Detestable (947) (bdekluktos from bdelusso = to emit a foul odor in turn from bdeo = to stink) means detestable, idolatrous, abominable and abhorrent. This word referred to heathen idols and images and so describes that which is an abomination to God. Thus the deeds of these "professors" are a stench in the nostrils of God and cause Him disgust! What a horrible thought. And they don't even see it because of their self-deception! God abhors their deeds and finds them abominable. WOE! The only other Scriptural use of bdekluktos is in the Septuagint (LXX) translation of Proverbs "He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination (bdekluktos) to the LORD" (Pr 17:15) or as the International Children's Bible translates it "The Lord hates both these things: letting guilty people go free and punishing those who are not guilty." (ICB: Nelson) To get a sense of the hatred of God for their deeds note that bdelusso, the root word, is used in the Septuagint (LXX) several times to describe heathen idols and images. Out of 50 uses of bdelusso the following are used in the context of idolatry (Deut 7:26; 1 Ki 21:26; Hos 9:10). The related noun, bdelugma, meaning abomination is used by Jesus to describe the Antichrist in (Mt 24:15) and in the Septuagint (LXX) is also used in the context of idolatry in (Ex 8:26, Dt 7:25-26, 12:31, 17:1, 18:9, 18:12, 20:18, 27:15, 29:16, 32:16, etc). Moses speaking of Israel records Deuteronomy 32:16 "They made Him jealous with strange gods; With abominations (bdelugma) they provoked Him to anger. These cognate (bdelusso, bdelugma) uses of bdekluktos in the LXX give one a sense of how strong this description is of one who is a professor but is not a possessor of Christ's righteousness! John records that "nothing unclean and no one who practices (present tense = habitual, as a lifestyle) abomination (bdelugma = abhorred by God) and lying, shall ever come into (Heaven), but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." (Rev 21:27) Brian Bell writes that... Paul reminds his readers of his Lord’s teachings that purification is largely a matter of the internal rather than the external. [There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.] Nothing outside can corrupt one who is internally pure; but someone who is internally impure corrupts all he touches. The false teachers were corrupt to the core (mind and conscience) Result? Even though they claimed to know God, their corrupt actions belied their true natures. “The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Their impure interiors thus rendered them externally detestable! A defiled conscience is like a dirty window: no light can enter! Recent experiments have been made in which people were fitted with special prismatic glasses. These devices greatly distort the vision so that straight lines appeared to be curved, and sharp outlines seemed fringed with color. Within just a few days, however, the unnatural shapes, tinted edges, and inverted landscapes gradually disappeared, and the world began to be normal again, even though they still wore their optical fittings. The brain was finally able to overcome the false data that came through the prismatic lenses. In the area of the spiritual, however, the human mind does not function very well. In fact, man is a sinner whose deepest imaginations are evil, and his thought life produces a world of illusions. He thinks of himself as pure when in reality he is guilty before God. The following words are from an old engraving on a cathedral in Labeck, Germany: Thus speaketh Christ our Lord to us: You call Me master and obey Me not. You call Me light and see Me not. You call Me the Way and walk Me not. You call Me life and live Me not. You call Me wise and follow Me not. You call Me fair and love Me not. You call Me rich and ask Me not. You call Me eternal and seek Me not. If I condemn thee, blame Me not. Some people are like good watches: They’re pure gold, open-faced, always on time, dependable, quietly busy, and full of good works! (Brian Bell) AND DISOBEDIENT (unpersuaded): kai apeitheis: (1Sa 15:22, 15:24; Eph 5:6; 1Ti 1:9) "nonpersuasible" (Wuest) "unbelieving and disobedient and disloyal and rebellious" (Amp) "they are outrageously rebellious" (NJB), "hard–hearted" (BBE) "Unpersuadable, unbelieving, and consequently disobedient" (Adam Clarke)