2 Petrus 2:2

2:2 And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. ¹  Because of these false teachers, ²  the way of truth will be slandered. ³ 

2 Petrus 2:17

2:17 These men ⁴  are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm, for whom the utter depths of darkness ⁵  have been reserved.

2 Petrus 2:19

2:19 Although these false teachers promise ⁶  such people ⁷  freedom, they themselves are enslaved to ⁸  immorality. ⁹  For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved. ¹⁰ 

2 Petrus 3:1

The False Teachers’ Denial of the Lord’s Return

3:1 Dear friends, this is already the second letter I have written ¹¹  you, in which ¹²  I am trying to stir up ¹³  your pure mind by way of reminder:

2 Petrus 3:13

3:13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for ¹⁴  new heavens and a new earth, in which ¹⁵  righteousness truly resides. ¹⁶ 

[2:2]  ¹ tn “Debauched lifestyles” is literally “licentiousnesses,” “sensualities,” “debaucheries.”

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

[2:2]  ³ tn Or “blasphemed,” “reviled,” “treated with contempt.”

[2:17]  ⁴ tn Although some translations have simply “these” or “these people,” since in v. 14 they are described as having eyes “full of an adulteress,” men are in view.

[2:17]  ⁵ tn Grk “utter darkness of darkness.” Verse 4 speaks of wicked angels presently in “chains of utter darkness,” while the final fate of the false teachers is a darker place still.

[2:19]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “them.”

[2:19]  ⁸ tn Grk “slaves of.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[2:19]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “for by what someone is overcome, to this he is enslaved.”

[3:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “I am already writing this [as] a second letter.” The object-complement construction is more smoothly rendered in English a bit differently. Further, although the present tense γράφω (grafw) is used here, English convention employs an epistolary past tense. (The Greek epistolary aorist might have been expected here, but it also occurs in situations unlike its English counterparts.)

[3:1]  ¹² tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the following statement is true about both letters.

[3:1]  ¹³ tn Or “I have stirred up, aroused.” The translation treats the present tense verb as a conative present.

[3:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or possibly, “let us wait for.” The form in Greek (προσδόκωμεν, prosdokwmen) could be either indicative or subjunctive. The present participle in v. 14, however, is best taken causally (“since you are waiting for”), suggesting that the indicative is to be read here.

[3:13]  ¹⁵ tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the sphere in which righteousness dwells is both the new heavens and the new earth.

[3:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “dwells.” The verb κατοικέω (katoikew) is an intensive cognate of οἰκέω (oikew), often with the connotation of “taking up residence,” “settling down,” being at home,” etc. Cf., e.g., Matt 2:23; Acts 17:26; 22:12; Eph 3:17; Col 1:19; 2:9. Hence, the addition of the adverb “truly” is implicit in the connotation of the verb in a context such as this.