2 Peter 2:8

8 That good man lived among them day after day. He saw and heard the evil things they were doing. They were breaking God's laws. And his godly spirit was deeply troubled.

2 Peter 2:8 Meaning and Commentary

2 Peter 2:8

For that righteous man dwelling among them
Which is sometimes the lot of good men, to their great sorrow and grief, ( Psalms 120:5-7 ) ( Isaiah 6:5 ) . Upon mentioning those words in ( Genesis 13:12 Genesis 13:13 ) "and pitched his tent towards Sodom", but the men of Sodom were wicked, &c. says R. Eleazar ^F9;

``he is a righteous man that dwells between two wicked men, and does not learn their works;''

and such an one was Lot, whatever they are elsewhere pleased to say of him: "in seeing and hearing"; the Vulgate Latin version reads this in connection with the word "righteous", thus, "in seeing and hearing he was righteous": he could not bear to see their filthy actions, and hear their obscene language, but turned away from them, and shut his eyes, and stopped his ears, by which he appears to be a righteous and good man; though rather this belongs to what follows, seeing their wicked practices, and hearing their filthy talk:

vexed his righteous soul from, day today with their unlawful deeds;
either "they vexed" him, as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read; or rather "he vexed" himself; he fretted and teased himself, and became exceeding uneasy, and was put upon a rack and tortured, as the word signifies, continually, with their wicked actions; see ( Psalms 119:158 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 38. 2.

2 Peter 2:8 In-Context

6 God judged the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He burned them to ashes. He made them an example of what is going to happen to ungodly people.

7 God saved Lot. He was a man who did what was right. He was shocked by the dirty, sinful lives of people who didn't obey God's laws.

8 That good man lived among them day after day. He saw and heard the evil things they were doing. They were breaking God's laws. And his godly spirit was deeply troubled.

9 So the Lord knows how to keep godly people safe in times of testing. He also knows how to keep ungodly people under guard until the day they will be judged. In the meantime, he continues to punish them.

10 Most of all, this is true of people who follow the evil longings of their sinful natures. They hate to be under authority. Those false prophets are bold and proud. They aren't afraid to speak evil things against heavenly beings.