death is near (1:14)
Audience: Believers addressed as having received a faith of the same kind as the apostles' (1:1); 3:1 calls this the second letter to them, pointing to the same congregations as 1 Peter in Asia Minor
Location: Traditionally Rome, in the period of Peter's final imprisonment
Time period: c. AD 64-68 on the traditional attribution; the letter is written against teachers who had entered the churches denying the Lord's return and using freedom as cover for licence (2:1-3, 3:3-4)

Theological reading

The chapter opens by placing the present danger in a pattern: as there were false prophets among the people, so there will be false teachers among you. The continuity is deliberate, since it means the churches should not treat corruption from within as a surprise or as evidence that the message has failed. The teachers are described as introducing destructive heresies secretly, and as denying the Master who bought them, which combines a doctrinal failure with a personal repudiation. The purchase language raises the question of the extent of the atonement and has been read in more than one way; the verse's own emphasis falls on the enormity of the denial rather than on settling that dispute.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

G1096 - ginomai, ginomai, Strong's G1096

Quoted in

Concepts:

Redemption

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.