punishment of the ungodly is fully described before the mention of their wicked deeds. — eWaXa/) as it were from of old , from the fall of the angels. — ovx dpyzT) is not inactive ; that is, is altogether vigor- ous. It is one and the same judgment which hangs over all sin- ners, and which is revolved in the mind of the Judge without intermission, until it breaks forth ; and in the case of those who are mentioned in Scripture as being punished, it is shown what awaits others ; although sinners think that it lingers, and they themselves slumber. — a^wXf/a a i/ruv, their destruction ) the destruction , to which they will be adjudged. Thus also judgment and destruction are mentioned in connection, ch. iii. 7. — ov werafyi, does not slumber) The same word is used, Matt. xxv. 5, note. Compare knoweth , ver. 9.
4. E /, if) The Apodosis is contained in ver. 9. — dyyeXuvj angels) The most noble of created beings : Rom. viii. 38, note. — ovx epslcaro, spared not) Thus also ver. 5. A severe judgment is intimated against those, whom you might have supposed likely to escape. — cupaTg) treipd,, a twisted rope , of twig, hemp, hair, etc. Thus hc/xoTg^ in chains , Jude 6. — £o'poo, of darkness) Darkness itself keeps them prisoners, and is as a chain. Wisdom xvii. 17, Septuagint, d\vc u cxorovg sds6yj<fuvy they were bound with a chain of darkness. — raprapdcac) The noun is 6 za/' i] rdprapog , plural rdprupa ; the verb, raprapou : it does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament, nor in the Septua- gint. Therefore the meaning must be sought for from other sources, from Homer, Hesiod, and Plato : according to whom Tartarus is the lowest place in nature ; most dreadful with darkness and cold. Whence Hesychius : rdprupog , 6 vko rijv yriv xccrwrarog voVog, Tar- tarus, the lowest place beneath the earth. Eustathius, on the Iliad, book vii., rdprupog , og (pzpwv/jjojg rsrapuxrai , ur\p vcroyuiog x.ui di-jjX/oc, xc cl did rovro xa i x.r.X., Tartarus , which , in accordance with
its name , is in confusion [deriving Tdprapog from rapdauoJ], is a thick haze 1 under ground without the sun , and on this account is also cold. And this idea is confirmed by the word £o'pou, of darkness , here used. Thence rapTapovv, from raprupou , is to sentence and consign to Tar- tarus., or darkness. Similar forms are dctvarou, xanou , xvxXou, wpou, cxorouj ffravpouj racrg/vow, <pi/x6oj. But it is possible for slaves of Tar- tarus to dwell also on earth : Luke viii. 31 ; Eph. ii. 2 ; Apoc. ix. 1 1, 14 ; xii. 9, etc. : just as it is possible for one taken captive in war to
1 The lower air or haze (dv)p) is opposed to the pure upper air (aid >ip). See Horn. 11. xiv. 288. — T.