2 Petrus 1:5

1:5 For this very reason, ¹  make every effort ²  to add to your faith excellence, ³  to excellence, knowledge;

2 Petrus 2:2

2:2 And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. ⁴  Because of these false teachers, ⁵  the way of truth will be slandered. ⁶ 

2 Petrus 2:8

2:8 (for while he lived among them day after day, that righteous man was tormented in his righteous soul ⁷  by the lawless deeds he saw and heard ⁸ )

2 Petrus 2:15

2:15 By forsaking the right path they have gone astray, because they followed the way of Balaam son of Bosor, ⁹  who loved the wages of unrighteousness, ¹⁰ 

2 Petrus 2:18-19

2:18 For by speaking high-sounding but empty words ¹¹  they are able to entice, ¹²  with fleshly desires and with debauchery, ¹³  people ¹⁴  who have just escaped ¹⁵  from those who reside in error. ¹⁶  2:19 Although these false teachers promise ¹⁷  such people ¹⁸  freedom, they themselves are enslaved to ¹⁹  immorality. ²⁰  For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved. ²¹ 

2 Petrus 3:4

3:4 and saying, ²²  “Where is his promised return? ²³  For ever since ²⁴  our ancestors ²⁵  died, ²⁶  all things have continued as they were ²⁷  from the beginning of creation.”

[1:5]  ¹ tn The Greek text begins with “and,” a typical Semitism.

[1:5]  sn The reason given is all the provisions God has made for the believer, mentioned in vv. 3-4.

[1:5]  ² tn The participle is either means (“by making every effort”) or attendant circumstance (“make every effort”). Although it fits the normal contours of attendant circumstance participles, the semantics are different. Normally, attendant circumstance is used of an action that is a necessary prelude to the action of the main verb. But “making every effort” is what energizes the main verb here. Hence it is best taken as means. However, for the sake of smoothness the translation has rendered it as a command with the main verb translated as an infinitive. This is in accord with English idiom.

[1:5]  ³ tn Or “moral excellence,” “virtue”; this is the same word used in v. 3 (“the one who has called us by his own glory and excellence”).

[2:2]  ⁴ tn “Debauched lifestyles” is literally “licentiousnesses,” “sensualities,” “debaucheries.”

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “because of whom,” introducing a subordinate clause to the first part of the verse.

[2:2]  ⁶ tn Or “blasphemed,” “reviled,” “treated with contempt.”

[2:8]  ⁷ tn Grk “that righteous man tormented his righteous soul.”

[2:8]  ⁸ tn Grk “by lawless deeds, in seeing and hearing [them].”

[2:15]  ⁹ tn Although many modern translations (e.g., NASB, TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT) read “Beor” here, this is due to harmonization with the OT rather than following a variant textual reading. The Greek text of NA²⁷ reads “Bosor,” an otherwise unattested form of the name of Balaam’s father.

[2:15]  ¹⁰ tn “Wages of unrighteousness” in Greek is the same expression found in v. 13, “wages for harmful ways.” The repetition makes the link between the false teachers and Balaam more concrete.

[2:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “high-sounding words of futility.”

[2:18]  ¹² tn Grk “they entice.”

[2:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “with the lusts of the flesh, with debauchery.”

[2:18]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “those.”

[2:18]  ¹⁵ tn Or “those who are barely escaping.”

[2:18]  ¹⁶ tn Or “deceit.”

[2:19]  ¹⁷ tn Verse 19 is a subordinate clause in Greek. The masculine nominative participle “promising” (ἐπαγγελλόμενοι, epangellomenoi) refers back to the subject of vv. 17-18. At the same time, it functions subordinately to the following participle, ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte", “while being”).

[2:19]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “them.”

[2:19]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “slaves of.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[2:19]  ²⁰ tn Or “corruption,” “depravity.” Verse 19 constitutes a subordinate clause to v. 18 in Greek. The main verbal components of these two verses are: “uttering…they entice…promising…being (enslaved).” The main verb is (they) entice. The three participles are adverbial and seem to indicate an instrumental relation (by uttering), a concessive relation (although promising), and a temporal relation (while being [enslaved]). For the sake of English usage, in the translation of the text this is broken down into two sentences.

[2:19]  ²¹ tn Grk “for by what someone is overcome, to this he is enslaved.”

[3:4]  ²² tn The present participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) most likely indicates result. Thus, their denial of the Lord’s return is the result of their lifestyle. The connection to the false teachers of chapter 2 is thus made clear.

[3:4]  ²³ tn Grk “Where is the promise of his coming?” The genitive παρουσίας (parousia", “coming, advent, return”) is best taken as an attributed genitive (in which the head noun, promise, functions semantically as an adjective; see ExSyn 89-91).

[3:4]  ²⁴ tn The prepositional phrase with the relative pronoun, ἀφ᾿ ἧς (af’ |h"), is used adverbially or conjunctively without antecedent (see BDAG 727 s.v. ὅς 1.k.).

[3:4]  ²⁵ tn Grk “fathers.” The reference could be either to the OT patriarchs or first generation Christians. This latter meaning, however, is unattested in any other early Christian literature.

[3:4]  ²⁶ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.

[3:4]  ²⁷ tn Grk “thus,” “in the same manner.”