Bible Strands
2 Peter 2:22
Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Peter writes to early Christian communities warning against false teachers who have abandoned the gospel they once professed. He issues this warning immediately after declaring that knowing righteousness and then rejecting it is worse than never knowing it.
The words — The Greek συμβέβηκεν (sumbebēken) literally means "has happened," marking the following proverb as an established reality. The term παροιμίας (paroimias) identifies the saying as a proverb, classifying it as recognized wisdom rather than Peter's original composition.
The thread — Peter quotes the exact imagery found in Proverbs 26:11 to describe those who revert to former sin after knowing righteousness. Both passages use the dog returning to vomit and the washed sow wallowing in mud to depict the same pattern of spiritual regression.
Why it lands — The text states that those who claim righteousness while returning to sin demonstrate that their initial knowledge produced no lasting change. It requires readers to verify whether their professed faith results in sustained obedience or merely temporary confession.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.