2 PETRUS 2

Wees gereed vir die vals leraars met hulle eie agendas

1 Maar daar was ook vals profete onder die volk Israel, en so sal daar ook onder julle vals leraars kom. Hulle sal dwaalleer oor God insmokkel, en selfs draai teen hulle Eienaar wat hulle gekoop het. Hulle hoop om met hulle dwaalleer alles te vernietig, maar só bring hulle 'n skielike vernietiging oor hulleself.2 Baie mense sal agter hulle aanloop op hulle wilde paaie, en hulle sal veroorsaak dat mense sleg praat van die enigste ware Pad.

3 In hulle gejaag na rykdom sal hulle julle uitbuit met stories wat hulle uit die duim suig. Maar hulle vonnis, waarop God lankal besluit het, wag om uitgevoer te word. Ja, hulle vernietiging wag.
4 Julle weet mos: God het selfs die engele nie gespaar toe hulle gesondig het nie. Hy het hulle na die onderwêreld toe gestuur en hulle in donker tronkselle laat hou vir die oordeel.5 Hy het ook die wêreld van lank gelede nie gespaar nie, maar slegs vir Noag en sy gesin van sewe bewaar. Noag het gepreek oor hoe mense reg voor God moet lewe en oor hoe Hy regverdig straf. Toe het God die hele wêreld vol goddelose mense met 'n vloed vernietig.6 Later het Hy die stede Sodom en Gomorra tot as verbrand en hulle totaal vernietig. Hy het hulle 'n voorbeeld gemaak van wat met goddelose mense gaan gebeur.7 En tog het God vir Lot gered, 'n man wat reg voor God gelewe het. Lot was siek en sat van die wilde leefstyl van mense wat hulle aan geen wette steur nie.

8 'n Mens kan jou dit indink: Vir iemand wat reg voor God gelewe het, moes dit 'n marteling wees om tussen hulle te bly en dag vir dag soveel van hulle gruweldade te aanskou en aan te hoor.
9 Die Here weet dus om dié mense wat naby aan Hom leef, uit beproewing en swaarkry te red, maar om dié wat 'n verkeerde lewe lei, te straf en vir die oordeelsdag te bêre.

10 Hy gaan veral húlle straf wat toegee aan die vuil begeertes van hulle natuurlike drange en wat geen respek vir gesag het nie.
Hierdie leraars is uitdagend en vermetel. Hulle huiwer selfs nie om glansryke wesens te beledig nie.

11 Selfs die engele, wat tog baie sterker en magtiger as die vals leraars is, maak nie in die Here se Naam lasterlike uitsprake teen hierdie wesens nie.
12 Hierdie mense is soos wilde diere sonder verstand, gebore om net gevang en geslag te word. Hulle spot met dinge waarvan hulle niks verstaan nie, en soos wilde diere sal hulle ook uitgeroei word.13 Omdat hulle lewe voor God nie reg is nie, kry hulle presies dít wat hulle verdien. Vir hulle is die toppunt van plesier om helder oordag wilde partytjies te hou. As hulle by julle eet, is dit baie sleg vir julle naam, want terwyl hulle saam met julle feesvier, is dit vir hulle lekker om julle saam te vat op die paaie waarop hulle self verdwaal het.14 Hulle pleeg egbreuk met hulle oë, en van sonde kry hulle net nie genoeg nie. Hulle verlei onstandvastige mense, en is goed afgerigte geldwolwe - sulke vervloektes!15 Hulle het weggedraai van die reguit pad en verdwaal geraak. Hulle het die pad geloop van Bileam, seun van Beor, wat daarvan gehou het om vir geld verkeerde dinge te doen.

