Right (2117) (euthus) when used as an adjective literally means straight or a straight line and figuratively to what is proper or right. The uses below will give you a good sense of these literal and figurative meanings of euthus.
Euthus is also used as adverb to mean immediately, right away, at once. The use of euthus with the meaning of immediately is a key word in the Gospel of Mark as evidenced by 11 uses just in the first chapter!
Mk 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight (euthus used as an adjective) ”
Mk 1:10 Immediately (adverb) coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;
Mk 1:12 Immediately (adverb) the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.
Mk 1:18 Immediately (adverb) they left their nets and followed Him.
Mk 1:20 Immediately (adverb) He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.
Mk 1:21 They went into Capernaum; and Immediately (adverb) on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach.
Mk 1:23 Just then (adverb) there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
Mk 1:28 Immediately (adverb) the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.
Mk 1:29 And Immediately (adverb) after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
Mk 1:30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and Immediately (adverb) they spoke to Jesus about her.
Mk 1:42 Immediately (adverb) the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
Mk 1:43 And He sternly warned him and Immediately (adverb) sent him away
There are 28 more uses of euthus meaning immediately in the remainder of Mark. In chapter 4 Jesus used euthus in His description of the affect of the sowing of the seed (the Word of God)...
And these are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16 And in a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. (Mark 4:15-17)
Below are examples of uses of euthus as an adjective, which is the way it is used by Peter.
After Saul was blinded on the road to Damascus, Luke records the Lord's words to Ananias declaring...
Arise and go to the street called Straight (euthus - presumably this was a literal use and the street was straight and not crooked), and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying (Acts 9:11)
Peter addressed Simon who tried to purchase the gift of God declaring...
You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right (euthus) before God. (Acts 8:21)
Paul fixed his gaze on Elymas the magician and declared...
You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight (euthus) ways of the Lord? (Acts13:10)
Upright conduct in the Bible is pictured as a straight path. John the Baptizer uses the adjective euthus in the synoptic gospels to call upon the Jewish people to "make His paths straight!'" speaking of moral and spiritual preparation of their hearts (i.e. changing behavior) in anticipation of the appearing of their promised Messiah
For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!' (Mt 3:3)
In the Septuagint euthus is used 58 times (4" class="scriptRef">Ge 15:4; 24:45; 33:12; 38:29; Num. 23:3; Jos. 8:14; Jdg. 14:3; 1 Sam. 12:23; 20.23" class="scriptRef">1 Ki. 20:23, 25; 2 Ki. 10:15; 21" class="scriptRef">Ezra 8:21; Neh. 9:13; Job 3:11; Ps. 7:9; 11:2; 19.8" class="scriptRef">19:8; 25:21; 27:11; 32:11; 33:1; 36:10; 37:14; 49:14; 58:1; 64:10; 73:1; 78:37; 94:15; 97:11; 107:7, 42; 111:1; 112:2, 4; 125:4; 140:13; 143:10; Prov. 2:13, 16, 19, 21; 20:11; 28:10; 29:10; Isa. 26:7; 33:15; 40:3f; 42:16; 45:13; 59:14; Jer. 3:2; Ezek. 23:40; 33:17, 20; 46:9; Dan. 11:17; Hos. 14:9)
Below are some uses of euthus in the Septuagint that help understand the meaning (observe who and what is euthus and the effect of not walking in a euthus way, etc)...
