Common English Bible CEB
New Revised Standard NRS
1 But false prophets also arose among the people. In the same way, false teachers will come among you. They will introduce destructive opinions and deny the master who bought them, bringing quick destruction on themselves.
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But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will even deny the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2 Many will follow them in their unrestrained immorality, and because of these false teachers the way of truth will be slandered.
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Even so, many will follow their licentious ways, and because of these teachers the way of truth will be maligned.
3 In their greed they will take advantage of you with lies. The judgment pronounced against them long ago hasn't fallen idle, nor is their destruction sleeping.
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And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation, pronounced against them long ago, has not been idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
4 God didn't spare the angels when they sinned but cast them into the lowest level of the underworld and committed them to chains of darkness, keeping them there until the judgment.
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For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of deepest darkness to be kept until the judgment;
5 And he didn't spare the ancient world when he brought a flood on the world of ungodly people, even though he protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, along with seven others.
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and if he did not spare the ancient world, even though he saved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood on a world of the ungodly;
6 God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to total destruction, reducing them to ashes as a warning to ungodly people.
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and if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example of what is coming to the ungodly;
7 And he rescued righteous Lot, who was made miserable by the unrestrained immorality of unruly people. (
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and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the lawless
8 While that righteous man lived among them he felt deep distress every day on account of the immoral actions he saw and heard.)
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(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by their lawless deeds that he saw and heard),
9 These things show that the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and how to keep the unrighteous for punishment on the Judgment Day.
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then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment
10 This is especially true for those who follow after the corrupt cravings of the sinful nature and defy the Lord's authority. These reckless, brash people aren't afraid to insult the glorious ones,
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—especially those who indulge their flesh in depraved lust, and who despise authority. Bold and willful, they are not afraid to slander the glorious ones,
11 yet angels, who are stronger and more powerful, don't use insults when pronouncing the Lord's judgment on them.
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whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not bring against them a slanderous judgment from the Lord.
12 These false teachers are like irrational animals, mere creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They slander what they don't understand and, like animals, they will be destroyed.
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These people, however, are like irrational animals, mere creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed. They slander what they do not understand, and when those creatures are destroyed, they also will be destroyed,
13 In this way, they will receive payment for their wrongdoing. They even enjoy unruly parties in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, taking delight in their seductive pleasures while feasting with you.
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suffering the penalty for doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their dissipation while they feast with you.
14 They are always looking for someone with whom to commit adultery. They are always on the lookout for opportunities to sin. They ensnare people whose faith is weak. They have hearts trained in greed. They are under God's curse.
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They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!
15 Leaving the straight path, they have gone off course, following the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the payment of doing wrong.
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They have left the straight road and have gone astray, following the road of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of doing wrong,
16 But Balaam was rebuked for his wrongdoing. A donkey, which has no voice, spoke with a human voice and put a stop to the prophet's madness.
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but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
17 These false teachers are springs without water, mists driven by the wind. The underworld has been reserved for them.
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These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm; for them the deepest darkness has been reserved.
18 With empty, self-important speech, they use sinful cravings and unrestrained immorality to ensnare people who have only just escaped life with those who have wandered from the truth.
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For they speak bombastic nonsense, and with licentious desires of the flesh they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error.
19 These false teachers promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of immorality; whatever overpowers you, enslaves you.
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They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them.
20 If people escape the moral filth of this world through the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, then get tangled up in it again and are overcome by it, they are worse off than they were before.
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For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
21 It would be better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, having come to know it, to turn back from the holy commandment entrusted to them.
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For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them.
22 They demonstrate the truth of the proverb: "A dog returns to its own vomit, and a washed sow wallows in the mud."
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It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "The dog turns back to its own vomit," and, "The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud."
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.