2 Petrus 3:3

3:3 Above all, understand this: ¹  In the last days blatant scoffers ²  will come, being propelled by their own evil urges ³ 

2 Petrus 3:14

Exhortation to the Faithful

3:14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for ⁴  these things, strive to be found ⁵  at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. ⁶ 

2 Petrus 3:11

3:11 Since all these things are to melt away ⁷  in this manner, ⁸  what sort of people must we ⁹  be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness, ¹⁰ 

2 Petrus 1:3

Believers’ Salvation and the Work of God

1:3 I can pray this because his divine power ¹¹  has bestowed on us everything necessary ¹²  for life and godliness through the rich knowledge ¹³  of the one who called ¹⁴  us by ¹⁵  his own glory and excellence.

2 Petrus 1:13

1:13 Indeed, as long as I am in this tabernacle, ¹⁶  I consider it right to stir you up by way of a reminder,

2 Petrus 2:6

2:6 and if he turned to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah when he condemned them to destruction, ¹⁷  having appointed ¹⁸  them to serve as an example ¹⁹  to future generations of the ungodly, ²⁰ 

2 Petrus 2:2

2:2 And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. ²¹  Because of these false teachers, ²²  the way of truth will be slandered. ²³ 

2 Petrus 2:18

2:18 For by speaking high-sounding but empty words ²⁴  they are able to entice, ²⁵  with fleshly desires and with debauchery, ²⁶  people ²⁷  who have just escaped ²⁸  from those who reside in error. ²⁹ 

2 Petrus 2:13

2:13 suffering harm as the wages for their harmful ways. ³⁰  By considering it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight, ³¹  they are stains and blemishes, indulging ³²  in their deceitful pleasures when they feast together with you.

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 ³³  you, in which ³⁴  I am trying to stir up ³⁵  your pure mind by way of reminder:

2 Petrus 1:6

1:6 to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; ³⁶  to perseverance, godliness;

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, ³⁷  when God ³⁸  brought a flood on an ungodly world, ³⁹ 

2 Petrus 1:5

1:5 For this very reason, ⁴⁰  make every effort ⁴¹  to add to your faith excellence, ⁴²  to excellence, knowledge;

2 Petrus 2:7

2:7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man in anguish over the debauched lifestyle of lawless ⁴³  men, ⁴⁴ 

2 Petrus 1:8-9

1:8 For if ⁴⁵  these things are really yours ⁴⁶  and are continually increasing, ⁴⁷  they will keep you from becoming ⁴⁸  ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of ⁴⁹  knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately. ⁵⁰  1:9 But ⁵¹  concerning the one who lacks such things ⁵²  – he is blind. That is to say, he is ⁵³  nearsighted, since he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins.

2 Petrus 2:8

2:8 (for while he lived among them day after day, that righteous man was tormented in his righteous soul ⁵⁴  by the lawless deeds he saw and heard ⁵⁵ )

2 Petrus 1:7

1:7 to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish ⁵⁶  love. ⁵⁷ 

2 Petrus 1:12

Salvation Based on the Word of God

1:12 Therefore, I intend to remind you constantly ⁵⁸  of these things even though you know them and are well established in the truth that you now have.

2 Petrus 2:10

2:10 especially those who indulge their fleshly desires ⁵⁹  and who despise authority.

Brazen and insolent, ⁶⁰  they are not afraid to insult ⁶¹  the glorious ones, ⁶² 

2 Petrus 2:14-15

2:14 Their eyes, ⁶³  full of adultery, ⁶⁴  never stop sinning; ⁶⁵  they entice ⁶⁶  unstable people. ⁶⁷  They have trained their hearts for greed, these cursed children! ⁶⁸  2:15 By forsaking the right path they have gone astray, because they followed the way of Balaam son of Bosor, ⁶⁹  who loved the wages of unrighteousness, ⁷⁰ 

2 Petrus 2:12

2:12 But ⁷¹  these men, ⁷²  like irrational animals – creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed ⁷³  – do not understand whom ⁷⁴  they are insulting, and consequently ⁷⁵  in their destruction they will be destroyed, ⁷⁶ 

[3:3]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “going according to their own evil urges.”

