ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

2 Peter 2.21

Book: 2 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

19. promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage. 20. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first.

21. For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

  1. It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire. (2 Peter 2:19-22, ASV)
WEB

19. promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for a man is brought into bondage by whoever overcomes him. 20. For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in it and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

21. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

  1. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, “The dog turns to his own vomit again,” and “the sow that has washed to wallowing in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:19-22, WEB)
KJV

19. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

21. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

  1. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. (2 Peter 2:19-22, KJV)
YLT

19. liberty to them promising, themselves being servants of the corruption, for by whom any one hath been overcome, to this one also he hath been brought to servitude, 20. for, if having escaped from the pollutions of the world, in the acknowledging of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and by these again being entangled, they have been overcome, become to them hath the last things worse than the first,

21. for it were better to them not to have acknowledged the way of the righteousness, than having acknowledged [it], to turn back from the holy command delivered to them,

  1. and happened to them hath that of the true similitude; 'A dog did turn back upon his own vomit,' and, 'A sow having bathed herself, to rolling in mire.' (2 Peter 2:19-22, 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 verse states that it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. The claim is about aggravated responsibility rather than about the value of ignorance in itself, and it presupposes that knowledge received increases accountability. The following verse's proverbs of the dog and the washed sow describe a return to a nature never actually changed, which shapes how the passage bears on questions of apostasy: the picture is of reversion rather than of loss.

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; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

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.