Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

2 Peter 2:8

A parenthesis, telling why Lot needed deliverance.

δίκαιος is preceded by the article ὁ in all MSS. except B. Westcott and Hort follow B. Some difference in rendering is entailed; omitting ὁ we translate “righteous in respect of looking and listening,” like the man in Isaiah 33:15 “that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil.” The Latin Vulgate takes this view, “aspectu enim et auditu iustus erat.” Inserting ὁ, we must connect the datives βλέμματι καὶ� with ἐβασάνιζεν as A.V., “in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul,” etc.

ᾑμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας = καθʼ ἡμέραν. It occurs in Psalms 96:2 (LXX) “Be telling of His salvation from day to day.”

ψυχὴν … ἐβασάνιζεν. Compare Apocalypse of Peter, § 1, And then shall God come to my faithful ones that hunger and thirst and are afflicted, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τῷ βίῳ τὰς ψυχὰς ἑαυτῶν δοκιμάζοντας. But though the idea of testing may underlie ἐβασάνιζεν here, it is not safe to discard the ordinary N.T. meaning of “tormented.”

The Latin Vulgate must have had a different text, which is not found in any Greek MS. It reads, “habitans apud eos qui de die in diem animam iustam iniquis operibus cruciabant,” i.e. ἐν αὐτοῖς οἳ … ἐβασάνιζον.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

2 Peter 2:8

Old Testament

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