2 Peter 2:20

2Pe 2:20-22. For if after they — The persons here spoken of as deluded; have escaped the pollutions of the world — The sins which pollute those who know not God; through the knowledge of Christ — That is, through faith in him, 2Pe 1:3; they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end — Their last state; is worse than the beginning — More inexcusable, and exposing them to a greater condemnation. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness — As set forth in the gospel; than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment, &c. — The doctrine of Christ, which enjoins nothing but what is holy. It would have been better, because their sin would have been less, and their punishment lighter. See the margin. But it has happened unto them according to the true proverb — The ancients used to sum up their wisest and most useful observations in short, nervous, and impressive proverbs, which were more easily understood, and better remembered, than long, laboured discourses. The dog, the sow — Unclean creatures: such are all men in the sight of God before they receive his grace, and after they have made shipwreck of the faith. These proverbs teach us the absolute necessity of constant watchfulness and prayer, self- denial and mortification, in order to our persevering in the way of righteousness after we have entered upon it. And, as some think, they teach also that many, if not most of those who relapse into their former habits of sin, had contented themselves with a mere external reformation, and had stopped short of a thorough change of nature, or being made new creatures in Christ Jesus. It may be worth observing, that the former of these proverbs is found Pro 26:11, and the latter is said to have been a common proverb among the ancients: see Sir 26:24-26. Horace has a plain reference to both of them, lib. 1. Sir 26:26, where he is speaking of the travels of Ulysses, and says, “If he had been conquered by the charms of Circe, he had lived like an impure dog, or a sow that is fond of the mire.” Surely these proverbs will not be thought coarse or unpolite in St. Peter, when some of the most elegant writers of antiquity have made use of, or referred to them.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2:20 they are worse off than before: The false teachers or their followers had known the truth, but their deliberate rejection of that truth put them in a far worse situation than when they ignorantly lived in sin.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2Pe 2:20. Ἀποφυγόντες, after they have escaped) This is spoken of those who are enticed, as in 2Pe 2:18. And these are entangled in the calamity of those who ensnare them: they are overcome.—μιάσματα, pollutions) bringing corruption.—τούτοις) to these, the impure.—δὲ, but) This particle marks the antithesis between two participles.—χείρονα, worse) Antithetical to better, 2Pe 2:21.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Pe_2:20 gives an explanation (γάρ, equal to: namely) of the statement contained in 2Pe_2:19, that those there described are the δοῦλοι τῆς φθορᾶς, after that the general remark: ᾧ … δεδούλωται has been applied to them. Almost all interpreters hold that in this verse the same persons are the subjects as in 2Pe_2:19; so that the ἀποφυγόντες refers to those with the description of whom the author has throughout the whole chapter been engaged. Bengel, Fronmüller, Hofmann are of a different opinion. They assume that ἀποφυγόντες refers to those who are led astray, and that the latter accordingly, and not the seducers, are to be regarded as the subject of the clause. In favour of this view may be urged the term ἀποφυγόντες, which seems to refer back to the ἀποφευγόντας in 2Pe_2:18. But, on the one hand, it is certainly unnatural to consider those to be the subjects here who are the objects in 2Pe_2:18, especially as 2Pe_2:19 has the same subject as 2Pe_2:18; and, on the other, it would be more than surprising if the apostle did not, from here onwards, continue the description of those of whom the whole chapter speaks, but should, all of a sudden, treat of entirely different persons,and this without in any way hinting at the transition from the one to the other; in addition to this, there is the circumstance that ἡττῶνται corresponds much too directly with ἥττηται.

εἰ γάρ] The reality, as frequently, expressed hypothetically. Without any reason, Grotius would read: οἱ γάρ instead of εἰ γάρ.

ἀποφυγόντες] The participle is not to be resolved by although, but by after that.

τὰ μιάσματα τοῦ κόσμου] τὰ μιάσματα, a form occurring only here; 2Pe_2:10 : μιασμός.

τοῦ κόσμου, here in an ethical sense, as composed of those who walk (2Pe_2:18) ἐν πλάνῃ, or, with Wiesinger: as the dominion over which sin rules, the defilements which belong to the world. Without sufficient reason, Hofmann takes τὰ μιάσματα τ. κ. in a personal sense, and thinks that it means, in the first instance, those individuals who are the abomination and blemishes of the non-Christian world, and that τούτοις δέ refers to the Christians whom Peter designates as the σπίλοι κ. μῶμοι of the church. But nothing in the context hints at this, and it is arbitrary to understand by τούτοις other μιάσματα than those designated by that word itself.

