2 Petrus 1:7

1:7 to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish ¹  love. ² 

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 ³  you, in which ⁴  I am trying to stir up ⁵  your pure mind by way of reminder:

2 Petrus 3:14

Exhortation to the Faithful

3:14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for ⁶  these things, strive to be found ⁷  at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. ⁸ 

2 Petrus 3:8

3:8 Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, ⁹  that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day.

2 Petrus 1:17

1:17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when that ¹⁰  voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: “This is my dear Son, in whom I am delighted.” ¹¹ 

2 Petrus 3:15

3:15 And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, ¹²  just as also our dear brother Paul ¹³  wrote to you, ¹⁴  according to the wisdom given to him,

2 Petrus 3:17

3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, ¹⁵  be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men ¹⁶  and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. ¹⁷ 

2 Petrus 1:11

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

2 Petrus 1:3

Believers’ Salvation and the Work of God

1:3 I can pray this because his divine power ¹⁸  has bestowed on us everything necessary ¹⁹  for life and godliness through the rich knowledge ²⁰  of the one who called ²¹  us by ²²  his own glory and excellence.

2 Petrus 1:2

1:2 May grace and peace be lavished on you ²³  as you grow ²⁴  in the rich knowledge ²⁵  of God and of Jesus our Lord! ²⁶ 

2 Petrus 2:13

2:13 suffering harm as the wages for their harmful ways. ²⁷  By considering it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight, ²⁸  they are stains and blemishes, indulging ²⁹  in their deceitful pleasures when they feast together with you.

2 Petrus 1:4

1:4 Through these things ³⁰  he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised ³¹  you may become partakers of the divine nature, ³²  after escaping ³³  the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire. ³⁴ 

2 Petrus 1:10

1:10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ³⁵  make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. ³⁶  For by doing this ³⁷  you will never ³⁸  stumble into sin. ³⁹ 

2 Petrus 3:18

3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge ⁴⁰  of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on ⁴¹  that eternal day. ⁴² 

[1:7]  ¹ sn The final virtue or character quality in this list is “love” (ἀγάπη, agaph). The word was not used exclusively of Christian or unselfish love in the NT (e.g., the cognate, ἀγαπάω [agapaw], is used in John 3:19 of the love of darkness), but in a list such as this in which ἀγάπη is obviously the crescendo, unselfish love is evidently in view. R. Bauckham (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 187) notes that as the crowning virtue, ἀγάπη encompasses all the previous virtues.

[1:7]  ² tn Each item in Greek begins with “and.” The conjunction is omitted for the sake of good English style, with no change in meaning.

[1:7]  sn Add to your faith excellence…love. The list of virtues found in vv. 5-7 stands in tension to the promises given in vv. 2-4. What appears to be a synergism of effort or even a contradiction (God supplies the basis, the promises, the grace, the power, etc., while believers must also provide the faith, excellence, etc.) in reality encapsulates the mystery of sanctification. Each believer is responsible before God for his conduct and spiritual growth, yet that growth could not take place without God’s prior work and constant enabling. We must not neglect our responsibility, yet the enabling and the credit is God’s. Paul says the same thing: “Continue working out your salvation with humility and dependence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort…is God” (Phil 2:12-13).

[3:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the following statement is true about both letters.

[3:1]  ⁵ tn Or “I have stirred up, aroused.” The translation treats the present tense verb as a conative present.

[3:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “dear friends, waiting for.” See note in v. 13 on “waiting for.”

[3:14]  ⁷ sn The Greek verb used in the phrase strive to be found is the same as is found in v. 10, translated “laid bare.” In typical Petrine fashion, a conceptual link is made by the same linkage of terms. The point of these two verses thus becomes clear: When the heavens disappear and the earth and its inhabitants are stripped bare before the throne of God, they should strive to make sure that their lives are pure and that they have nothing to hide.

[3:14]  ⁸ tn “When you come into” is not in Greek. However, the dative pronoun αὐτῷ (autw) does not indicate agency (“by him”), but presence or sphere. The idea is “strive to found {before him/in his presence}.”

[3:8]  ⁹ tn The same verb, λανθάνω (lanqanw, “escape”) used in v. 5 is found here (there, translated “suppress”).

[1:17]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “such a.” The pronoun τοιᾶσδε (toiasde) most likely refers to what follows, connoting something of the uniqueness of the proclamation.

[1:17]  ¹¹ tn The verb εὐδόκησα (eudokhsa) in collocation with εἰς ὅν (ei" Jon) could either mean “in whom I am well-pleased, delighted” (in which case the preposition functions like ἐν [en]), or “on whom I have set my favor.”

