⁷ Also remember the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah [^Cdestroyed by God for their evil; Gen. 19; 2 Pet. 2:6] and the other towns around them. In the same way they were full of sexual sin and people who ·desired sexual relations that God does not allow [pursued sexual perversion; ^Ldeparted after different flesh]. They suffer the punishment of eternal fire, as an ·example [warning] for all to see.

⁸ It is the same with these people [^Cthe false teachers; v. 4]. They are guided by dreams ·and make themselves filthy with sin [and live immoral lives/pollute their bodies; or to defile the flesh]. They ·reject [despise] ·God’s authority [^Lauthority] and ·speak against [insult; slander; blaspheme] ·the angels [celestial beings; ^Lglorious ones; 2 Pet. 2:10–11]. ⁹ Not even the archangel Michael [^Ca leader among God’s angels; Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Rev. 12:7], when he ·argued [contended] with the devil ·about who would have [^Labout] the body of Moses, dared to ·judge the devil guilty [^Lbring a slanderous/blasphemous judgment]. Instead, he said, “The Lord ·punish [rebuke] you [^Cprobably a story told in the Testament of Moses, a Jewish writing of the early first century ad].”