ἐν ἐπιγνώσει τοῦ κυρίου … Χριστοῦ] i.e. by their having come to the knowledge of Christ.

τούτοις (i.e. μιάσμασι) δὲ πάλιν ἐμπλακέντες ἡττῶνται] ἐμπλακέντες is valde emphaticum; ἐμπλέκεσθαι enim dicuntur, qui tricis et laqueis implicantur (Gerhard). The particle δέ places in antithesis either the two participles: ἀποφυγόντες and πάλιν ἐμπλακέντες, or the first participle and the finite verb ἡττῶνται; the former construction is to be preferred as the more correct.

γέγονεν αὐτοῖς … τῶν πρώτων] The same words are to be found in Mat_12:45; Luk_11:26;[81] τὰ πρῶτα: the former condition, in which they were before their conversion; τὰ ἔσχατα: their subsequent condition, into which they have come after their falling away, i.e. the condition of complete slavery to the φθορά, from which there is no hope of redemption: with the thought, cf. Heb_10:26-27.

[81] There is a similar passage in Past. Herm. iii. 9: quidam tamen ex iis maculaverunt se, et projecti sunt de genere justorum et iterum redierunt ad statum pristinum, atque etiam deteriores quam prius evaserunt.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Pe 2:20-22 . The consequences of falling away . “The case of their victims is a serious one. They have escaped from the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and are once more entangled and worsted by these. Their last state becomes worse than the first. It were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than in spite of such knowledge, to depart from the holy commandment committed to them. They illustrate the truth of the proverb: ‘the dog that turned back to his own vomit, and the sow that went to bathe to wallowing in the mud’.”

2Pe 2:20 . Here, again, γὰρ loosely introduces the subject of the victims allured by the false teachers away from their former faith. τὰ μιάσματα τοῦ κόσμου . (Lev 7:8 , Jer. 39:34), occurs only here in N.T. In LXX the word seems to have a technical religious sense, the profanation of flesh by ordinary use which is set apart for sacrifice. This sense lingers here. The body is sacred to God, and to give licentious rein to the passions is μίασμα . Cf. μιασμός , 2Pe 2:10 , and μιαίνω , Jud 1:8 . τοῦ κόσμου is the world in the sense of the heathen society and its practises. ἐπιγνώσει . See note on 2Pe 1:2 . τούτοις is governed by ἐμπλακέντες = “entangled by these”. Cf. 2Ti 2:4 , γέγονεν αὐτοῖς , κ . τ . λ . Cf. Mat 12:45 , Luk 11:26 , and Heb 6:4-8 ; Heb 10:26 .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It were better never to have known the way of righteousness, than to turn back from it to the old filthiness: and men that do so are compared to dogs and swine.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

after they--the seducers "themselves" have escaped (Pe2 2:19; see on Heb 6:4-6).

pollutions--which bring "corruption" (Pe2 2:19).

through--Greek, "in."

knowledge--Greek, "full and accurate knowledge."

the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ--solemnly expressing in full the great and gracious One from whom they fall.

latter end is worse . . . than the beginning--Peter remembers Christ's words. "Worse" stands opposed to "better" (Pe2 2:21).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. The pollutions of the world] Sin in general, and particularly superstition, idolatry, and lasciviousness. These are called μιασματα, miasmata, things that infect, pollute, and defile. The word was anciently used, and is in use at the present day, to express those noxious particles of effluvia proceeding from persons infected with contagious and dangerous diseases; or from dead and corrupt bodies, stagnant and putrid waters, marshes c., by which the sound and healthy may be infected and destroyed.

