Translation
Let the one who is unrighteous be unrighteous still, and let him who is defiled with immorality be defiled still, but the one who is righteous let him practice righteousness still, and he who is holy let him be holy still.”
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
Let the one who
is unrighteous continue
to be unrighteous; let the one
who is morally filthy
continue to be filthy,
but the one who is righteous,
let him continue to practice righteousness, and the one
who is holy let him continue to be holy.”
Footnotes
1: “ be … still”
The purpose of this verse is to say that the time for making changes in one’s direction has passed; it is time for either punishment or reward. Much of the vision of revelation has been about punishment and reward, and the history of man has seen God intervene many times with either punishment or reward. But what is implied here is a finality of action which can only mean final and eternal punishment, or final and eternal reward. Jesus has “come” to us many times in our time of need, but there will be one final “coming,” after which there will be no more opportunity for change of direction. Unless it is specified clearly, any passage of Scripture that speaks of punishment and reward may have some aspects that are immediate and some that are final. This verse makes it sound like the time of final judgment has come, but according to Revelation 22:17, that time has not yet come. My thoughts on that are that this was not intended to be sequential, and that God alone knows what time it is. The important thing is that there is opportunity to repent until the final moment, when changing one’s spiritual condition will no longer be an option.