For some of these are people who creep into houses and take captive gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 6. Of this sort, and so forth Here Saint Paul gives a true description of heretics, and evil men; such as they have existed in every age. For there never existed a time, either under the Old or New Testaments, in which such have not appeared. Even in the apostle’s time, we behold heresies and disorders in the Church. We see them increase rapidly after their decease. Simon, the magician, seems to have been dead when Saint Paul wrote this epistle, which was but a short time before his martyrdom. But he had left a great number of disciples behind him, known by the numerous sects, the Gnostics, the Simonians, the Encratians, and so forth and so forth into which, after the death of their master, they were split. Calmet.—Who creep [1] into houses and lead captive silly [2] women, and so forth That is the custom of almost all heretics. See S. Jerom to Ctesiphon, tom. iv. part 2. p. 477. Nov. edit. where he brings a number of instances, from Simon Magus to his time. Witham.