The world is here represented as one large, putrid marsh, or corrupt body, sending off its destructive miasmata everywhere and in every direction, so that none can escape its contagion, and none can be healed of the great epidemic disease of sin, but by the mighty power and skill of God. St. Augustine has improved on this image: "The whole world," says he, "is one great diseased man, lying extended from east to west, and from north to south and to heal this great sick man, the almighty Physician descended from heaven." Now, it is by the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as says St. Peter, that we escape the destructive influence of these contagious miasmata. But if, after having been healed, and escaped the death to which we were exposed, we get again entangled, εμπλακεντες, enfolded, enveloped with them; then the latter end will be worse than the beginning: forasmuch as we shall have sinned against more light, and the soul, by its conversion to God, having had all its powers and faculties greatly improved, is now, being repolluted, more capable of iniquity than before, and can bear more expressively the image of the earthly.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. For if after. He again shews how pernicious was the sect which led men consecrated to God back again to their old filth and the corruptions of the world. And he exhibits the heinousness of the evil by a comparison; for it was no common sin to depart from the holy doctrine of God. It would have been better for them, he says, not to have known the way of righteousness; for though there is no excuse for ignorance, yet the servant who knowingly and wilfully despises the commands of his lord, deserves a twofold punishment. There was besides ingratitude, because they wilfully extinguished the light of God, rejected the favor conferred on them, and having shaken off the yoke, became perversely wanton against God; yea, as far as they could, they profaned and abrogated the inviolable covenant of God, which had been ratified by the blood of Christ. The more earnest then ought we to be, to advance humbly and carefully in the course of our calling. We must now consider each sentence.

By naming the pollutions of the world, he shews that we roll in filth and are wholly polluted, until we renounce the world. By the knowledge of Christ he no doubt understands the gospel. He testifies that the design of it is, to deliver us from the defilements of the world, and to lead us far away from them. For the same reason he afterwards calls it the way of righteousness. He then alone makes a right progress in the gospel who faithfully learns Christ; and he truly knows Christ, who has been taught by him to put off the old man and to put on the new man, as Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:22

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(20) For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world.—Applying the general statement of the preceding verse to the case of these false teachers. In the Shepherd of Hermas (I. Vis. IV. iii. 2.) “the black there is the world in which we dwell, and the fire-and-blood-colour (indicates) that this world must perish through blood and fire; but the golden part are ye who have escaped this world.” Another possible reminiscence of our Epistle. (See above on 2Pe_2:1; 2Pe_3:13; 2Pe_3:15; and below, 2Pe_3:5.)

Through the knowledge.—Better, in knowledge the preposition “in” pointing to that in which the escape consists. (See on 2Pe_2:18, and comp. Luk_1:77.) The knowledge is of the same mature and complete kind as that spoken of in 2Pe_1:2-3; 2Pe_1:8 (where see Notes), showing that these men were well-instructed Christians.

Entangled therein, and overcome.—Or, entangled and overcome thereby, which, from the latter part of 2Pe_2:19, seems to be the more probable construction.

The latter end is worse with them than the beginning.—Most certainly this should be made to correspond with Mat_12:45, of which it is almost an exact reproduction—their last state is worse than the first. The only difference is that the word for “is” in Mat_12:45 means literally “becomes,” and here “has become.” (Comp. the Shepherd, Sim. IX. xvii. 5.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world] The word “escaped” had been used above (2Pe_2:18) of the followers. Here, as the context shews, in the repetition of the word “overcome” from the preceding verse, it is used of the teachers themselves. They also had once fled from the pollutions of heathen life and heathen worship into which they had now fallen back.

through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ] The word for “knowledge” in the Greek is the compound form (ἐπίγνωσις) which is always used by St Paul (e.g. Eph_4:13; Col_2:2; Col_3:10; 1Ti_2:4), and had been used by St Peter (chap. 2Pe_1:2-3; 2Pe_1:8), of the highest form of knowledge which is spiritual as well as speculative. The false teachers had not been all along hypocrites and pretenders. They had once in the fullest sense of the words “known Christ” as their Lord and Saviour. There is, perhaps, no single passage in the whole extent of New Testament teaching more crucial than this in its bearing on the Calvinistic dogma of the indefectibility of grace. The fullest clearness of spiritual vision had not protected these heresiarchs from the temptations of their sensuous nature.

they are again entangled therein, and overcome] The verb “entangled” is used also by St Paul (2Ti_2:4). It describes vividly the manner of the fall of those of whom the Apostle speaks. They had not at first contemplated the ultimate results of their teaching. It was their boast of freedom which led them within the tangled snares of the corruption in which they were now inextricably involved.

