1However, just as there were false prophets among the people in the past, there will also be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive teachings, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
2Many people will follow their immoral lifestyles, and because of them, the way of truth will be slandered.
3In their greed, they will exploit you with deceptive stories. Their condemnation, determined long ago, is not delayed, and their destruction is not asleep.
4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but threw them into hell and delivered them to chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
5and if he did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others when he brought the flood on the world of ungodly people;
6He also turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemning them to destruction. He made them an example for those who would live ungodly lives.
7He rescued Lot, a good man, who was greatly distressed by the immoral lives of the wicked people.
8Because Lot, a good man living among them, was tormented in his good soul day after day by seeing and hearing their lawless actions.
9The Lord knows how to rescue godly people from temptation and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
10This is especially true for those who follow their sinful desires, craving defilement, and who despise authority. They are bold and stubborn, not afraid to speak evil of important people.
11Even angels, who are much stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against them before the Lord.
12But these people, like unthinking animals born to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of things they don't understand. They will surely be destroyed in their own destructive behavior.
13They will receive punishment for their wrongdoing. They are people who think it's fun to party in broad daylight. They are stains and defects, enjoying their deceit while they feast with you.
14Their eyes are full of adultery, and they can't stop sinning. They tempt unstable people. Their hearts are trained in greed. They are fit for a curse.
15They left the right path and went astray, following the way of Balaam, son of Beor, who loved the reward of doing wrong.
16But he was punished for his own disobedience. A donkey that couldn't speak talked with a human voice and stopped the prophet's crazy behavior.
17These people are like wells without water and clouds blown away by a storm. Their destiny is to be in the deepest darkness forever.
18They brag with empty, grand words. They use their sinful desires and shameful behavior to tempt those who are just barely escaping from people who live in error.
19They promise these people freedom, but they themselves are slaves to corruption. For a person is a slave to whatever has defeated them.
20If people escape the world's corruption by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but then get tangled up in it again and are defeated, their final state is worse than their first.
21It would have been better for them never to have known the right way to live than to know it and then turn away from the holy command they were given.
22What happened to them is like the true proverbs: "A dog returns to its vomit," and "A pig that has been washed goes back to wallowing in the mud."