Peter continues to describe the false teachers, contrasting their attitude with those of the angels in verse 11. This verse is very much influenced by Jude 10 but rearranged and restructured to fit Peter’s style and purpose.
These, of course, refers to the false teachers and may be translated thus. These false teachers are compared with animals. This fact alone, together with the descriptions that follow, shows how Peter is angry and furious with the false teachers. This emotional aspect needs to be clearly shown in translation. The false teachers are first of all compared to animals that are irrational, or without any reasoning power. For a further discussion of this, see Jude 10.
Secondly, these animals are creatures of instinct, which is similar to the expression “they know by instinct” in Jude 10. The phrase creatures of instinct is sometimes related to what follows, namely born to be caught and killed (as, for example, New English Bible “These men are like brute beasts, born in the course of nature to be caught and killed”; Barclay “They are no better than brute beasts, born by nature to be caught and killed”). While this is possible, it is more likely that creatures of instinct is related to irrational (as in Good News Translation “wild animals”), since instinct by definition is action without the use of reason. On how this is related to the false teachers, see discussion on Jude 10.
Thirdly, these animals are born to be caught and killed (literally, “born to be caught and destroyed in the same destruction”). This accents the uselessness of these animals, especially the wild, irrational ones. The thought that is expressed here is that, since these animals are not beneficial but rather harmful to society, then it is better for them to be captured and killed. The word for caught is the word used in reference to capturing or catching animals for food. The word for killed can also mean “destroyed,” “ruined,” but here primarily “slaughtered.” Understood in this manner, what is being emphasized is not the wanton irresponsible destruction of these wild animals but capturing them for consumption. There is a play on words here, since the same word for killed is also used twice at the end of the verse (literally, destroyed in the same destruction). In some languages translators must translate this clause in the active; for example, “born for people to catch and slaughter.”
It should be noted that Good News Translation takes creatures of instinct not as a description of the animals but of the false teachers themselves: “these men act by instinct.”
Peter now abandons figurative language and directly describes the false teachers, describing them as people reviling in matters of which they are ignorant. This is similar to “revile whatever they do not understand” in Jude 10, for which see the discussion there. Here of which they are ignorant states positively what is stated negatively in Jude 10, “whatever they do not understand.”
The last part of the verse can mean that the false teachers will be destroyed at the same time as the animals, which is what Revised Standard Version seems to say. However, it is more likely that the destruction of the false teachers will be similar to the destruction of the animals. This may refer to the way the destruction is brought about, that is, violently and unexpectedly. Or it may refer to the actual destruction itself, that is, in much the same way in which animals are killed when they are captured, so also these false teachers will be punished when they receive their final judgment on the last day.
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• But these false teachers act by instinct (irrationally) like animals of the jungle, which are born for people to capture and slaughter; they say bad things about matters they do not understand. God will destroy them just as people slaughter animals of the jungle.
One final note: All this discussion about the uselessness of wild and irrational animals may be disturbing to many people today who see such animals not as a nuisance, but as important parts of nature that need to be protected. While it is obvious that translators cannot change the text, they can at least make justifiable adjustments in order to de-emphasize the negative message of the text, especially with regard to animals. Several ways of doing this have already been suggested in the analysis of the text. One other way needs to be mentioned, and that is to get rid of the figurative language altogether and translate the meaning directly. It should be noted, however, that every time this is done, there is a corresponding loss of emotive aspects which then need to be compensated through the addition of appropriate rhetorical features (for example, exaggeration, use of exclamation marks, and so forth).
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Second Letter from Peter. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .