If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
- NASB For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
- NLT And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
If those who escaped the world's defilement through knowing Christ are again entangled and overcome, their last state is worse than the first. It matters because turning back from the truth leads to deeper ruin.
Overview
Peter warns that a return to corruption after a profession of knowing Christ leaves a person worse off than before. Whether this describes those who only outwardly professed faith or those who genuinely fell away is debated among faithful Christians, but the sober warning stands. Greater knowledge brings greater accountability.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Heb 10:26–27If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
- Heb 6:4–8It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
- Phil 3:19Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
- Luke 11:24–26When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’
- Deut 32:29If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate.
- Matt 12:43–45When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.
- 2 Pet 1:4Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
- 2 Pet 2:18With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error.
- Num 24:20Then Balaam saw Amalek and lifted up an oracle, saying: “Amalek was first among the nations, but his end is destruction.”
- 2 Pet 1:2Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The sure word of the prophets and the promise of the coming day of the Lord anchor the believer in the knowledge of 'our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.'
How 2 Peter 2:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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