But just as there were false prophets among the people, there will also be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

Many will follow their destructive ways, and because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed.

And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

In their greed, they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

For if God did not spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment,

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

and if He did not spare the ancient world but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, along with seven others when He brought the flood on the ungodly world,

And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly,

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

and if He rescued righteous Lot, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless,

And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

(For that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard.)

For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

especially those who follow the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. They are bold and arrogant, and they are unafraid to slander celestial beings.

But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

Yet even angels, who are greater in strength and power, do not bring a slanderous judgment against such beings before the Lord.

Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.

These people, however, are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They speak abusively about things they do not understand, and in their destruction, they too will be destroyed.

But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. They consider it a pleasure to indulge in carousing during the day. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions while they feast with you.

And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

They have eyes full of adultery, never ceasing from sin. They entice unstable souls and have hearts trained in greed. They are accursed children.

Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

They have abandoned the straight way and gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.

Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech—that spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness has been reserved for them forever.

These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

For they utter arrogant, empty words and entice those who are barely escaping from others living in error, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh and by debauchery.

For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

They promise freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption, for a person is a slave to whatever has mastered them.

While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

For if, after escaping the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our 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.

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.

For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

Of them the true proverb has come true: "A dog returns to its own vomit," and, "A sow that is washed returns to wallowing in the mud."

But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.