2 Peter 3

Dear friends, this is now the second letter I am writing to you. In both of them I am trying to wake up your honest thinking by reminding you of things you already know.

1This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

Note"Stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance" means to wake up your thinking by reminding you. The Greek word behind "pure" means sincere or unmixed, clear thinking that has not been clouded, rather than moral cleanness.

2I want you to remember the words spoken long ago by the holy prophets. I also want you to remember the command given by us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior.

2That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

NoteAn apostle is literally one sent out, a person commissioned to carry a message on someone else's authority. The Greek of this verse is read two ways: either the command of the Lord given by us, his apostles, or the command of the Lord and Savior passed on to you through your apostles. Most manuscripts favor the second.

3First of all, understand this: in the last days people will come who make fun of the truth. They will live by their own selfish desires.

3Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

Note"The last days" is a phrase taken from the Hebrew prophets for the closing stretch of the present age. In 1611 "lusts" meant strong cravings of any kind, not specifically sexual ones.

4They will say, "Where is this promise that he is coming back? Ever since our ancestors died, everything has gone on the same way it has since the world began."

4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

Note"The fathers fell asleep" uses a standard ancient way of saying someone died. "The fathers" may mean the ancestors of Israel generally, or the first generation of Christians, who by this time had died without seeing Christ return; the wording does not settle which.

5They choose to forget something on purpose. Long ago, by God's word, the heavens existed, and the earth was formed out of water and by water.

5For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Note"Willingly are ignorant" does not mean they simply do not know. It means they keep themselves from knowing, letting the fact slip out of view on purpose. The description of earth formed out of water and by water looks back to Genesis 1, where dry land emerges from the waters at God's spoken word.

6By that same water the world of that time was flooded and destroyed.

6Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

NoteThis is the flood of Noah's time, Genesis 6 to 8. The Greek verb translated "overflowed" is the one behind the English word cataclysm.

7And by that same word of God, the heavens and the earth that exist now are being kept for fire. They are being saved for the day when God judges and ungodly people are destroyed.

7But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Note"Perdition" is an old word for utter ruin or being lost beyond recovery. "Reserved unto fire against the day of judgment" uses "against" in its older sense of in readiness for, the way a store of grain is kept against a hard winter.

8But, dear friends, do not miss this one thing: with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.

8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

NoteThis echoes Psalm 90:4, "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past." The point is about how time looks from God's side, not a formula for converting days into years.

9The Lord is not slow about keeping his promise, even though some people think he is slow. He is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be destroyed. He wants everyone to turn away from sin.

9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Note"Slack" here means slow or late, missing a deadline through negligence. "Longsuffering" is the older English for patient endurance, holding back anger over a long stretch. "To us-ward" is a 1611 construction meaning toward us; many manuscripts read toward you. "Repentance" translates a Greek word meaning a change of mind deep enough to change the direction of a life.

10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief comes at night. The heavens will disappear with a roar. The parts that make up the world will melt in fierce heat. The earth and everything done on it will be burned up.

10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Note"The day of the Lord" is a phrase from the prophets, Amos and Joel and others, for the day God steps in to judge and set things right. The thief image is about arriving with no warning, not about theft. "The elements" translates a Greek word that can mean the basic substances the physical world is built from, or the heavenly bodies, sun and moon and stars, or the spiritual powers thought to stand behind them; the word is genuinely open here. "Burned up" reflects the manuscripts the King James translators used; the oldest surviving manuscripts instead read "will be found," that is, laid bare or exposed to view, which is why modern translations differ at this point.

11Since everything is going to be destroyed like this, think about what kind of people you ought to be. You should live a holy life that honors God,

11Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

Note"Conversation" in 1611 meant a person's entire way of living and behaving in public, not talk. The King James phrase "holy conversation and godliness" is about conduct, not speech.

12as you wait for the day of God to come, and work to bring it closer. On that day the heavens will be set on fire and destroyed, and the parts that make up the world will melt in fierce heat.

12Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

Note"Hasting unto" translates a verb that can mean either hurrying toward the day or hurrying the day itself along, making it come sooner. Both readings are defensible and translators still divide over them.

13But we are waiting for what God promised: new heavens and a new earth, where what is right lives.

13Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

NoteNew heavens and a new earth is language taken from Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22.

14So, dear friends, since you are waiting for these things, do your best to be found by him living at peace, with no stain and nothing to blame you for.

14Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

Note"Without spot, and blameless" borrows the vocabulary used of an animal inspected before sacrifice and found free of any defect. The same words are the mirror of chapter 2 verse 13, where the false teachers are called "spots" and "blemishes."

15Remember that our Lord's patience means salvation for people. Our dear brother Paul wrote the same thing to you, using the wisdom God gave him.

15And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

Note"Account that" means reckon it, count it as being so. Paul's letters were already circulating among the same churches, read aloud when the congregation gathered, which is why the readers could be expected to know them.

16He writes about these matters in all his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand. People who lack knowledge and are unsteady twist those things, as they twist the rest of the Scriptures, and they destroy themselves by doing it.

16As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Note"Wrest" means to twist or wrench something out of its proper shape, as one might force a joint or a lock. "Unlearned" means untaught, lacking instruction, rather than unintelligent. "The other scriptures" uses the standard Greek word for the sacred writings, so the sentence sets Paul's letters in the same category as them.

17So, dear friends, since you already know these things, watch out. Do not let the mistakes of evil people pull you away and make you lose your firm footing.

17Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

18Instead, keep growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May he have glory both now and forever. Amen.

18But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.