Verse Lens · Concise explanation
2 Peter 2:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse says the teachers abandoned the straight way and followed Balaam's profit-loving path.
Read It With
- 2 Peter 2:11–16
Read 2 Peter 2:15 with 2:11–16. This verse says the teachers abandoned the straight way and followed Balaam's profit-loving path. The complete unit establishes this movement: The letter contrasts angelic restraint with the teachers' arrogant speech and depicts appetite, public indulgence, exploitative desire, and greed through harsh polemic, concluding with Balaam checked by an animal's human voice.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The sequence translates 'false teacher' into an ethical portrait centered on reckless speech, unrestrained appetite, sexual exploitation, and practiced greed, then anchors greed in Balaam's story. Within that movement, this verse says the teachers abandoned the straight way and followed Balaam's profit-loving path.
What Remains True
Religious direction bends when financial gain becomes its governing love.
How It Can Shape Life
- Disclose compensation and conflicts and separate pastoral access from pressure to pay.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Peter 2:11–16 — Arrogant Appetite Is Checked by Balaam's RebukeSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The KJV's Bosor and the common Beor form reflect textual traditions; the warning centers on wrongful gain.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 2 Peter 2:11–16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, repeated terms, and the base text used for original-language discussion.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file 2Pet.txt, 2:11–16
Open the 2 Peter Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — 2 Peter with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level Greek, syntax, KJV-era wording, textual variants, and interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Peter PDF, 2:11–16 translation and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET 2 Peter PDF ↗