FOR AMONG THEM ARE THOSE
(masculine pronoun)
WHO ENTER
INTO HOUSEHOLDS: ek touton gar eisin (3PPAI) oi endunontes (PAPMPN) eis
tas oikias: (Titu1:11;
Jude4)
"creep" (ESV)
"craftily
sneak" (TLB)
"work their way into" (NLT)
"worm"
(Amp, NIV, Darby)
"go secretly" (BBE)
"slip into homes" (NAB)
"by means of insinuate" (NET).
"Among
them"
is literally out of these, i.e., those described as a group in
verses 2-5 out of which will arise certain creepers and captivators.
"Enter"
(enduno from en = in, into + dúno
= sink) means to slip in, insinuate oneself into, enter secretly (with
insidious methods and ulterior motives), worm one's way in. Enduno conveys
the idea that these men were sneaking in stealthily and undetected.
Enduno comes from a root word which was used to describe "the
setting of the sun" which is so slow as to be almost imperceptible, and
yet it is most certainly actually taking place. In a similar manner,
these heretics don't come knocking loudly on the front door, but sneak
quietly in the back door (so to speak) while no one is watching or even
if they are watching, the movement is so "slow" as to be imperceptible.
They are very good at being bad. They are continually stealthily
sneaking (present participle) into households, creeping in undetected,
disguising "themselves as servants of righteousness" (2Cor11:15).
They are like those described by Jude who
“crept in unnoticed,...who were long
beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn
the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and
Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude4).
Peter also warned the saints about the clever nature of
"false
teachers among you (coming
from within the body just like the men Paul is warning Timothy about) who will secretly introduce (secretly
& craftily bring in error alongside of the truth)
destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing
swift destruction upon themselves (cf "they will not make further
progress...")
AND THEY (continually) CAPTIVATE: kai aichmalotizontes (PAPMPN):
"carry off as their prisoners" (Weymouth)
"making prisoners
of" (BBE)
"take captive the minds" (Wuest)
"to get
control of" (ICB)
"gain control over" (GNT, NIV)
"get influence over" (NJB).
"Captivate"
(aichmaloteuo from aichme = spear + halotós = be taken, conquered) means literally to take captive
at spear point which is a clear picture of one gaining complete control
over another . And thus by either force or deception these serpentine
shysters cause these women to become prisoners
of a very real spiritual war for the hearts and souls of men.
Peter has a parallel
thought, ending his second epistle with the warning to the "beloved"
to
"be on your guard lest, being carried away by
the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness."
(2Pe3:17)
Paul warned the saints at Colossae to
"See to it that no one takes
you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the
tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world,
rather than according to Christ." (Col2:8)
Jesus surely had these hypocritical hucksters in mind when he warned the
listeners to
"Beware of the false prophets,
who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
You will know them by their fruits...." (Mt7:15-16)
Because these "silly women" are deep
into sins and ungodly impulses that have weighed them down emotionally
and spiritually, they are especially vulnerable to being religiously
seduced by false teachers. They are weak in truth and feel the heavy weight of their sin
and the guilt it brings, making them open and vulnerable to being
"tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of
doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming". (Eph4:14)
And just as wrong doctrine leads to wrong
living, so can their wrong living easily lead to embracing wrong
doctrine. False teachers prey on the gullible and vulnerable, lurking in
the shadows to
pick off spiritual stragglers.
WEAK WOMEN WEIGHED DOWN WITH SINS : gunaikaria sesoreumena (RPPNPA0
hamartiais: (Ps38:4;
Is1:4;
Mt11:28
)
"silly women" (YLT, Wuest,
Phillips, KJV, Darby)
"weak minded women"
(GWT)
"gullible women" (NRSV)
"vulnerable
women" (NLT)
"silly and weak-natured and spiritually women"
(Amp)
Weak women (1133)
(gunaikarion the diminutive - small
size - of gune
= woman, wife) is used contemptuously here to describe a foolish or
frivolous woman and so speaks of the contemptible state into which these
weak minded, gullible women have fallen. The Greek can also be
translated as something like “silly” or “unstable” women. While this
term is not meant to describe all women, in context it does describe a
certain class of women who are unusually gullible. They carry a load of
guilt for their sins, and they let their sinful desires (perhaps a
reference to sexual immorality) get them into all sorts of bad
situations. The principle applies generally to all those who are easily
led and easily confused.
"Weighed down"
(4987) (soreuo from sorós = heap) is variously
translated "loaded down" (NIV, NKJV), "weighted down"
(BBE), "overwhelmed" (NLT, NRSV),
"heavily laden" (Wuest) and means to heap up
or pile up with
something, here picturing "sins" as a heavy burden which
overwhelms and weighs these women down.
The
perfect tense further pictures
this burdened state as an abiding or permanent one with continuing
effect. They have been weighed down by sins at some time in the past and
continue in the same state - they are overburdened and vulnerable.
Their conscience is weighted down with many sins of a "multi-colored"
nature. Uneasy about the consequences of their sins, they are receptive
to the false teachers worming their way in with their attractive
panaceas. Unconfessed sin forms a barrier in our relationship with God,
and it renders the decision-making faculty (the conscience) ineffective.
Those who have not broken free from the bondage to sin are most
susceptible to false teaching and they will believe anything they are
told. Just as Eve was the first target, as the weaker sex (see notes on
1 Peter 3:7),
so Satan continues to target women as his initial captives. Cults not
only are often spawned by women, but women are the most numerous and
devout adherents.
LED ON BY VARIOUS IMPULSES: agomena (PPPNPA) epithumiais poikilais:
(1Co12:2;
2Pe3:17
Mk4:19;
1Ti6:9;
Titu3:3;
2Pe2:18;
Jude16
Jude18)
"Swayed by" (ISV)
"obsessed with" (NJB)
"driven" (TEV)
"controlled by many desires" (NLT)
"who are under the
impelling urge of variegated, passionate desires" (Wuest)
"led
by ever changing caprice" (Weymouth)
"lead away" (NKJV)
"follow one craze after another"
(NJB)
"Led on"
(ago) is in the passive voice indicating the effect of the
leading is being exerted by another force, in this case their "impulses"
and cravings which are personified as their "motley leader" or "master"
which governs their conduct. Paul reminded Titus "we
also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to
various lusts and pleasures" again picturing "lusts" as our
master. (Titu3:3)
"Various"
(poikilos) means motley, various in character, different kinds,
diversified, manifold, variegated, many–colored. Paul characterizes
their fleshly cravings as "multi-colored" and of great variety but
provide specific details. Passive
voice = acted on by external power or force, in this case the strong
desires resident in the old flesh nature which are "many colored",
motley, diversified.
"Impulses"
(epithumia is from epi = upon, motion toward
+ thumos = passion) ["various evil desires & seductive
impulses" (Amp), "desires manifold" (YLT), "various
passions" (ESV), "morbid cravings" (Phillips)] literally
pictures one's drive or passion directed toward an object and although
it can be toward something good, is usually (as in this verse) a
description of depraved cravings and the unrestrained desires that
emanate from our fallen flesh nature inherited from Adam. These depraved
cravings and inner vicious desires drive these women to open excesses.
