2 Peter 2:21 BSB — MannaFest

2 Peter 2:21

It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

KJV

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.

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Commentary

2 voices

Andreas of Caesarea

CATENA (614)

Peter shows by this that these men were not liberating those who followed them from their deception but merely making that deception worse.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

For it had been better for them ... - Compare the notes at Mat 26:24. It would have been better for them, for: (1) Then they would not have dishonored the cause of religion as they have now done; (2) They would not have sunk so deep in profligacy as they now have; and, (3) They would not have incurred so aggravated a condemnation in the world of woe. If people are resolved on being wicked, they had better never pretend to be good.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

19 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
κρεῖττον	kreitton	Better	G2908 →
γὰρ	gar	for	G1063 →
ἦν	ēn	it was being	G1510 →
αὐτοῖς	autois	for them	G846 →
μὴ	mē	not	G3361 →
ἐπεγνωκέναι	epegnōkenai	to have known	G1921 →
τὴν	tēn	the	G3588 →
ὁδὸν	hodon	way	G3598 →
τῆς	tēs	<the>	G3588 →
δικαιοσύνης	dikaiosunēs	of righteousness	G1343 →
ἢ	ē	than	G2228 →
ἐπιγνοῦσιν	epignousin	having known [it]	G1921 →
ὑποστρέψαι	hupostrepsai	to have turned	G5290 →
ἐκ	ek	from	G1537 →
τῆς	tēs	the	G3588 →
παραδοθείσης	paradotheisēs	having been delivered	G3860 →
αὐτοῖς	autois	to them	G846 →
ἁγίας	hagias	holy	G40 →
ἐντολῆς.	entolēs	commandment.	G1785 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
James 4:17
Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.
leads to
- John 9:41
  “If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- John 13:17
  If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
- John 15:22
  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
- Luke 12:47–48
  That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.
- Romans 1:32
  Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.
Through
Luke 12:47
That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.
leads to
- James 4:17
  Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.
- John 15:22–24
  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
Through
Ezekiel 18:24
But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of…
leads to
- Ezekiel 33:12–13
  Therefore, son of man, say to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked man cause him…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.