2 Petrus 1:16

1:16 For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return ¹  of our Lord Jesus Christ; ²  no, ³  we were ⁴  eyewitnesses of his ⁵  grandeur. ⁶ 

2 Petrus 3:1-2

The False Teachers’ Denial of the Lord’s Return

3:1 Dear friends, this is already the second letter I have written ⁷  you, in which ⁸  I am trying to stir up ⁹  your pure mind by way of reminder: 3:2 I want you to recall ¹⁰  both ¹¹  the predictions ¹²  foretold by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles. ¹³ 

2 Petrus 3:4

3:4 and saying, ¹⁴  “Where is his promised return? ¹⁵  For ever since ¹⁶  our ancestors ¹⁷  died, ¹⁸  all things have continued as they were ¹⁹  from the beginning of creation.”

[1:16]  ¹ tn Grk “coming.”

[1:16]  ² tn Grk “for we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by following cleverly concocted fables.”

[1:16]  ³ tn Grk “but, instead.”

[1:16]  ⁴ tn Grk “became.”

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “that one’s.” That is, “eyewitnesses of the grandeur of that one.” The remote demonstrative pronoun is used perhaps to indicate esteem for Jesus. Along these lines it is interesting to note that “the Pythagoreans called their master after his death simply ἐκεῖνος” as a term of reverence and endearment (BDAG 302 s.v. ἐκεῖνος a.γ).

[1:16]  ⁶ sn The term grandeur was used most frequently of God’s majesty. In the 1st century, it was occasionally used of the divine majesty of the emperor. 2 Pet 1:1 and 1:11 already include hints of a polemic against emperor-worship (in that “God and Savior” and “Lord and Savior” were used of the emperor).

[3:1]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the following statement is true about both letters.

[3:1]  ⁹ tn Or “I have stirred up, aroused.” The translation treats the present tense verb as a conative present.

[3:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “to remember.” “I want you” is supplied to smooth out the English. The Greek infinitive is subordinate to the previous clause.

[3:2]  ¹¹ tn “Both” is not in Greek; it is supplied to show more clearly that there are two objects of the infinitive “to remember” – predictions and commandment.

[3:2]  ¹² tn Grk “words.” In conjunction with πρόειπον (proeipon), however, the meaning of the construction is that the prophets uttered prophecies.

[3:2]  ¹³ sn Holy prophets…apostles. The first chapter demonstrated that the OT prophets were trustworthy guides (1:19-21) and that the NT apostles were also authoritative (1:16-18). Now, using the same catch phrase found in the Greek text of 1:20 (τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες, touto prwton ginwskontes), Peter points to specific prophecies of the prophets as an argument against the false teachers.

[3:4]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “thus,” “in the same manner.”