then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,
Parallel translations
- WEB the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment;
- KJV The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
- BSB if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
- NASB then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from a trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,
- NLT So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.
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
Peter concludes that the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. It matters because it assures believers of deliverance and warns the wicked of certain judgment.
Overview
This verse draws the lesson from the preceding examples. The same God who judged angels, the ancient world, Sodom, and spared Noah and Lot still rescues his people and reserves the wicked for judgment. Believers can trust God's faithfulness, and false teachers are warned of inescapable accountability.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 34:15–19Yahweh’s eyes are toward the righteous. His ears listen to their cry.
- 1 Cor 10:13No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
- Rev 3:10Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
- 2 Tim 3:12Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
- Jude 1:14–15About these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones,
- 2 Pet 3:7But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
- 2 Cor 5:10–11For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
- Prov 16:4Yahweh has made everything for its own end — yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.
- Job 5:19He will deliver you in six troubles; yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.
- Titus 2:14who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.
- 2 Pet 2:4For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
- Ps 4:3But know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly: Yahweh will hear when I call to him.
- Rom 2:5But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath, revelation, and of the righteous judgment of God;
- Job 21:30that the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity, That they are led out to the day of wrath?
- Ps 32:6For this, let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found. Surely when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach to him.
- Ps 12:1For the Chief Musician; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David. Help, Yahweh; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from among the children of men.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 2:9 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.