For if after they have escaped the filthy things ¹  of the world through the rich knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, ²  they ³  again get entangled in them and succumb to them, ⁴  their last state has become worse for them than their first.

Above all, understand this: ¹  In the last days blatant scoffers ²  will come, being propelled by their own evil urges ³ 

Above all, you do well if you recognize ¹  this: ²  No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination, ³ 

Dear friends, this is already the second letter I have written ¹  you, in which ²  I am trying to stir up ³  your pure mind by way of reminder:

and saying, ¹  “Where is his promised return? ²  For ever since ³  our ancestors ⁴  died, ⁵  all things have continued as they were ⁶  from the beginning of creation.”