15 They have left the straight path and have lost their way; they have followed the path taken by Balaam son of Beor, who loved the money he would get for doing wrong
16 and was rebuked for his sin. His donkey spoke with a human voice and stopped the prophet's insane action.
17 These people are like dried-up springs, like clouds blown along by a storm; God has reserved a place for them in the deepest darkness.
18 They make proud and stupid statements, and use immoral bodily lusts to trap those who are just beginning to escape from among people who live in error.
19 They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of destructive habits—for we are slaves of anything that has conquered us.
20 If people have escaped from the corrupting forces of the world through their knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then are again caught and conquered by them, such people are in worse condition at the end than they were at the beginning.
21 It would have been much better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and then turn away from the sacred command that was given them.