2 Peter 2:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);

NIV: (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—

NASB: (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds),

CSB: (for as that righteous man lived among them day by day, his righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard )—

NLT: Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day.

KJV: For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

NKJV: (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—

In the previous verse, Peter said that God rescued Lot, a "righteous man," from the destruction of Sodom. He mentioned in that verse that Lot was "distressed" or "oppressed" by the depraved conduct of his neighbors. Now in this verse, Peter writes that Lot was "tormented" or "tortured" in his soul by all the sinful deeds he witnessed and heard about. This Greek term is ebasanizen, which means to torture, test, or bring pain. The word is sometimes used to describe a ship trying to sail into a headwind.

Also, according to verse 7, Lot was considered a "righteous" man. Clearly, this was not because of his own choices, or his own ability. Lot was considered "righteous" because he had been justified by God. As Abraham's nephew and a believer in the Lord, Lot could be declared righteous by God. God's declaration of righteousness is all that matters when it comes to our eternal salvation, not our personal choices. For Christians, God declares us righteous based on Christ's sinless life and death for our sins.

Like it or not, those who belong to God will not be sinlessly perfect on this side of eternity. However, we should be burdened by the blatant and rebellious acts of sinfulness in the world around us. Lot felt "tortured" by those actions, though clearly not enough to leave town without being dragged out by angels!

Any discussion of Sodom and Gomorrah needs to be clear: the "lawless deeds" which had become normal there were truly heinous. Homosexuality was only the most flagrant and well-known sin. The deeds of Lot's neighbors also included group rape. In their final moments, the men of Sodom demanded that Lot release to them his visitors so they could rape them (Genesis 19:4–7). They became incensed by Lot's judgment of them when he refused.

Lot did not make all the right choices, but he knew in his soul that the violent actions of his "lawless" neighbors were evil. That awareness tortured him. It's essential that God's imperfect-yet-righteous people today remain sensitive enough to the reality of sin to be "tormented" by its impact on the culture around us.

2 Peter 2:1–9 describes false teachers who greedily spread lies about Christ’s authority. They encourage Christians to indulge in sexual sin. They pursue erotic desires in the open, are experts in greed, despise authority, live in bold arrogance, and blaspheme things they don’t understand. Peter assures that these deceivers will be punished for the harm they’ve caused. This includes leading people away from Christ and back into the sinful practices from which they had begun to escape. God did not spare sinful angels, or the wicked of Noah’s day, or the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and will not spare these false teachers, either.

False teachers had entered the early community of Christians. These deceivers lied to the believers, challenging the authority of Jesus. They also invited others to indulge in their sexual sin. Sadly, there are still versions of these false teachers plaguing the modern Christian community. Peter harshly describes the sins of these ''cursed children,'' the eternal judgment waiting for them, and the tragic impact their deception is having on those enticed by them.

In chapter 1, Peter urged his Christian readers not to be unproductive in their knowledge of Jesus. Peter now describes the false teachers in the church who were leading people away from a true understanding of Christ. These deceivers were lying to the believers and encouraging them to indulge in sexual sin. Peter promises that God’s judgment is coming on these ''cursed children'' and details the tragic impact their lies have on anyone who believes them.

Apparently written shortly before his death in the AD 60s, 2 Peter may have been written to the same audience as 1 Peter, which was Christians scattered by persecution. Peter writes this letter to encourage Christians to live out the purpose of their lives in Christ. He warns readers to beware of teachers who claim to be believers, but present a false version of Christianity. And, Peter calls on all Christians to eagerly watch and wait for the return of the Lord.