My shield is with God, Who saves the upright (Hebrew = yashar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus) in heart. (Ps 7:10) (See Spurgeon's note)
For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string, To shoot in darkness at the upright (Hebrew = yashar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus) in heart. (Ps 11:2) (See Spurgeon's note)
The precepts of the LORD are right (Hebrew = yashar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus), rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. (Ps 19:8) (See Spurgeon's note)
Let integrity and uprightness (Hebrew = yoshar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus) preserve me, For I wait for Thee. (Psalm 25:21) (See Spurgeon's note)
Teach me Thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a level (Hebrew = mishor = level place, uprightness; LXX = euthus) path, Because of my foes. (Psalm 27:11) (See Spurgeon's note)
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones, and shout for joy, all you who are upright (Hebrew = yashar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus) in heart. (Psalm 32:11) (See Spurgeon's note)
Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright (Hebrew = yashar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus). (Psalm 33:1) (See Spurgeon's note)
The righteous man will be glad in the LORD, and will take refuge in Him; And all the upright (Hebrew = yashar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus) in heart will glory. (Psalm 64:10) (Verse 10)
Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure (Hebrew = bar = pure; clean; righteous; LXX = euthus) in heart! (Psalm 73:1) (See Spurgeon's note)
The upright (Hebrew = yashar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus) see it, and are glad; but all unrighteousness shuts its mouth. (Psalm 107:42) (See Spurgeon's note)
His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright (Hebrew = yashar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus) will be blessed. (Psalm 112:2) (See Spurgeon's note)
Light arises in the darkness for the upright (Hebrew = yashar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus). He is gracious and compassionate and righteous. (Psalm 112:4) (See Spurgeon's note)
Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to those who are upright (Hebrew = yashar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus) in their hearts. (Psalm 125:4) (See Spurgeon's note)
Surely the righteous will give thanks to Thy name; The upright (Hebrew = yashar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus) will dwell in Thy presence. (Psalm 140:13) (See Spurgeon's note)
From those who leave the paths of uprightness (Hebrew = yoshar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus), To walk in the ways of darkness; 14 Who delight in doing evil, And rejoice in the perversity of evil; 15 Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways; whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. (Pr 2:13-15)
Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right (Hebrew = yashar = straight; pleasing; upright; righteous; LXX = euthus), and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble in them.( Hosea 14:9)
Way (3598) (hodos) literally means a way for traveling or moving from one place to another and figuratively (which is how Peter uses it in the present context) refers to the course of behavior or to one's way of life.
In Acts the Way was a common early name for the Christian faith. Luke first alludes to the Way in Acts 9...
Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:1, 2 cp the Way in Acts 19:9, 23, 24:14, 22)
These false teachers have abandoned true and righteous belief ("the Way") resulting in unrighteous behavior. What you believe (and obey) is important, for your beliefs will direct your behavior.
Jude pronounces a woe on the false brethren who have gone the WAY of Cain (Jude 1:11), a clear parallel to the behavior of the false teachers here in 2 Peter.
They have gone astray - They have been led astray. The actively forsook (active voice) and were (passive voice) led astray. We see the same pattern in two passages in 2 Timothy - 2Ti 3:13 and 2Ti 4:3-4....
evil (poneros = actively harmful) men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving (planao in the active voice) and being deceived (planao in the passive voice) . (2Ti 3:13-note)
Comment: Notice that These men actively lead others astray from THE TRUTH whether through conduct, speech, or writing, but are themselves deceived by outside source or power (as indicated by the use of passive voice "being deceived".) The deceivers will themselves be deceived!
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,:4 and will turn away (active voice) their ears from the truth and will turn aside (passive voice - more literally "will be turned aside") to myths. (2Ti 4:3-4-note)
Comment: The dynamic is when they make the choice to turn away from truth, that leaves a "spiritual vacuum" so to speak, and outside forces are given sway and turn them aside to a form of "spirituality" or spiritual things (myths) which are not true.
The "take home" message for all of us is don't forsake or turn away from truth, for if you do, you will put yourself in a dangerous situation spiritually! You open yourself up to control by that which is not true. Hiebert agrees writing that...
conscious, deliberate disobedience to the truth, which they knew (Ed: yes, they knew the truth, but they did not let the truth "know" them, and so it had no transformative effect), led to the inevitable result that they went astray, effectively lost their way. (ref)
GONE ASTRAY: eplanethesan (3PAPI):
These false teachers left the right road and lost their way (GWT)
"Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion."
http://www.preceptaustin.org/2_peter_215-16.htm#right
Be the first to react on this!
Greek Word Studies ( - )
Read freely Greek Word Studies from the Austin Precept text commentary of the Bible in text and pdf format. Precept Austin is an online free dynamic bible commentary similar to wikipedia with updated content and many links to excellent biblical resources around the world. You can browse the entire collection of Commentaries by Verse on the Precept Austin website.We have been "bought with a price" to be "ambassadors for Christ" and our "salvation is nearer to us than when we believed" so let us "cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" "so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming." (1Cor 6:20, 2Cor 5:20, Ro 13:11, 2Cor 7:1, 1Jn 2:28)