2 Petrus 1:9

1:9 But ¹  concerning the one who lacks such things ²  – he is blind. That is to say, he is ³  nearsighted, since he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins.

2 Petrus 2:3

2:3 And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their ⁴  condemnation pronounced long ago ⁵  is not sitting idly by; ⁶  their ⁷  destruction is not asleep.

2 Petrus 2:12

2:12 But ⁸  these men, ⁹  like irrational animals – creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed ¹⁰  – do not understand whom ¹¹  they are insulting, and consequently ¹²  in their destruction they will be destroyed, ¹³ 

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, ¹⁴  who loved the wages of unrighteousness, ¹⁵ 

2 Petrus 3:4

3:4 and saying, ¹⁶  “Where is his promised return? ¹⁷  For ever since ¹⁸  our ancestors ¹⁹  died, ²⁰  all things have continued as they were ²¹  from the beginning of creation.”

2 Petrus 3:12

3:12 while waiting for and hastening ²²  the coming of the day of God? ²³  Because of this day, ²⁴  the heavens will be burned up and ²⁵  dissolve, and the celestial bodies ²⁶  will melt away in a blaze! ²⁷ 

[1:9]  ¹ tn Grk “for.” The connection, though causal, is also adversative.

[1:9]  ² tn Grk “to the one for whom these things are not present.”

[1:9]  ³ tn The words “that is to say, he is” are not in Greek. The word order is unusual. One might expect the author to have said “he is nearsighted and blind” (as the NIV has so construed it), but this is not the word order in Greek. Perhaps the author begins with a strong statement followed by a clarification, i.e., that being nearsighted in regard to these virtues is as good as being blind.

[2:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “to whom,” introducing a subordinate relative clause.

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “the ancient judgment.”

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Grk “is not idle.”

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Greek has “and their.” As introducing a synonymous parallel, it is superfluous in English.

[2:12]  ⁸ tn 2 Pet 2:12 through 16 constitute one cumbersome sentence in Greek. It is difficult to tell whether a hard break belongs in the middle of v. 13, as the translation has it, or whether the compounding of participles is meant in a loosely descriptive sort of way, without strong grammatical connection. Either way, the sentence rambles in a way that often betrays a great “vehemence of spirit” (A. T. Robertson, Grammar, 435). The author is obviously agitated at these false teachers who are to come.

[2:12]  ⁹ tn The false teachers could conceivably be men or women, but in v. 14 they are said to have eyes “full of an adulteress.” This can only refer to men. Hence, both here and in v. 17 the false teachers are described as “men.”

[2:12]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “born for capture and destruction.”

[2:12]  ¹¹ tn Grk “with [reference to] whom.”

[2:12]  ¹² tn There is no conjunction joining this last clause of v. 12 to the preceding (i.e., no “and consequently”). The argument builds asyndetically (a powerful rhetorical device in Greek), but cannot be naturally expressed in English as such.

[2:12]  ¹³ tn This cryptic expression has been variously interpreted. (1) It could involve a simple cognate dative in which case the idea is “they will be utterly destroyed.” But the presence of αὐτῶν (autwn; their, of them) is problematic for this view. Other, more plausible views are: (2) the false teachers will be destroyed at the same time as the irrational beasts, or (3) in the same manner as these creatures (i.e., by being caught); or (4) the false teachers will be destroyed together with the evil angels whom they insult. Because of the difficulties of the text, it was thought best to leave it ambiguous, as the Greek has it.

[2:15]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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.

[3:4]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Grk “thus,” “in the same manner.”

[3:12]  ²² tn Or possibly, “striving for,” but the meaning “hasten” for σπουδάζω (spoudazw) is normative in Jewish apocalyptic literature (in which the coming of the Messiah/the end is anticipated). Such a hastening is not an arm-twisting of the divine volition, but a response by believers that has been decreed by God.

[3:12]  ²³ sn The coming of the day of God. Peter elsewhere describes the coming or parousia as the coming of Christ (cf. 2 Pet 1:16; 3:4). The almost casual exchange between “God” and “Christ” in this little book, and elsewhere in the NT, argues strongly for the deity of Christ (see esp. 1:1).

[3:12]  ²⁴ tn Grk “on account of which” (a subordinate relative clause in Greek).

[3:12]  ²⁵ tn Grk “being burned up, will dissolve.”

[3:12]  ²⁶ tn See note in v. 10 on “celestial bodies.”

[3:12]  ²⁷ tn Grk “being burned up” (see v. 10).