Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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False Teachers
1 False prophets appeared in the
past among the people, and in
the same way false teachers will appear
among you. They will bring in
destructive, untrue doctrines, and
will deny the Master who redeemed
them, and so they will bring upon
themselves sudden destruction.
2 Even so, many will follow their immoral
ways; and because of what
they do, others will speak evil of the
Way of truth.
3 In their greed these
false teachers will make a profit out
of telling you made-up stories. For a
long time now their Judge has been
ready, and their Destroyer has been
wide awake!
4 God did not spare the angels
who sinned, but threw them into
hell, where they are kept chained in
darkness, note waiting for the Day of
Judgment.
5 God did not spare the
ancient world, but brought the flood
on the world of godless people; the
only ones he saved were Noah, who
preached righteousness, and seven
other people. note
6 God condemned the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying
them with fire, and made
them an example of what will happen
to the godless. note
7 He rescued Lot,
a good man, who was distressed by
the immoral conduct of lawless people. note
8 That good man lived among
them, and day after day he suffered
agony as he saw and heard their evil
actions.
9 And so the Lord knows
how to rescue godly people from
their trials and how to keep the
wicked under punishment for the
Day of Judgment,
10 especially those
who follow their filthy bodily lusts
and despise God's authority.
10 These false teachers are bold and
arrogant, and show no respect for
the glorious beings above; instead,
they insult them.
11 Even the angels,
who are so much stronger and
mightier than these false teachers,
do not accuse them with insults in
the presence of the Lord.
12 But these
men act by instinct, like wild animals
born to be captured and killed;
they attack with insults anything
they do not understand. They will be
destroyed like wild animals,
13 and
they will be paid with suffering for
the suffering they have caused.
Pleasure for them is to do anything
in broad daylight that will satisfy
their bodily appetites; they are a
shame and a disgrace as they join
you in your meals, all the while enjoying
their deceitful ways!
14 They
want to look at nothing but immoral
women; their appetite for sin is never
satisfied. They lead weak people
into a trap. Their hearts are trained
to be greedy. They are under God's
curse!
15 They have left the straight
path and have lost their way; they
have followed the path taken by Balaam
son of Beor, who loved the
money he would get for doing wrong
16 and was rebuked for his sin. His
donkey spoke with a human voice
and stopped the prophet's insane
action. note
17 These men are like dried-up
springs, like clouds blown along by a
storm; God has reserved a place for
them in the deepest darkness.
18 They make proud and stupid statements,
and use immoral bodily lusts
to trap those who are just beginning
to escape from among people who
live in error.
19 They promise them
freedom while they themselves are
slaves of destructive habits—for a
person is a slave of anything that
has conquered him.
20 If people have
escaped from the corrupting forces
of the world through their knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, and then are again caught
and conquered by them, such people
are in worse condition at the end
than they were at the beginning.
21 It
would have been much better for
them never to have known the way
of righteousness than to know it and
-- --
then turn away from the sacred
command that was given them.
22 What happened to them shows
that the proverbs are true: “A dog
goes back to what it has vomited”
and “A pig that has been washed
goes back to roll in the mud.” note
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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