What Does 2 Peter 2:4 Mean in the King James?
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;
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The beings held in darkness are already in custody, and their restraint points toward judgment.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks now of no hidden power as beyond divine reach: the beings it names are handed over, bound in darkness, and kept for judgment. It holds restraint and reckoning together; their continued confinement is not release from the outcome the verse names.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that an unseen or powerful being has escaped judgment simply because the reckoning is delayed.
THE ROOT
τηρουμένους
tēroumenous
GROWS FROM
τηρέω
tēreō
to keep, watch, or guard
“reserved” in this verse is tēroumenous. The Greek form means “being kept,” giving the image an ongoing sense of custody. The same verb appears in 2 Peter 2:9 for those kept for judgment, so the delay here has an endpoint.
ALSO GROWS
tēreō: to keep or guard
τηρέω
This is the verb family behind “reserved”; it presents the beings as kept under restraint.
tērēsis: keeping or observance
τήρησις
This related noun shows the family can describe an ongoing state of keeping.
παρέδωκεν
paredōken
GROWS FROM
παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi), built on δίδωμι (didōmi)
to hand over or give into another’s custody
“delivered” in this verse is paredōken. Here the verb names a transfer into chains of darkness. The next image, being kept, carries that handover forward as continued restraint.
ALSO GROWS
didōmi: to give or place
δίδωμι
This is the giving verb within paradidōmi; here the transfer places the beings into confinement.
paradosis: handing down or tradition
παράδοσις
This related word carries the sense of something passed on, echoing the transfer into another custody.
κρίσιν
krisin
GROWS FROM
κρίνω
krinō
to decide, distinguish, or judge
The verse uses κρίσις (krisis), from κρίνω (krinō), to name the judgment toward which the beings are kept. The root connects that endpoint with a decision that determines an outcome.
ALSO GROWS
krinō: to decide or judge
κρίνω
This verb is the root family behind the judgment named in the verse.
kritēs: a judge, one who decides
κριτής
This related noun names the one who makes the decision.
diakrisis: discernment or distinction
διάκρισις
This related word shows the family can also name the act of distinguishing.
THE PATTERN
Being held until judgment signals a deferred reckoning, not an exemption.
But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.THE THREAD
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:Peter uses the same Greek keep verb, τηρέω (tēreō), in both verses and repeats κρίσις (krisis), “judgment.” The next verse sets those kept for judgment beside the godly being delivered out of testing, sharpening the contrast between being brought out and being held.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us