Bible Strands
2 Peter 2:9
if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Peter addresses early Christian communities navigating false teachers and moral decay, immediately following his account of Lot's daily torment among the lawless. He speaks to believers to establish that divine oversight governs both rescue and judgment.
The words — The Greek οἶδεν (oiden) literally means "knows," denoting certain awareness, while ῥύεσθαι (rhuesthai) literally means "to deliver" or "rescue." These terms anchor the verse's claim in factual divine knowledge rather than conditional hope.
The thread — The parallel of God's attentive care for the righteous appears in Psalms 34:15, where His eyes and ears are fixed on them. The promise of preservation through testing is echoed in Revelation 3:10, while 1 Corinthians 10:13 frames temptation as a common experience bounded by God's faithfulness.
Why it lands — The text asserts that God actively separates the godly from the unrighteous during trials and at final judgment. Readers must acknowledge that rescue and punishment are fixed outcomes of moral standing, requiring sober alignment with that reality.
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
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
Cross-references
- Psalms 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.
- Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
- 2 Timothy 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
- Jude 1:14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones
- 2 Peter 3:7 And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
- Job 5:19 He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.
- Proverbs 16:4 The LORD has made everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.
- 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;