2:10-16 Impure seducers and their abandoned followers, give themselves up to their own fleshly minds. Refusing to bring every thought to the obedience of Christ, they act against God's righteous precepts. They walk after the flesh, they go on in sinful courses, and increase to greater degrees of impurity and wickedness. They also despise those whom God has set in authority over them, and requires them to honour. Outward temporal good things are the wages sinners expect and promise themselves. And none have more cause to tremble, than those who are bold to gratify their sinful lusts, by presuming on the Divine grace and mercy. Many such there have been, and are, who speak lightly of the restraints of God's law, and deem themselves freed from obligations to obey it. Let Christians stand at a distance from such.

Verse 15. - Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray; literally, forsaking (or having forsaken; there are two slightly differing readings, both well supported) the right way, they went astray. The false teachers in St. Peter's time were like Elymas the sorcerer, whom St. Paul accused of perverting "the right ways of the Lord" (Acts 13:10; comp. also verse 2 of this chapter). In the 'Shepherd of Hermas' occurs what may be an echo of this verse: "Who... have forsaken their true way" (Vis., 3:7. 1). Following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor. The word rendered "following" (ἐξακολουθήσαντες) is found also in chapter 2 Peter 1:16 and 2 Peter 2:2 of this Epistle, but nowhere else in the New Testament; it means "to follow out to the end." Comp. Numbers 22:32, where the angel of the Lord says of Balaam, "Thy way is perverse before me." The form "Bosor," instead of "Beor," arose probably from a peculiar (perhaps Galilaean) pronunciation of the guttural ע in בְּעור. Thus we, perhaps, have here an undesigned coincidence, a slight confirmation of St. Peter's authorship: he was a Galilaean, and his speech betrayed him (Matthew 26:73); one characteristic of the Galilaean dialect was a mispronunciation of the gutturals. But some commentators see in the resemblance of the form "Bosor" to the Hebrew בָּשָׂר, flesh, an allusion to those sins of the flesh into which Balaam allured the Israelites. Compare the Jewish use of such names as Ishbosheth in derision for Eshbaal ("the man of shame" for "the man of Baal"), and Jerubbesheth (2 Samuel 11:21) for Jerubbaal. The references to Balaam here, in St. Jude, the Book of the Revelation, and 1 Corinthians 10:8, show that his history had made a great impression on the mind of thoughtful Christians. St. John connects his name with the Nicolaitanes in Revelation 2:15, much as St. Peter here connects it with the false teachers of his time. Some, again, see in the etymology of the word "Nicolaitane" an allusion to that of "Balaam," as if the Nicolaitanes were followers of Balaam. There is another explanation in the 'Speaker's Commentary,' that the word "Bosor" is an Aramaic form, and that "the form possibly became familiar to St. Peter during his residence at Babylon, and suggests the probability that Aramaic traditions were still current respecting Balaam at the Christian era, and on the banks of the Euphrates" (additional note on Numbers 22:5). But the two oldest manuscripts read "Beer" here. Who loved the wages of unrighteousness (comp. verse 13, and also St. Peter's words in Acts 1:18). Balaam is not definitely accused of covetousness in the Old Testament narrative; but his conduct can be explained by no other motive.

Which have forsaken the right way,.... The right way of the Lord, the way of truth, the Gospel of truth; or Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life; the true way to eternal life, and which is the right way to eternal happiness; the way of life, righteousness, and salvation by Christ, the Christian faith, and the doctrine of it, which they once professed, but now relinquished:

and are gone astray; from the right way, the way of truth and holiness, into the paths of error and profaneness:

following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor; which Jude calls his error, Jde 1:11, and is the path of covetousness, uncleanness, and idolatry, sins which he was either guilty of himself, or taught, advised, and seduced others to; see Revelation 2:14. The Vulgate Latin version reads "Balaam out of Bosor", taking "Bosor" for the name of a place, of which "Balaam" was; but not "Bosor", but "Pethor", was the place of Balaam's residence, Numbers 22:5. The Arabic and Ethiopic versions supply, as we do, "the son of Bosor"; and the Syriac version reads, "the son of Beor", as in Numbers 22:5; for Beor and "Bosor" are the same names; the "sheva" being pronounced by "o", as it is by "oa" in "Boanerges", and the "ain" by "s". Moreover, the letters and are sometimes used for one another, as in and and and so and especially in the Chaldean dialect; and Peter now being at Babylon in Chaldea, see 1 Peter 5:13; it is no wonder that he so pronounced.

Who loved the wages of unrighteousness: which were the rewards of divination, Numbers 22:7; which were brought him for his divining or soothsaying, and may well be called unrighteous wages, since it was for doing unrighteous things, or things in an unrighteous manner; and these he loved, desired, and greedily coveted, and fain would he have taken Balak's gold and silver, and have cursed Israel, but was restrained by the Lord: he showed a good will to it, in going along with the messengers, and in building altars, and offering sacrifice in one place after another, in which there was a great resemblance between him and the men here spoken of.

15. have—Some of the seducers are spoken of as already come, others as yet to come.

following—out: so the Greek.

the way—(Nu 22:23, 32; Isa 56:11).

son of Bosor—the same as Beor (Nu 22:5). This word was adopted, perhaps, because the kindred word Basar means flesh; and Balaam is justly termed son of carnality, as covetous, and the enticer of Israel to lust.

loved the wages of unrighteousness—and therefore wished (in order to gain them from Balak) to curse Israel whom God had blessed, and at last gave the hellish counsel that the only way to bring God's curse on Israel was to entice them to fleshly lust and idolatry, which often go together.

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