Bible Strands
2 Peter 2:5
if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Peter addresses his Christian readers in a letter warning against false teachers, placing this verse between accounts of divine judgment on fallen angels and destroyed cities. He invokes the flood narrative at a moment when his audience needs concrete precedent for God’s intervention against ungodliness.
The words — ἐφείσατο (epheisato) means He spared, set in direct contrast to οὐκ (ouk) not, while ὀγδόον (ogdoon) literally denotes the eighth person or one of eight. These terms fix the text on the precise numerical preservation of Noah’s household amid total destruction.
The thread — The flood account surfaces in Hebrews 11:7 as a response of faith, in 2 Peter 3:6 as the means by which the ancient world perished, and in Luke 17:26 as a structural parallel to the Son of Man’s return. Peter’s argument relies on these established references to frame his warning.
Why it lands — The text states that God judged the ungodly world yet preserved Noah among the eight, requiring the reader to recognize that mercy operates within, not outside, divine justice. It demands sober attention to the pattern that preservation follows warning, while ungodliness invites condemnation.
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
And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
Cross-references
- Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
- 2 Peter 3:6 through which the world of that time perished in the flood.
- Luke 17:26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
- Jude 1:14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones
- Genesis 7:1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.
- Matthew 24:37 As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
- 1 Peter 3:19 in whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison
- Genesis 6:1 Now when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them,
- Job 22:15 Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod?