2 Peter 2:8

Contextual Overview

⁷and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men ⁷ and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless ⁷ and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men ⁷Lot lived there, but was rescued because he didn't like what was going on around him and didn't conduct his business in the same way those heathens did. ⁷ And kept safe Lot, the upright man, who was deeply troubled by the unclean life of the evil-doers ⁷ and saved righteous Lot, distressed with the abandoned conversation of the godless, ⁷ and delivered righteous Lot, very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked ⁷ And delivered righteous Lot, vexed with the filthy behaviour of the wicked: ⁷ But when righteous Lot was sore distressed by the gross misconduct of immoral men He rescued him. ⁷ And deliuered iust Lot, vexed with the filthy conuersation of the wicked:

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that: Proverbs 25:26, Proverbs 28:12, 1 Timothy 1:9, James 5:16

in seeing: Psalms 119:136, Psalms 119:139, Psalms 119:158, Ezekiel 9:4, Ezekiel 9:6, Malachi 3:15-17

Reciprocal: Genesis 13:12 - pitched Genesis 19:9 - This 1 Kings 14:13 - there is found Job 3:17 - the wicked Job 19:2 - vex Psalms 120:5 - Woe Hosea 7:16 - the rage Habakkuk 1:3 - General 1 Timothy 6:10 - and pierced

Cross-References

Genesis 2:8
Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
And Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, toward the east; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

Genesis 2:8
The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

Genesis 2:8
And the Lord God planted a garden eastwarde in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had shapen.

Genesis 2:8
Then the Lord God planted a garden in the East, in a place named Eden. He put the man he made in that garden.

Genesis 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
Forsothe the Lord God plauntide at the bigynnyng paradis of likyng, wherynne he settide man whom he hadde formed.

Genesis 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden Eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For that righteous man dwelling among them,.... Which is sometimes the lot of good men, to their great sorrow and grief, Psalms 120:5. Upon mentioning those words in Genesis 13:12 "and pitched his tent towards Sodom", but the men of Sodom were wicked, c. says R. Eleazar i

"he is a righteous man that dwells between two wicked men, and does not learn their works;''

and such an one was Lot, whatever they are elsewhere pleased to say of him: "in seeing and hearing"; the Vulgate Latin version reads this in connection with the word "righteous", thus, "in seeing and hearing he was righteous": he could not bear to see their filthy actions, and hear their obscene language, but turned away from them, and shut his eyes, and stopped his ears, by which he appears to be a righteous and good man; though rather this belongs to what follows, seeing their wicked practices, and hearing their filthy talk:

vexed his righteous soul from, day today with their unlawful deeds; either "they vexed" him, as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read; or rather "he vexed" himself; he fretted and teased himself, and became exceeding uneasy, and was put upon a rack and tortured, as the word signifies, continually, with their wicked actions; see

Psalms 119:158.

i T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 38. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For that righteous man dwelling among them - The Latin Vulgate renders this, “For in seeing and hearing he was just;” meaning that he maintained his uprightness, or that he did not become contaminated by the vices of Sodom. Many expositors have supposed that this is the correct rendering; but the most natural and the most common explanation is that which is found in our version. According to that, the meaning is, that compelled as he was, while living among them, to see and to hear what was going on, his soul was constantly troubled.

In seeing and hearing - Seeing their open acts of depravity, and hearing their vile conversation. The effect which this had on the mind of Lot is not mentioned in Genesis, but nothing is more probable than the statement here made by Peter. Whether this statement was founded on tradition, or whether it is a suggestion of inspiration to the mind of Peter, cannot be determined. The words rendered “seeing” and “hearing” may refer to the ACT of seeing, or to the object seen. Wetstein and Robinson suppose that they refer here to the latter, and that the sense is, that he was troubled by what he saw and heard. The meaning is not materially different. Those who live among the wicked are compelled to see and hear much that pains their hearts, and it is well if they do not become indifferent to it, or contaminated by it. “Vexed” his “righteous soul from day to day with” their “unlawful deeds.”

Tortured or tormented his soul - ἐβασάνιζεν ebasanizen Compare Matthew 8:6, Matthew 8:29; Luke 8:28; Revelation 9:5; Revelation 11:10; Revelation 14:10; Revelation 20:10, where the same word is rendered “tormented.” The use of this word would seem to imply that there was something active on the part of Lot which produced this distress on account of their conduct. He was not merely troubled as if his soul were passively acted on, but there were strong mental exercises of a positive kind, arising perhaps from anxious solicitude how he might prevent their evil conduct, or from painful reflections on the consequences of their deeds to themselves, or from earnest pleadings in their behalf before God, or from reproofs and warnings of the wicked. At all events, the language is such as would seem to indicate that he was not a mere passive observer of their conduct. This, it would seem, was “from day to day,” that is, it was constant. There were doubtless reasons why Lot should remain among such a people, and why, when he might so easily have done it, he did not remove to another place.

Perhaps it was one purpose of his remaining to endeavor to do them good, as it is often the duty of good men now to reside among the wicked for the same purpose. Lot is supposed to have resided in Sodom - then probably the most corrupt place on the earth - for 16 years; and we have in that fact an instructive demonstration that a good man may maintain the life of religion in his soul when surrounded by the wicked, and an illustration of the effects which the conduct of the wicked will have on a man of true piety when he is compelled to witness it constantly. We may learn from the record made of Lot what those effect will be, and what is evidence that one is truly pious who lives among the wicked.

(1) He will not be contaminated with their wickedness, or will not conform to their evil customs.

(2) He will not become indifferent to it, but his heart will be more and more affected by their depravity. Compare Psalms 119:136; Luke 19:41; Acts 17:16.

(3) He will have not only constant, but growing solicitude in regard to it - solicitude that will be felt every day: “He vexed his soul from day to day.” It will not only be at intervals that his mind will be affected by their conduct, but it will be an habitual and constant thing. True piety is not fitful, periodical, and spasmodic; it is constant and steady. It is not a “jet” that occasionally bursts out; it is a fountain always flowing.

(4) He will seek to do them good. We may suppose that this was the case with Lot; we are certain that it is a characteristic of true religion to seek to do good to all, however wicked they may be.

(5) He will secure their confidence. He will practice no improper arts to do this, but it will be one of the usual results of a life of integrity, that a good man will secure the confidence of even the wicked. It does not appear that Lot lost that confidence, and the whole narrative in Genesis leads us to suppose that even the inhabitants of Sodom regarded him as a good man. The wicked may hate a good man because he is good; but if a man lives as he should, they will regard him as upright, and they will give him the credit of it when he dies, if they should withhold it while he lives.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 8. That righteous man dwelling among them — Lot, after his departure from Abraham, A. M. 2086, lived at Sodom till A. M. 2107, a space of about twenty years; and, as he had a righteous soul, he must have been tormented with the abominations of that people from day to day.

The word εβασανιζεν, tormented, is not less emphatic than the word καταπονουμενον, grievously pained, in the preceding verse, and shows what this man must have felt in dwelling so long among a people so abandoned.