16 Bileam is egter op die dwase koers wat hy ingeslaan het, voorgekeer toe 'n stom donkie in menstaal met hom geraas het.
17 Hierdie mense is so min werd soos opgedroogte fonteine, of soos miswolke wat deur die wind weggewaai word: vol belofte, maar daar kom niks van nie. Vir hulle wag die donkerste donkerte alreeds.18 Hulle is bombasties en praat onsin. Hulle gebruik die losbandige luste van die mens se natuurlike drange as lokaas om die mense wat pas ontsnap het van dié wat op die verkeerde pad is, te verlei.19 Hulle belowe vryheid, maar is self slawe in diens van korrupsie. As iets jou in sy mag het, is jy mos sy slaaf.20 En as mense ontsnap het van die besmettings van die wêreld deurdat hulle ons Here en Verlosser, Jesus Christus, leer ken het, en hulle weer daarin vasgevang en daaraan verslaaf word, dan is hulle aan die einde slegter daaraan toe as aan die begin.21 Dit sou definitief vir hulle beter gewees het as hulle die pad van geregtigheid nie leer ken het nie, as dat hulle dit wel leer ken het en toe afgewyk het van die heilige voorskrif wat aan hulle oorgelewer is.22 Van hulle is dié spreekwoorde waar:
"'n Hond gaan terug
na sy braaksel toe."
en:
"'n Vark word gewas,
net om weer
in die modder te rol."

2 PETER 2

False Prophets and Teachers

1 Sometimes false prophets spoke to the people of Israel. False teachers will also sneak in and speak harmful lies to you. But these teachers don't really belong to the Master who paid a great price for them, and they will quickly destroy themselves. 2 Many people will follow their evil ways and cause others to tell lies about the true way.

3 They will be greedy and cheat you with smooth talk. But long ago God decided to punish them, and God doesn't sleep.
4 God did not have pity on the angels that sinned. He had them tied up and thrown into the dark pits of hell until the time of judgment.

5 t And during Noah's time, God did not have pity on the ungodly people of the world. He destroyed them with a flood, though he did save eight people, including Noah, who preached the truth.

6  t God punished the cities of Sodom and Gomorraht by burning them to ashes, and this is a warning to anyone else who wants to sin.
7-8  t Lot lived right and was greatly troubled by the terrible way those wicked people were living. He was a good man, and day after day he suffered because of the evil things he saw and heard. So the Lord rescued him.

9 This shows that the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their sufferings and to punish evil people while they wait for the day of judgment.
10 The Lord is especially hard on people who disobey him and don't think of anything except their own filthy desires. They are reckless and proud and are not afraid of cursing the glorious beings in heaven.

11 Although angels are more powerful than these evil beings, t even the angels don't dare to accuse them to the Lord.
12 These people are no better than senseless animals that live by their feelings and are born to be caught and killed. They speak evil of things they don't know anything about. But their own corrupt deeds will destroy them.

13 They have done evil, and they will be rewarded with evil.
They think it is fun to have wild parties during the day. They are immoral, and the meals they eat with you are spoiled by the shameful and selfish way they carry on.t

14 All they think about is having sex with someone else's husband or wife. There is no end to their wicked deeds. They trick people who are easily fooled, and their minds are filled with greedy thoughts. But they are headed for trouble!
15  t They have left the true road and have gone down the wrong path by following the example of the prophet Balaam. He was the son of Beor and loved what he got from being a crook.

16 But a donkey corrected him for this evil deed. It spoke to him with a human voice and made him stop his foolishness.
17 These people are like dried up water holes and clouds blown by a windstorm. The darkest part of hell is waiting for them. 18 They brag out loud about their stupid nonsense. And by being vulgar and crude, they trap people who have barely escaped from living the wrong kind of life.

19 They promise freedom to everyone. But they are merely slaves of filthy living, because people are slaves of whatever controls them.
20 When they learned about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they escaped from the filthy things of this world. But they are again caught up and controlled by these filthy things, and now they are in worse shape than they were at first. 21 They would have been better off if they had never known about the right way. Even after they knew what was right, they turned their backs on the holy commandments they were given.

22 t What happened to them is just like the true saying,
“A dog will come back
to lick up its own vomit.
A pig that has been washed
will roll in the mud.”