Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to 2 Peter · About this commentary
Even Angels Bring No Slander
2 Peter 2:10-11
10 but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, · WEB
The teachers' distinguishing habit is contempt for authority, and the argument against it is the restraint of beings far above them.
Chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement and despise authority. Two marks are joined, and the letter treats them as one disposition: appetite that recognizes no limit, and a temperament that recognizes no superior.
The adjectives are unusual and unflattering — daring, self-willed. The first describes someone who presses ahead where others would hesitate; the second, someone who consults only himself. Neither is a word for wickedness exactly. Both are words for a man with no brakes.
Verse 11 supplies the comparison, and it is the same argument Jude makes with the same evidence Jude 1:9. Angels, though greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous judgment before the Lord. Those with the most standing speak with the most restraint. The rule holds generally in Scripture and is worth stating plainly: the freedom to insult is not a mark of authority but of its absence, and the beings best qualified to pass verdicts are the ones who decline to.
held with reason What this mark means