[1:17]  sn This is my beloved Son, in whom I am delighted alludes to the Transfiguration. However, the author’s version is markedly different from the synoptic accounts (in particular his introductory phrase, “when that voice was conveyed to him,” an unusual expression [perhaps used to avoid naming God directly as the one who spoke from heaven]). The most natural explanation for such differences is that he was unaware of the exact wording of the Gospels. This is, of course, easier to explain if 2 Peter is authentic than if it is a late document, written in the 2nd century.

[3:15]  ¹² tn The language here is cryptic. It probably means “regard the patience of our Lord as an opportunity for salvation.” In the least, Peter is urging his audience to take a different view of the delay of the parousia than that of the false teachers.

[3:15]  ¹³ sn Critics generally assume that 2 Peter is not authentic, partially because in vv. 15-16 Paul is said to have written scripture. It is assumed that a recognition of Paul’s writings as scripture could not have happened until early in the 2nd century. However, in the same breath that Paul is canonized, Peter also calls him “brother.” This is unparalleled in the 2nd century apocryphal works, as well as early patristic writings, in which the apostles are universally elevated above the author and readers; here, Peter simply says “he’s one of us.”

[3:15]  ¹⁴ sn Paul wrote to you. That Paul had written to these people indicates that they are most likely Gentiles. Further, that Peter is now writing to them suggests that Paul had already died, for Peter was the apostle to the circumcised. Peter apparently decided to write his two letters to Paul’s churches shortly after Paul’s death, both to connect with them personally and theologically (Paul’s gospel is Peter’s gospel) and to warn them of the wolves in sheep’s clothing that would come in to destroy the flock. Thus, part of Peter’s purpose seems to be to anchor his readership on the written documents of the Christian community (both the Old Testament and Paul’s letters) as a safeguard against heretics.

[3:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “knowing beforehand.”

[3:17]  ¹⁶ tn Or “lawless ones.”

[3:17]  sn These unprincipled men. The same word is used in 2:7, suggesting further that the heretics in view in chapter 3 are the false teachers of chapter 2.

[3:17]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “fall from your firmness.”

[1:3]  ¹⁸ tn The verse in Greek starts out with ὡς (Jws) followed by a genitive absolute construction, dependent on the main verb in v. 2. Together, they form a subordinate causal clause. A more literal rendering would be “because his divine power…” The idea is that the basis or authority for the author’s prayer in v. 2 (that grace and peace would abound to the readers) was that God’s power was manifested in their midst. The author’s sentence structure is cumbersome even in Greek; hence, the translation has broken this up into two sentences.

[1:3]  ¹⁹ tn The word “necessary” is not in the Greek, but is implied by the preposition πρός (pros).

[1:3]  ²⁰ tn See the note on “rich knowledge” in v. 2.

[1:3]  ²¹ sn Called. The term καλέω (kalew), used here in its participial form, in soteriological contexts when God is the subject, always carries the nuance of effectual calling. That is, the one who is called is not just invited to be saved – he is also and always saved (cf. Rom 8:30). Calling takes place at the moment of conversion, while election takes place in eternity past (cf. Eph 1:4).

[1:3]  ²² tn The datives ἰδίᾳ δόξῃ καὶ ἀρετῇ (idia doxh kai areth) could be taken either instrumentally (“by [means of] his own glory and excellence”) or advantage (“for [the benefit of] his own glory and excellence”). Both the connection with divine power and the textual variant found in several early and important witnesses (διὰ δόξης καὶ ἀρετῆς in Ì⁷² B 0209^vid) argues for an instrumental meaning. The instrumental notion is also affirmed by the meaning of ἀρετῇ (“excellence”) in contexts that speak of God’s attributes (BDAG 130 s.v. ἀρετή 2 in fact defines it as “manifestation of divine power” in this verse).

[1:2]  ²³ tn Grk “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

[1:2]  ²⁴ tn The words “as you grow” are not in the Greek text, but seem to be implied.

[1:2]  ²⁵ tn The word ἐπίγνωσις (epignwsis) could simply mean knowledge, but J. B. Mayor (Jude and Second Peter, 171-74) has suggested that it is often a fuller knowledge, especially in reference to things pertaining to spiritual truth. R. Bauckham (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 169-70) argues that it refers to the knowledge of God that is borne of conversion, but this is probably saying too much and is asking questions of the author that are foreign to his way of thinking. The term is used in 1:2, 3, 8; 2:20 (the verb form occurs twice, both in 2:21). In every instance it evidently involves being in the inner circle of those who connect to God, though it does not necessarily imply such a direct and relational knowledge of God for each individual within that circle. An analogy would be Judas Iscariot: Even though he was a disciple of the Lord, he was not converted.