the latter end is worse with them than the beginning] Literally, the last state has become worse than the first. The last words are so distinctly a citation from our Lord’s teaching in Mat_12:45, that we are compelled to think of St Peter as finding in the history of the false teachers that which answered to the parable of the unclean spirit who was cast out of his house and returned to it with seven other spirits more wicked than himself.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world,.... The sins of it, the governing vices of it, which the men of the world are addicted to, and immersed in; for the whole world lies in wickedness, and which are of a defiling nature: the phrase is Rabbinical; it is said (q),

"he that studies not in the law in this world, but is defiled , "with the pollutions of the world", what is written of him? and they took him, and cast him without:''

these, men may escape, abstain from, and outwardly reform, with respect unto, and yet be destitute of the grace of God; so that this can be no instance of the final and total apostasy of real saints; for the house may be swept and garnished with an external reformation; persons may be outwardly righteous before men, have a form of godliness and a name to live, and yet be dead in trespasses and sins; all which they may have

through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read, our Lord, and the latter leave out, "and Saviour"; by which "knowledge" is meant, not a spiritual experimental knowledge of Christ, for that is eternal life, the beginning, pledge, and earnest of it; but a notional knowledge of Christ, or a profession of knowledge of him, for it may be rendered "acknowledgment"; or rather the Gospel of Christ, which, being only notionally received, may have such an effect on men, as outwardly to reform their lives, at least in some instances, and for a while, in whose hearts it has no place. Now if, after all this knowledge and reformation,

they are again entangled therein; in the pollutions of the world, in worldly lusts, which are as gins, pits and snares:

and overcome; by them, so as to be laden with them, and led away, and entirely governed and influenced by them:

the latter end, or state,

is worse with them than the beginning; see Mat 12:45. Their beginning, or first estate, was that in which they were born, a state of darkness, ignorance, and sin, and in which they were brought up, and was either the state of Judaism, or of Gentilism; their next estate was an outward deliverance and escape from the error of the one, or of the other, and an embracing and professing the truth of the Christian religion, joined with a becoming external conversation; and this their last estate was an apostasy from the truth of the Gospel they had professed, a reception of error and heresy, and a relapse into sin and immorality, which made their case worse than it was at first; for, generally, such persons are more extravagant in sinning; are like raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; and are seldom, or ever, recovered; and by their light, knowledge, and profession, their punishment will be more aggravated, and become intolerable.

(q) Zohar in Gen. fol. 104. 3. Vid. Bechinot Olam, p. 178.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

20 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.

Ver. 20. Again entangled] As a bird in a gin, as a beast in a snare. Saepe familiaritas implicavit, saepe occasio peccandi voluntatem fecit. (Isidor. solil, ii.)

The latter end is worse] They fall ab equis ad asinos, from high hopes of heaven into hell’s mouth, where they shall have a deeper damnation, because they disgrace God’s housekeeping, as if they did not find what they looked for in religion.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world - This does not necessarily mean that they had been true Christians, and had fallen from grace. People may outwardly reform, and escape from the open corruptions which prevail around them, or which they had themselves practiced, and still have no true grace at heart.

Through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesses Christ - Neither does This imply that they were true Christians, or that they had ever had any saving knowledge of the Redeemer. There is a knowledge of the doctrines and duties of religion which may lead sinners to abandon their outward vices, which has no connection with saving grace. They may profess religion, and may Know enough of religion to understand that it requires them to abandon their vicious habits, and still never be true Christians.

They are again entangled therein and overcome - The word rendered “entangled,” (ἐμπλέκω emplekō,) from which is derived our word “implicate,” means to braid in, to interweave; then to involve in, to entangle. It means here that they become implicated in those vices like an animal that is entangled in a net.

The latter end is worse with them than the beginning - This is usually the case. Apostates become worse than they were before their professed conversion. “Reformed” drunkards, if they go back to their “cups” again, become more abandoned than ever. Thus, it is with those who have been addicted to any habits of vice, and who profess to become religious, and then fall away. The “reasons” for this may be:

(1)That they are willing now to show to others that they are no longer under the restraints by which they had professedly bound themselves;

(2)That God gives them up to indulgence with fewer restraints than formerly; and,

(3)Their old companions in sin may be at special pains to court their society, and to lead them into temptation, in order to obtain a triumph over virtue and religion.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

For if flying, and been happily freed from the pollutions, the abominations, and corruptions of a wicked world, be upon your guard, and take great care not to be entangled again in these dangerous snares and nets, lest your latter condition (as Christ said, Matthew xii. 45.) be worse than the former, lest you be like a dog that returns to his vomit, or like a sow that is washed and wallows again in the mire. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The pollutions of the world; those more gross wickednesses in which most of the world still lieth, 1Jo 5:19.

