2 Petrus 1:20

1:20 Above all, you do well if you recognize ¹  this: ²  No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination, ³ 

2 Petrus 2:10

2:10 especially those who indulge their fleshly desires ⁴  and who despise authority.

Brazen and insolent, ⁵  they are not afraid to insult ⁶  the glorious ones, ⁷ 

2 Petrus 2:18

2:18 For by speaking high-sounding but empty words ⁸  they are able to entice, ⁹  with fleshly desires and with debauchery, ¹⁰  people ¹¹  who have just escaped ¹²  from those who reside in error. ¹³ 

2 Petrus 3:3

3:3 Above all, understand this: ¹⁴  In the last days blatant scoffers ¹⁵  will come, being propelled by their own evil urges ¹⁶ 

2 Petrus 3:8

3:8 Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, ¹⁷  that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day.

2 Petrus 3:14

Exhortation to the Faithful

3:14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for ¹⁸  these things, strive to be found ¹⁹  at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. ²⁰ 

[1:20]  ¹ tn Grk “knowing this [to be] foremost.” Τοῦτο πρῶτον (touto prwton) constitute the object and complement of γινώσκοντες (ginwskonte"). The participle is dependent on the main verb in v. 19 (“you do well [if you pay attention]”), probably in a conditional usage. An alternative is to take it imperativally: “Above all, know this.” In this rendering, πρῶτον is functioning adverbially. Only here and 2 Pet 3:3 is τοῦτο πρῶτον found in the NT, making a decision more difficult.

[1:20]  ² tn The ὅτι (Joti) clause is appositional (“know this, that”). English usage can use the colon with the same force.

[1:20]  ³ tn Verse 20 is variously interpreted. There are three key terms here that help decide both the interpretation and the translation. As well, the relation to v. 21 informs the meaning of this verse. (1) The term “comes about” (γίνεται [ginetai]) is often translated “is a matter” as in “is a matter of one’s own interpretation.” But the progressive force for this verb is far more common. (2) The adjective ἰδίας (idias) has been understood to mean (a) one’s own (i.e., the reader’s own), (b) its own (i.e., the particular prophecy’s own), or (c) the prophet’s own. Catholic scholarship has tended to see the reference to the reader (in the sense that no individual reader can understand scripture, but needs the interpretations handed down by the Church), while older Protestant scholarship has tended to see the reference to the individual passage being prophesied (and hence the Reformation doctrine of analogia fidei [analogy of faith], or scripture interpreting scripture). But neither of these views satisfactorily addresses the relationship of v. 20 to v. 21, nor do they do full justice to the meaning of γίνεται. (3) The meaning of ἐπίλυσις (epilusi") is difficult to determine, since it is a biblical hapax legomenon. Though it is sometimes used in the sense of interpretation in extra-biblical Greek, this is by no means a necessary sense. The basic idea of the word is unfolding, which can either indicate an explanation or a creation. It sometimes has the force of solution or even spell, both of which meanings could easily accommodate a prophetic utterance of some sort. Further, even the meaning explanation or interpretation easily fits a prophetic utterance, for prophets often, if not usually, explained visions and dreams. There is no instance of this word referring to the interpretation of scripture, however, suggesting that if interpretation is the meaning, it is the prophet’s interpretation of his own vision. (4) The γάρ (gar) at the beginning of v. 21 gives the basis for the truth of the proposition in v. 20. The connection that makes the most satisfactory sense is that prophets did not invent their own prophecies (v. 20), for their impulse for prophesying came from God (v. 21).

[1:20]  sn No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination. 2 Pet 1:20-21, then, form an inclusio with v. 16: The Christian’s faith and hope are not based on cleverly concocted fables but on the sure Word of God – one which the prophets, prompted by the Spirit of God, spoke. Peter’s point is the same as is found elsewhere in the NT, i.e., that human prophets did not originate the message, but they did convey it, using their own personalities in the process.

[2:10]  ⁴ tn Grk “those who go after the flesh in [its] lust.”

[2:10]  ⁵ tn There is no “and” in Greek; it is supplied for the sake of English convention.

[2:10]  ⁶ tn The translation takes βλασφημοῦντες (blasfhmounte") as an adverbial participle of purpose, as most translations do. However, it is also possible to see this temporally (thus, “they do not tremble when they blaspheme”).

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Δόξας (doxas) almost certainly refers to angelic beings rather than mere human authorities, though it is difficult to tell whether good or bad angels are in view. Verse 11 seems to suggest that wicked angels is what the author intends.

[2:18]  ⁸ tn Grk “high-sounding words of futility.”

[2:18]  ⁹ tn Grk “they entice.”

[2:18]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “with the lusts of the flesh, with debauchery.”

[2:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “those.”

[2:18]  ¹² tn Or “those who are barely escaping.”

[2:18]  ¹³ tn Or “deceit.”

[3:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “knowing this [to be] foremost.” Τοῦτο πρῶτον (touto prwton) constitute the object and complement of γινώσκοντες (ginwskonte"). The participle is loosely dependent on the infinitive in v. 2 (“[I want you] to recall”), perhaps in a telic sense (thus, “[I want you] to recall…[and especially] to understand this as foremost”). The following statement then would constitute the main predictions with which the author was presently concerned. An alternative is to take it imperativally: “Above all, know this.” In this instance, however, there is little semantic difference (since a telic participle and imperatival participle end up urging an action). Cf. also 2 Pet 1:20.

[3:3]  ¹⁵ tn The Greek reads “scoffers in their scoffing” for “blatant scoffers.” The use of the cognate dative is a Semitism designed to intensify the word it is related to. The idiom is foreign to English. As a Semitism, it is further incidental evidence of the authenticity of the letter (see the note on “Simeon” in 1:1 for other evidence).

[3:3]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “going according to their own evil urges.”

[3:8]  ¹⁷ tn The same verb, λανθάνω (lanqanw, “escape”) used in v. 5 is found here (there, translated “suppress”).

[3:14]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “dear friends, waiting for.” See note in v. 13 on “waiting for.”

[3:14]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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}.”