2 Peter 2:5
What does 2 Peter 2:5 mean?
A plain-English look at 2 Peter 2:5 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 2 Peter 2:5 means
God did not spare the ancient world when it was filled with ungodliness, but he preserved Noah and seven others. Noah is called a “preacher of righteousness,” indicating he both lived and proclaimed God’s way while the world around him ignored warning. The Flood came as a comprehensive judgment on entrenched wickedness, yet within that judgment God safeguarded a small company. The point is dual: widespread corruption invites sweeping judgment, and yet God’s eye is on the righteous. He can keep a remnant safe even when he overturns a world.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;
KJV
King James Version · 1611And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And did not have mercy on the world which then was, but only kept safe Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he let loose the waters over the world of the evil-doers;
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862and the old world did not spare, but the eighth person, Noah, of righteousness a preacher, did keep, a flood on the world of the impious having brought,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And spared not the original world, but preserved Noe, the eighth person, the preacher of justice, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890and spared not [the] old world, but preserved Noe, [the] eighth, a preacher of righteousness, having brought in [the] flood upon [the] world of [the] ungodly;
Context
This second precedent complements the angelic example. Moving from heaven to earth, Peter shows global judgment coupled with individual preservation. Noah’s deliverance strengthens believers facing corrupt surroundings: God’s saving care is not overwhelmed by majority evil. Next, verses 6–8 will tighten the focus to specific cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, again pairing destruction for the ungodly with rescue for the righteous (Lot), before Peter states the general rule in verse 9.
v.4For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
v.5This passage
v.6and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly;
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Genesis 6:1
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them,
- Luke 17:26
And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
- Matthew 24:37
And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
- 2 Peter 3:6
by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
- Job 22:15
Wilt thou keep the old way Which wicked men have trodden?
- Jude 1:14
And to these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones,
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