2 Peter 2:4

For if God spared not. With these words the apostle begins a series of illustrations concerning the inevitability of God’s judgments. This thought carries over into v. 9, where he draws the conclusion that the Lord will deliver the godly and punish the ungodly. For comment on the verb “to spare” (pheidomai) see on Rom. 8:32.

The angels. Compare the parallel passage in Jude 6. The writer does not specify the sin that brought about the fall of these angels (cf. on Jude 6; Rev. 12:4, 7-9). Peter’s reasoning is that if God did not spare angels, spirit beings who had lived in His very presence, He will not fail to punish wicked men who lead others astray.

Cast them down to hell. A rendering of the one Greek word tartaroo, “to hold captive in Tartarus.” The ancient Greeks considered Tartarus to be the abode of the wicked dead and the place where punishment was meted out to them. It thus corresponded to the Gehenna of the Jews (cf. on Matt. 5:22). Writing to people who lived in a Hellenistic atmosphere, Peter employs a Greek term to convey his thought, but does not thereby endorse either the Greek idea of Tartarus or the popular Jewish concept of Gehenna. Here, Tartarus refers simply to the place of abode to which the evil angels are restricted until the day of judgment.

Chains of darkness. Textual evidence favors (cf. p. 10) the reading “pits of darkness.” Peter’s language is figurative, and does not serve to identify any particular place as the abode of the fallen angels. This phrase differs from that used by Jude in his parallel passage (see Jude 6).

Judgment. Gr. krisis, “[the act of] judging.” In v. 3 Peter uses a different word for “judgment” (krima), which refers to the verdict that results from judging (cf. on John 3:19; 9:39; 16:11). Here the apostle looks to the future, when the judgment determined upon Satan and his angelic followers will finally be executed (see on Rev. 20:10).