Epistula II Petri, 2

1. Fuerunt vero et pseudopro phetae in populo, sicut et in vo bis erunt magistri mendaces, qui introducent sectas perditionis et eum, qui emit eos, Dominatorem negantes superducent sibi celerem perditionem.

1. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

2. Et multi sequentur eorum luxurias, propter quos via veritatis blasphemabitur;

2. And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them the way of truth will be reviled.

3. et in avaritia fictis verbis de vobis negotiabuntur. Quibus iudicium iam olim non cessat, et perditio eorum non dormitat.

3. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words; from of old their condemnation has not been idle, and their destruction has not been asleep.

4. Si enim Deus angelis peccantibus non pepercit, sed rudentibus inferni detractos in tartarum tradidit in iudicium reservatos:

4. For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the judgment;

5. et originali mundo non pepercit, sed octavum Noe iustitiae praeconem custodivit diluvium mundo impiorum inducens;

5. if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven other persons, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

6. et civitates Sodomae et Gomorrae in cinerem redigens eversione damnavit, exemplum ponens eorum, quae sunt impiis futura:

6. if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomor'rah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly;

7. et iustum Lot oppressum a nefandorum luxuria conversationis eruit:

7. and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked

8. aspectu enim et auditu iustus habitans apud eos, de die in diem animam iustam iniquis operibus cruciabat.

8. (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds),

9. Novit Dominus pios de tentatione eripere, iniquos vero in diem iudicii puniendos reservare,

9. then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

10. maxime autem eos, qui post carnem in concupiscentia immunditiae ambulant dominationemque contemnunt. Audaces, superbi, glorias non metuunt blasphemantes,

10. and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and wilful, they are not afraid to revile the glorious ones,

11. ubi angeli fortitudine et virtute cum sint maiores, non portant adversum illas coram Domino iudicium blasphemiae.

11. whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a reviling judgment upon them before the Lord.

12. Hi vero, velut irrationabilia animalia naturaliter genita in captionem et in corruptionem, in his, quae ignorant, blasphemantes, in corruptione sua et corrumpentur

12. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed, reviling in matters of which they are ignorant, will be destroyed in the same destruction with them,

13. inviti percipientes mercedem iniustitiae; voluptatem existimantes diei delicias, coinquinationes et maculae deliciis affluentes, in voluptatibus suis luxuriantes vobiscum,

13. suffering wrong for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their dissipation, carousing with you.

14. oculos habentes plenos adulterae et incessabiles delicti, pellicientes animas instabiles, cor exercitatum avaritiae habentes, maledictionis filii;

14. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!

15. derelinquentes rectam viam erraverunt, secuti viam Balaam ex Bosor, qui mercedem iniquitatis amavit,

15. Forsaking the right way they have gone astray; they have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Be'or, who loved gain from wrongdoing,

16. correptionem vero habuit suae praevaricationis; subiugale mutum in hominis voce loquens prohibuit prophetae insipientiam.

16. but was rebuked for his own transgression; a dumb ass spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

17. Hi sunt fontes sine aqua, et nebulae turbine exagitatae, quibus caligo tenebrarum reservatur.

17. These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm; for them the nether gloom of darkness has been reserved.

18. Superba enim vanitatis loquentes pelliciunt in concupiscentiis carnis luxuriis illos, qui paululum effugiunt eos, qui in errore conversantur,

18. For, uttering loud boasts of folly, they entice with licentious passions of the flesh men who have barely escaped from those who live in error.

19. libertatem illis promittentes, cum ipsi servi sint corruptionis; a quo enim quis superatus est, huius servus est.

19. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for whatever overcomes a man, to that he is enslaved.

20. Si enim refugientes coinquinationes mundi in cognitione Domini nostri et Salvatoris Iesu Christi his rursus implicati superantur, facta sunt eis posteriora deteriora prioribus.

20. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

21. Melius enim erat illis non cognoscere viam iustitiae, quam post agnitionem retrorsum converti ab eo, quod illis traditum est, sancto mandato.

21. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

22. Contigit enim eis illud veri proverbii: “Canis reversus ad suum vomitum”, et “Sus lota in volutabro luti”.

22. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, The dog turns back to his own vomit, and the sow is washed only to wallow in the mire.