Through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; such a knowledge of Christ as brings with it an outward reformation of life, though it do not purify the heart. For that the apostle doth not here speak of those that were rooted in Christ by a saving and heart purifying faith, appears by 2Pe 2:14, where he calls them

unstable souls.

They are again entangled therein, and overcome; return to their old sins, yield up themselves to them, and continue in them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. The servants of corruption, not their victims, are meant.

Escaped— The same word as in 2Pe_2:18 and 2Pe_1:4.

Through the knowledge—Rather, in the true, ripe, full knowledge; the element in, and the means by which, the escape was made, showing that it was not a mere external reformation and a profession of religion without saving grace, as some theologians would have it, but a true experience of its blessed power. They were by it brought into the way of truth, the right way, the way of righteousness. 2Pe_2:2; 2Pe_2:15; 2Pe_2:21.

Entangled—Interwoven with them.

Overcome—And so again enslaved.

The latter end—Their last state of vice, that is, since their apostasy, is worse—lower and fouler—than the first.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world; literally, for if, having escaped (ajpofugontev). Is St. Peter in this verse still speaking of the false teachers, or of those whom they had enticed (verse 18)? Bengel, Fronmuller, and others take the latter view, thinking that the ajpofugontev ("those having escaped") of this verse must be the same with the ajpofeugontav or ajpofugontav ("those who are escaping," or "those having escaped") of verse 18. But it is far more natural to understand St, Peter as continuing his description of the false teachers. The conjunction "for" connects the clause closely with that immediately preceding, and suggests that St. Peter is explaining the term "bondservants or slaves" applied to the false teachers in verse 19; the repetition of the word "overcome" also seems to imply that the subjects of yore. 20 and 19 are the same. The word for" pollutions" (miasmata) occurs only here. In "Hermas" (Vis., 4:3, 2) there occurs what may be a reminiscence of this verse: "Ye who have escaped this world." Through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Several of the most ancient manuscripts read, "our Lord and Saviour." The word rendered "knowledge" is ejpignwsiv, full knowledge. (comp. 2Pe_1:2, 2Pe_1:3, 2Pe_1:8; Eph_4:13; Col_2:2 Col_3:10; 1Ti_2:4; Rom_1:28 Rom_3:20) The preposition is ejn. The full, personal knowledge of the Saviour is the sphere in which the Christian lives; while he abides in that knowledge grace and peace are multiplied unto him, and he is enabled to escape the pollutions of the world. The apostle warns us here that some of those who once enjoyed the blessedness of that sacred knowledge have been entangled in sin and have fallen from grace. They are again entangled therein, and overcome. The first clause is participial; the connection seems to be, "If, having escaped but being again entangled they are overcome." The word "entangled" (ejmplakentev) suggests the figure of fishes entangled in the meshes of a net, and seems to point back to the deleazousin ("entice") of verses 18 and 14; they entice others, but they are entangled themselves (comp., (2Ti_2:4) and become captives and slaves to the pollutions of the world from which they had once escaped. The latter end is worse with them than the beginning; rather, as in the Revised Version, the last state is become worse with them than the first. This is a distinct quotation of our Lord"s words in Mat_12:45 Luk_11:26. The evil spirit had been cast out from these men; for a time they had lived in the full knowledge of Christ; but now the evil spirit had returned, and had brought with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself. This spontaneous adoption of our Lord"s words without marks of quotation is not like the work of a forger.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For if after they - Who are thus ensnared. Have escaped the pollutions of the world - The sins which pollute all who know not God. Through the knowledge of Christ - That is, through faith in him, chap. i, 3. They are again entangled therein, and overcome, their last state is worse than the first - More inexcusable, and causing a greater damnation.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

world kosmos = world-system.

