The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Peter — Section 54

in llfntt. xxi. 5). ••Dumb'' is literally entice (as in ver. 14) in the lusts of the flesh, "without Yoice;" naturally without Yoice1 by lascivio11sness. The preposition "in" it spnke with the voice of man, The word dcnot3s the sphere in which these men live, iNwll.vcru•, rendered " forbade," is rather their condition, bC1bits of life, The dative "checked,'' or "stayed." The word for &,,-,11.-yel,ur, literally "by lasciviousnesses," "mRdnegs" (-rrapa<f,povlav) oecurs nowhere that is, by acts of lasciviousness, is the dative else in the New Testament. The ass checked of the instrument; it stutes the means by the prophet's folly by her shrinldng from the which they entice men. Those that were angel, and by the miracle that followed; the clean escaped from them who live in error. Rngcl, while permitting Balaam to expose The Authorized Version follows the T.R., himself to the danger into which he had "Toos ;s.,.,.,.,s &1rorpv-y&nas; but most of the fallen by tempting the Lord, forbade any best manuscripts have .-oos oll.l-y01s &1rorpeo- deviation from the word to be put into his 'Yov.-a.s. This last reading gives a better mouth by God. Balaam obeyed in the sense, "Those who are just escaping." The letter; but afterwards the madness which ad verb 011.l-ya,s may be understood of time, bad been checked for the moment led him or, perhaps better, of measure-" escapiu.,. into deadly sin (Numb. xxxi. 16). We by a. little, a little way." Those who wer~ observe that St. Peter assumes the truth- " clean escaped " would not be so easily fulness of the narrative in the Book of enticed by the false teachers. These are Nnmbers (see Mr. Cla.rk's note in the only beginning to escape; they have heard • 'Speaker's Co=entary' on Numb. xxii. the word with joy, but have no root in them- 28). selves; they put their hand to the plough, Ver. I 7.-These are wells without water. but they look back. They "thC1t live in St. Peter has spoken of the vices of the false error" are the heathen; the unhappy men teachers; he goes on to describe the un- who are led a.stray by the false teachers are profitableness of their teaching. They are just escaping from the heathen and from like wells without water; they deceive men their mode of life. It is possible to under- with a promise which they do not fulfil. In stand these last words as a. co-ordinate J nde 12 there is a slight difference-" clouds clause, a further description of those who without water" (comp. Jer. iL 13). Clouds a.re just escaping. The false teachers entice that are carried with a tempest; better, "those who are just escaping, those who misu drfoen by a tempe~t. The best manu- live in error." But the common rendering scripts have bµ.lxll.a.,, mists, instead of verpl- seems better. The verb translated "live" 71.aJ., clouds; they are driven along by the ( &va.tT"Tperpoµ.lvovs) is e. favourite word with tempest; they give no water to the thirsty St. Peter (see 1 Pet. i. 15, 18; ii. 12; iii. 1, land, but only bring darkness and obscurity. 2, 16). The Greek word for "tern pest" (M.,71.a,j,) is Ver.19.-While theypromiae them liberty; used by St. Mark and St. Luke in their literally,promising. Tbe words cohere closely account of the tempest on the Sea of Galilee. with the preceding clause. Liberty was the To whom the mist of darkness is reserved subject of their great swelling words of for ever; rather, as in the Revised Version, vanity; they talked loudly, made a great the blackness of darlmess. The words are the boast, about liberty. Perhaps they were Bame as those of Jude 13 (comp. ver. 4 of wresting to their own destruction (comp. oh. this chapter; also eh. iii. 7 ; and 1 Pet. iii. 15, 16) tho teaching of St. Paul concern- i. 4, where the same verb is used of the ing Christian liberty. St. Paul had spoken inheritance reserved in heaven for the saints). of the liberty of the glory of the children oC The words "for e1•er" are omitted in the God (Rom. viii. 21); he had again and again Vatican and Sinai tic Manuscripts; it is asserted the liberty of Christians in things possilile that they may have been inserted indifferent (see 2 Cor. iii. 17; 1 Cor. viii. from the parallel passage in St. Jude; but 9; x. 23, de.). But he had insisted on the they are well supported here. paramount duty of giving no offence (1 Cor. Ver. 18.-For when they speak great viii. 18, etc.), and ho.cl earnestly cautioned swelling words of vanity; literally, for his converts to "use not liberty for an speaking. "Great swelling words" is ex- occasion to the flesh." There were false pressed by one word in the Greek, {ndpo-yNa, teachers who maintained that the true St. Jude bas the same word in ver. 16; it ia Gnostic was free fromruoral restraints, in faot, used in the classical writers of great bulk of that liberty meant Iibertinism, liberty to sin any kind, lileral or figurative. The genitive ( comp. 1 Pet. ii. 16). They themselves ars is descriptive-the words are swelling, high- the servants of corruption. The 0011Btruction sounding-; but they are only words, ,•ain is still participial," being" (~1rd.pxo11"TEs)- aud ,,.eauingless; they have nothing but bcing from tho beginning servants of cor- emptim,ss behind them. They allure through i-upiion. '£hose who to.lked o.bout liberty the lusts of the flesh, through much wanton- were themsel vPs all the time the bond- ness; r ..ther, as in the Revised Version, t/1•y servante, the sla,es, of eorruptio11.. Thi., OH, u. 1-22.) THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.