ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

2 Peter 2.9

Book: 2 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

There are ads on our codex that pay for hosting and keep the codex free. If you can, please consider whitelisting ris3n.com or allowing scripts to support the work.

Sponsored

Brands, events, influencers advertise here

ASV

7. and delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked 8. (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their lawless deeds):

9. the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment;

  1. but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at dignities: 11. whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord. (2 Peter 2:7-11, ASV)
WEB

7. and delivered righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked 8. (for that righteous man dwelling among them, was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds):

9. the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment;

  1. but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries; 11. whereas angels, though greater in might and power, don’t bring a railing judgment against them before the Lord. (2 Peter 2:7-11, WEB)
KJV

7. And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8. (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

9. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

  1. But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. government: or, dominion 11. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. them: some read, themselves (2 Peter 2:7-11, KJV)
YLT

7. and righteous Lot, worn down by the conduct in lasciviousness of the impious, He did rescue, 8. for in seeing and hearing, the righteous man, dwelling among them, day by day the righteous soul with unlawful works was harassing.

9. The Lord hath known to rescue pious ones out of temptation, and unrighteous ones to a day of judgment, being punished, to keep,

  1. and chiefly those going behind the flesh in desire of uncleanness, and lordship despising; presumptuous, self-complacent, dignities they are not afraid to speak evil of, 11. whereas messengers, in strength and power being greater, do not bear against them before the Lord an evil speaking judgment; (2 Peter 2:7-11, YLT)

See this page's graph and discover linked topics

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 is the conclusion the preceding examples were assembled to support: the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment. Both halves matter. The rescue is not necessarily removal from difficulty, since Noah passed through the flood and Lot through the city. And the keeping of the unrighteous is described as ongoing until a fixed day, which answers the charge in chapter 3 that delay means the judgment is not coming.

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

Concepts:

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.