2 Peter 2:12
“But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →These men, like unreasoning animals, revile what they do not understand and will perish in their own corruption.
What Does 2 Peter 2:12 Mean?
Peter likens the false teachers to "natural brute beasts" — creatures of instinct without reason, born only "to be taken and destroyed." Like animals, they "speak evil of the things that they understand not," reviling what is beyond their grasp. Their end matches their nature: they "shall utterly perish in their own corruption."
Driven by instinct rather than truth, these teachers attack what they cannot comprehend, much as an animal lashes out blindly. Peter's image is stark but fitting: a life governed by appetite alone, with no reverence and no understanding, is a life lived below the dignity God intends for people. Their corruption is self-destroying; the very thing they indulge becomes their ruin. For the believer, this is both a warning and a comfort. The arrogance of those who mock holy things is not strength but blindness, and it carries within itself the seeds of its own perishing. Truth outlasts every beastly attack upon it.