2 Petrus 1:11-12

1:11 For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you.

Salvation Based on the Word of God

1:12 Therefore, I intend to remind you constantly ¹  of these things even though you know them and are well established in the truth that you now have.

2 Petrus 1:15

1:15 Indeed, I will also make every effort that, after my departure, you have a testimony of these things. ² 

2 Petrus 1:18

1:18 When this voice was conveyed from heaven, we ourselves ³  heard it, for we were with him on the holy mountain. ⁴ 

2 Petrus 2:2

2:2 And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. ⁵  Because of these false teachers, ⁶  the way of truth will be slandered. ⁷ 

2 Petrus 2:5

2:5 and if he did not spare the ancient world, but did protect Noah, a herald of righteousness, along with seven others, ⁸  when God ⁹  brought a flood on an ungodly world, ¹⁰ 

2 Petrus 2:8

2:8 (for while he lived among them day after day, that righteous man was tormented in his righteous soul ¹¹  by the lawless deeds he saw and heard ¹² )

2 Petrus 2:11

2:11 yet even ¹³  angels, who are much more powerful, ¹⁴  do not bring a slanderous ¹⁵  judgment against them before the Lord. ¹⁶ 

2 Petrus 2:17

2:17 These men ¹⁷  are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm, for whom the utter depths of darkness ¹⁸  have been reserved.

2 Petrus 3:11

3:11 Since all these things are to melt away ¹⁹  in this manner, ²⁰  what sort of people must we ²¹  be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness, ²² 

2 Petrus 3:13

3:13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for ²³  new heavens and a new earth, in which ²⁴  righteousness truly resides. ²⁵ 

[1:12]  ¹ tn Grk “always.”

[1:15]  ² sn There are various interpretations of v. 15. For example, the author could be saying simply, “I will make every effort that you remember these things.” But the collocation of σπουδάζω (spoudazw) with μνήνη (mnhnh) suggests a more specific image. R. Bauckham (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 201-2) is right when he notes that these two words together suggest a desire to write some sort of letter or testament. Most commentators recognize the difficulty in seeing the future verb σπουδάσω (spoudasw) as referring to 2 Peter itself (the present or aorist would have been expected, i.e., “I have made every effort,” or “I am making every effort”). Some have suggested that Mark’s Gospel is in view. The difficulty with this is threefold: (1) Mark is probably to be dated before 2 Peter, (2) early patristic testimony seems to imply that Peter was the unwitting source behind Mark’s Gospel; and (3) “these things” would seem to refer, in the least, to the prophecy about Peter’s death (absent in Mark). A more plausible suggestion might be that the author was thinking of the ending of John’s Gospel. This is possible because (1) John 21:18-19 is the only other place in the NT that refers to Peter’s death; indeed, it fleshes out the cryptic statement in v. 14 a bit more; (2) both 2 Peter and John were apparently written to Gentiles in and around Asia Minor; (3) both books were probably written after Paul’s death and perhaps even to Paul’s churches (cf. 2 Pet 3:1-2, 15-16); and (4) John 21 gives the appearance of being added to the end of a finished work. There is thus some possibility that this final chapter was added at the author’s request, in part to encourage Gentile Christians to face impending persecution, knowing that the martyrdom of even (Paul and) Peter was within the purview of God’s sovereignty. That 2 Pet 1:15 alludes to John 21 is of course by no means certain, but remains at least the most plausible of the suggestions put forth thus far.

[1:18]  ³ tn The “we” in v. 18 is evidently exclusive, that is, it refers to Peter and the other apostles.

[1:18]  ⁴ tn 2 Pet 1:17-18 comprise one sentence in Greek, with the main verb “heard” in v. 18. All else is temporally subordinate to that statement. Hence, more literally these verses read as follows: “For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am delighted,’ we ourselves heard this voice when it was conveyed from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.”

[2:2]  ⁵ tn “Debauched lifestyles” is literally “licentiousnesses,” “sensualities,” “debaucheries.”

[2:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “because of whom,” introducing a subordinate clause to the first part of the verse.

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Or “blasphemed,” “reviled,” “treated with contempt.”

[2:5]  ⁸ tn “Along with seven others” is implied in the cryptic, “the eighth, Noah.” A more literal translation thus would be, “he did protect Noah [as] the eighth…”

[2:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been repeated here for clarity, although this is somewhat redundant with the beginning of v. 4.

[2:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “a world of the ungodly.”

[2:8]  ¹¹ tn Grk “that righteous man tormented his righteous soul.”

[2:8]  ¹² tn Grk “by lawless deeds, in seeing and hearing [them].”

[2:11]  ¹³ tn Grk “whereas.”

[2:11]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “who are greater in strength and power.” What is being compared, however, could either be the false teachers or “the glorious ones,” in which case “angels” would refer to good angels and “the glorious ones” to evil angels.

[2:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “insulting.” The word comes from the same root as the term found in v. 10 (“insult”), v. 12 (“insulting”), and v. 2 (“will be slandered”). The author is fond of building his case by the repetition of a word in a slightly different context so that the readers make the necessary connection. English usage cannot always convey this connection because a given word in one language cannot always be translated the same way in another.

[2:11]  ¹⁶ tc ‡ Some witnesses lack παρὰ κυρίῳ (para kuriw; so A Ψ 33 81 1505 1881 2464 al vg co), while others have the genitive παρὰ κυρίου (para kuriou; so Ì⁷² 1241 al sy^ph,h**). The majority of witnesses (including א B C P 1739 Ï) read the dative παρὰ κυρίῳ. The genitive expression suggests that angels would not pronounce a judgment on “the glorious ones” from the Lord, while the dative indicates that angels would not pronounce a judgment on “the glorious ones” in the presence of the Lord. The parallel in Jude 9 speaks of a reviling judgment against the devil in which the prepositional phrase is entirely absent. At the same time, in that parallel Michael does say, “The Lord rebuke you.” (Hence, he is offering something of a judgment from the Lord.) The best options externally are the dative or the omission of the phrase, but a decision is difficult. Internally, the omission may possibly be a motivated reading in that it finds a parallel in Jude 9 (where no prepositional phrase is used). All things considered, the dative is to be preferred, though with much reservation.

[2:17]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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.

[3:11]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “all these things thus being dissolved.”

[3:11]  ²⁰ tn Or “thus.”

[3:11]  ²¹ tc ‡ Most mss have a pronoun with the infinitive – either ὑμᾶς (Jumas, “you”; found in A C^[*^] P Ψ 048^vid 33 1739 Ï, as well as the corrector of Ì⁷² and second corrector of א), ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “we”; read by א* 630 2464 al), or ἑαυτούς (Jeautous, “[you your]selves/[we our]selves,” read by 1243). But the shorter reading (with no pronoun) has the support of Ì^72*,74vid B pc. Though slim, the evidence for the omission is nevertheless the earliest. Further, the addition of some pronoun, especially the second person pronoun, seems to be a clarifying variant. It would be difficult to explain the pronoun’s absence in some witnesses if the pronoun were original. That three different pronouns have shown up in the mss is testimony for the omission. Thus, on external and internal grounds, the omission is preferred. For English style requirements, however, some pronoun has to be added. NA ²⁷ has ὑμᾶς in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[3:11]  tn Or “you.”

[3:11]  ²² tn Grk “in holy conduct and godliness.”

[3:13]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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.