Bible Strands

2 Peter 2:4

For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Peter addresses a community threatened by greedy false teachers who use deceptive words to exploit them. He grounds his warning in historical examples of divine judgment to establish that the corrupters' destruction is certain.

The words — The Greek ἐφείσατο (epheisato) translates literally as "spared" or "held back from punishment," describing God's deliberate refusal to grant mercy to the sinful angels.

The thread — This judgment of rebellious angels runs parallel to Jude 1:6, which describes them bound in chains of darkness, and stands in direct contrast to Romans 8:32, where God did not spare His own Son.

Why it lands — The text states that God cast sinful angels into darkness to await judgment, requiring readers to accept that divine patience does not cancel accountability and that the warning against false teaching demands immediate seriousness.

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

ΕἰEiIfγὰρgarforὁhotheθεὸςtheosGodἀγγέλωνangelōnof [the] angelsἁμαρτησάντωνhamartēsantōn[who] having sinnedοὐκouknotἐφείσατο,epheisatospared,ἀλλὰallabutσειραῖςseiraisin chainsζόφουzophouof gloomy darknessταρταρώσαςtartarōsasto TartarusπαρέδωκενparedōkenHe delivered [them]εἰςeisforκρίσινkrisinjudgmentτηρουμένους,tēroumenousbeing kept,

King James Version

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

Cross-references