and if he turned to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah when he condemned them to destruction, having appointed them to serve as an example to future generations of the ungodly,

And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. Because of these false teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.

Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of people must we be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness,

especially those who indulge their fleshly desires and who despise authority. Brazen and insolent, they are not afraid to insult the glorious ones,

For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment that had been delivered to them.