2 Peter 2:5
“And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →God did not spare the ancient world but sent the flood, while rescuing Noah, who preached righteousness.
What Does 2 Peter 2:5 Mean?
Peter's second example is the Flood. God "spared not the old world" of the ungodly but brought the flood upon it. Yet He "saved Noah the eighth person" — Noah and seven others — calling him "a preacher of righteousness." Judgment fell on a corrupt world, but God preserved the faithful few who stood apart from its sin.
Two themes run together: God judges the ungodly, and God rescues the righteous. Noah preached righteousness in a world that would not hear, yet God saw him through the waters that drowned everyone else. The believer takes courage: faithfulness in a corrupt age is never overlooked by God. Being in the minority — only eight souls — does not mean being abandoned. The same flood that condemned the world carried Noah's ark to safety. Peter's point to the harassed believer is clear: stand for righteousness even when few do, for the God who judges also knows how to deliver His own.