[1:2]  ²⁶ tn A comma properly belongs at the end of v. 2 instead of a period, since v. 3 is a continuation of the same sentence. With the optative in v. 2, the author has departed from Paul’s normal greeting (in which no verb is used), rendering the greeting a full-blown sentence. Nevertheless, this translation divides the verses up along thematic lines in spite of breaking up the sentence structure. For more explanation, see note on “power” in v. 3.

[2:13]  ²⁷ tn There is a play on words in Greek, but this is difficult to express adequately in English. The verb ἀδικέω (adikew) as a passive means “to suffer harm,” or “to suffer an injustice.” The noun ἀδικία (adikia) means “unrighteousness.” Since the Greek verb has a wider field of meaning than the English, to translate it as suffer an injustice is unwarranted, for it implicitly attributes evil to God. As R. Bauckham notes, “in English it is impossible to translate ἀδικούμενοι as a morally neutral term and ἀδικίας with a morally pejorative term, while retaining the play on words” (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 265).

[2:13]  ²⁸ tn Grk “considering carousing in the daytime a pleasure.”

[2:13]  ²⁹ tn Or “carousing,” “reveling.” The participle ἐντρυφῶντες (entrufwnte") is a cognate to the noun τρυφή (trufh, “carousing”) used earlier in the verse.

[1:4]  ³⁰ tn Verse 4 is in Greek a continuation of v. 3, “through which things.”

[1:4]  sn The phrase these things refers to God’s glory and excellence.

[1:4]  ³¹ tn Grk “through them.” The implication is that through inheriting and acting on these promises the believers will increasingly become partakers of the divine nature.

[1:4]  ³² sn Although the author has borrowed the expression partakers of the divine nature from paganism, his meaning is clearly Christian. He does not mean apotheosis (man becoming a god) in the pagan sense, but rather that believers have an organic connection with God. Because of such a connection, God can truly be called our Father. Conceptually, this bears the same meaning as Paul’s “in Christ” formula. The author’s statement, though startling at first, is hardly different from Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians that they “may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (3:19).

[1:4]  ³³ tn The aorist participle ἀποφυγόντες (apofugonte") is often taken as attendant circumstance to the preceding verb γένησθε (genhsqe). As such, the sense is “that you might become partakers…and might escape…” However, it does not follow the contours of the vast majority of attendant circumstance participles (in which the participle precedes the main verb, among other things). Further, attendant circumstance participles are frequently confused with result participles (which do follow the verb). Many who take this as attendant circumstance are probably viewing it semantically as result (“that you might become partakers…and [thereby] escape…”). But this is next to impossible since the participle is aorist: Result participles are categorically present tense.

[1:4]  ³⁴ tn Grk “the corruption in the world (in/because of) lust.”

[1:10]  ³⁵ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1., where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:10]  ³⁶ tn Grk “make your calling and election sure.”

[1:10]  sn Make sure of your calling and election. The author is not saying that virtue and holiness produce salvation, but that virtue and holiness are the evidence of salvation.

[1:10]  ³⁷ tn Grk “these things.”

[1:10]  ³⁸ tn In Greek οὐ μή (ou mh) followed by the subjunctive is normally the strongest way to negate an action. Coupled with πότε (pote, “ever”), the statement is even more emphatic. The author is offering sage advice on how to grow in grace.

[1:10]  ³⁹ tn The words “into sin” are not in the Greek text, but the Greek word πταίω (ptaiw) is used in soteriological contexts for more than a mere hesitation or stumbling. BDAG 894 s.v. 2 suggests that here it means “be ruined, be lost,” referring to loss of salvation, while also acknowledging that the meaning “to make a mistake, go astray, sin” is plausible in this context. Alternatively, the idea of πταίω here could be that of “suffer misfortune” (so K. L. Schmidt, TDNT 6:884), as a result of sinning.

[3:18]  ⁴⁰ tn The term “knowledge” (γνῶσις, gnwsis) used here is not the same as is found in 2 Pet 1:2, 3, 8; 2:20. This term is found in 1:5 and 1:6.

[3:18]  ⁴¹ tn Or “until.”

[3:18]  ⁴² tc ‡ The vast bulk of mss add ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of this letter, as they do almost all the rest of the NT books (only Acts, James, and 3 John lack a majority of witnesses supporting a concluding ἀμήν). The omission in B 1241 1243 1739* 1881 2298 appears to be original, although the fact that some of the best and earliest Alexandrian witnesses (Ì⁷² א A C P Ψ 33 co), along with the Byzantine text and early versions (vg sy), add the particle renders such a judgment less than iron-clad. NA²⁷ places the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[3:18]  tn Grk “day of eternity.”