1Jn 2:15-17; Joh 7:7 (See Scofield "Rev 13:8")

Saviour (See Scofield "Rom 1:16")

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By escaping the pollutions of the world, understand their renouncing of them in baptism; their conversion from Heathenism to the profession of Christianity, by the knowledge of the gospel. Now, if afterwards they return to it again, and are intangled in their idolatry, and other gross sins, their latter end is worse than their beginning, their Christian Heathenism worse than their old Heathenism.

Learn hence, That a person may forsake many gross and scandalous sins, and have a visible change and reformation wrought in his life; but, not being a thorough and prevailing change, he is still in an unsafe state; his latter end may be worse than the beginning.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20–22. For if, after they have escaped the pollution of the world. If one who has been converted is enticed back again into his sins, his state is worse than before. That this is possible is taught in many places.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

the corruption of the world

The word "defilements" refers to sinful behavior that makes one morally impure. The "world" refers to human society. AT: "the defiling practices of sinful human society" (See: Metonymy)

through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

You can translate "knowledge" using a verbal phrase. See how you translated similar phrases in 2 Peter 1:2. AT: "by knowing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (See: Abstract Nouns)

the last state has become worse for them than the first

"their condition is worse than it was before"

the way of righteousness

Peter speaks of life as a "way" or path. This phrase refers to living a life that is according to God's will. (See: Metaphor)

turn away from the holy commandment

Here "turn away from" is a metaphor that means to stop doing something. AT: "stop obeying the holy commandment" (See: Metaphor)

the holy commandment delivered to them

This can be stated in active terms. AT: "the holy commandment that God delivered to them" or "the holy commandment that God made sure that they received" (See: Active or Passive)

This proverb is true for them

"This proverb applies to them" or "This proverb describes them"

A dog returns to its own vomit, and a washed pig returns to the mud

Peter uses two proverbs to illustrate how the false teachers, although they have known "the way of righteousness," have turned back to the things that make them morally and spiritually impure. (See: Proverbs)

translationWords

defile

world

know

lord

Savior

Jesus

righteous

holy

command

proverb

true

pig

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

20. ἀποφυγόντες τὰ μιάσματα τοῦ κόσμου. We revert to the language of chapter 1. (2Pe 1:4 ἀποφυγόντες τῆς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ φθορᾶς). ἐν ἐπιγνώσει κ.τ.λ. 2Pe 1:2.

In the words δελεάζειν, ἀποφεύγειν, ἡττᾶσθαι we have fresh instances of our author’s tendency to use words over again at short intervals.

τὰ ἔσχατα χείρονα τῶν πρώτων, one of the few citations of our Lord’s words in the Epistle (see Introd. p. xxiv). These occur in Mat 12:45.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20-22.] Further description of these deceivers as apostates from Christ, and designation of their terrible state as such.

20.] For if, having escaped (it might seem at first sight as if the ἀποφεύγοντας of ver. 18 were meant: but on close inspection it is plain that this is not so, but that we are continuing the description of the δοῦλοι τῆς φθορᾶς, viz. the deceivers themselves: the ἥττηται and ἡττῶνται marking the identity) the pollutions (reff.) of the world, in (element and condition of their escape) knowledge (ἐπιγνώσει, genuine and accurate knowledge: shewing that he is treating of men who have not been mere professors of spiritual grace, but real possessors of it) of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (expressed at length, to set forth more solemnly that from which they fall), but having again become entangled in these, they are overcome (the construction is ordinarily regarded as broken by the δέ, placed as if ἀποφύγωσιν and not ἀποφυγόντες had preceded: “if, after they have, &c., they are again entangled and overcome,” as E. V. But it is better to regard ἡττῶνται as the apodosis to both the participial clauses, and δέ as coupling them to each other), their last state is (we cannot say in English “has become,” for we thereby convey an idea that it was not always so, but has undergone a change) worse than the first (αὐτοῖς, dat. incommodi. The saying is our Lord’s own: see reff. Matt. ║ L.).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Pollutions [μιασματα] . Only here in New Testament. Compare ver.

2Pe 2:10The word is transcribed in miasma.

Entangled [εμπλακεντες] . Only here and 2Ti 2:4. The same metaphor occurs in Aeschylus (" Prometheus ") : "For not on a sudden or in ignorance will ye be entangled [εμπλεχθησεσθε] by your folly in an impervious net of Ate (destruction)."

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.