2 Peter 2:3
“And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Driven by greed, the false teachers exploit people with fabricated words, but their long-prepared judgment is not asleep.
What Does 2 Peter 2:3 Mean?
Peter exposes the motive: "covetousness," greed for gain. With "feigned words" — crafted, fabricated speech — these teachers "make merchandise of you," treating people as goods to be sold for profit. But Peter assures his readers their judgment is sure: it "lingereth not," and their "damnation slumbereth not." Their ruin, long appointed, is wide awake and on its way.
Greed hides behind religious words. The false teachers dress exploitation in pious language, but their aim is to profit off the souls they deceive. Peter personifies their judgment as something neither idle nor sleeping — it has been prepared from long ago and now advances surely. This is comfort for the exploited and warning to the exploiter. God is not indifferent to those who merchandise His people. The believer need not fear that wickedness will escape; the One who sees every feigned word has appointed a reckoning that does not slumber. Justice delayed is not justice forgotten.
In the Original Language
plastos (πλαστός), 'feigned' — molded or fabricated, like something shaped artificially; here of manufactured, deceptive words.