19 promising them freedom although they[a] themselves are slaves of depravity. For to whatever someone succumbs, by this he is also[b] enslaved. 20 For if, after they[c] have escaped from the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord[d] and Savior Jesus Christ, and they are again entangled in these things and succumb to them, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 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 that had been delivered to them.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 2:19 Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“are”) which is understood as concessive
  2. 2 Peter 2:19 Some manuscripts omit “also”
  3. 2 Peter 2:20 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“have escaped from”) which is understood as temporal
  4. 2 Peter 2:20 Some manuscripts have “of our Lord”