4:2a
the hypocrisy of liars: When Paul said that these false teachers were liars practicing hypocrisy, he meant that they acted like they believed one thing when they really believed something else. They seemed to be true believers in God, but they were really teaching false ideas that came from demons. Perhaps your language has an idiomatic way to say that someone is hypocritical that you could use here.
4:2b
consciences: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as consciences refers to the part of a person that helps him know what is right and what is wrong to think or do. See the note on 1:5c.
seared with a hot iron: This is a figure of speech that has two possible meanings:
(1) The false teachers’ consciences were so damaged that they no longer knew whether they were doing right or wrong. This is the same way that flesh can no longer feel anything when someone has burned it with a hot iron. For example, the Good News Translation says:
whose consciences are dead, as if burnt with a hot iron
(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version (2011 Revision), Revised Standard Version, King James Version, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)
(2) A person or an animal that is branded with a hot iron belongs to the person who owns the brand. In the same way, the false teachers now belonged to Satan. So the New Jerusalem Bible says:
whose consciences are branded as though with a red-hot iron
(New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The false teachers no longer knew whether they were sinning or not.
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.