[3:14]  ⁴ tn Grk “dear friends, waiting for.” See note in v. 13 on “waiting for.”

[3:14]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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}.”

[3:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “all these things thus being dissolved.”

[3:11]  ⁸ tn Or “thus.”

[3:11]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “in holy conduct and godliness.”

[1:3]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn The word “necessary” is not in the Greek, but is implied by the preposition πρός (pros).

[1:3]  ¹³ tn See the note on “rich knowledge” in v. 2.

[1:3]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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).

[1:13]  ¹⁶ tn Or “tent.” The author uses this as a metaphor for his physical body.

[1:13]  sn The use of the term tabernacle for the human body is reminiscent both of John’s statements about Jesus (“he tabernacled among us” in John 1:14; “the temple of his body” in John 2:21) and Paul’s statements about believers (e.g., “you are God’s building” in 1 Cor 3:9; “you are God’s temple” in 1 Cor 3:16; “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” in 1 Cor 6:19; “holy temple” in Eph 2:21). It is precisely because the Shekinah glory has been transferred from the OT temple to the person of Jesus Christ and, because he inhabits believers, to them, that the author can speak this way. His life on earth, his physical existence, is a walking tabernacle, a manifestation of the glory of God.

[2:6]  ¹⁷ tc Several important witnesses omit καταστροφῇ (katastrofh, “destruction”; such as Ì^72* B C* 1241 1739 1881 pc), but this is probably best explained as an accidental omission due to homoioarcton (the word following is κατέκρινεν [katekrinen, “he condemned”]).

[2:6]  tn Or “ruin,” or “extinction.” The first part of this verse more literally reads “And [if] he condemned to annihilation the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, by turning them to ashes.”

[2:6]  sn The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is detailed in Gen 18:16—19:29.

[2:6]  ¹⁸ tn The perfect participle τεθεικώς (teqeikw") suggests an antecedent act. More idiomatically, the idea seems to be, “because he had already appointed them to serve as an example.”

[2:6]  ¹⁹ tn “To serve as” is not in Greek but is implied in the object-complement construction.

[2:6]  ²⁰ tn Grk “an example of the things coming to the ungodly,” or perhaps “an example to the ungodly of coming [ages].”

[2:2]  ²¹ tn “Debauched lifestyles” is literally “licentiousnesses,” “sensualities,” “debaucheries.”

[2:2]  ²² tn Grk “because of whom,” introducing a subordinate clause to the first part of the verse.

[2:2]  ²³ tn Or “blasphemed,” “reviled,” “treated with contempt.”

[2:18]  ²⁴ tn Grk “high-sounding words of futility.”

[2:18]  ²⁵ tn Grk “they entice.”

[2:18]  ²⁶ tn Grk “with the lusts of the flesh, with debauchery.”

[2:18]  ²⁷ tn Grk “those.”

[2:18]  ²⁸ tn Or “those who are barely escaping.”

[2:18]  ²⁹ tn Or “deceit.”

[2:13]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ tn Grk “considering carousing in the daytime a pleasure.”

[2:13]  ³² tn Or “carousing,” “reveling.” The participle ἐντρυφῶντες (entrufwnte") is a cognate to the noun τρυφή (trufh, “carousing”) used earlier in the verse.

[3:1]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the following statement is true about both letters.

[3:1]  ³⁵ tn Or “I have stirred up, aroused.” The translation treats the present tense verb as a conative present.

[1:6]  ³⁶ tn Perhaps “steadfastness,” though that is somewhat archaic. A contemporary colloquial rendering would be “stick-to-it-iveness.”

[2:5]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Grk “a world of the ungodly.”

[1:5]  ⁴⁰ tn The Greek text begins with “and,” a typical Semitism.

[1:5]  sn The reason given is all the provisions God has made for the believer, mentioned in vv. 3-4.

[1:5]  ⁴¹ tn The participle is either means (“by making every effort”) or attendant circumstance (“make every effort”). Although it fits the normal contours of attendant circumstance participles, the semantics are different. Normally, attendant circumstance is used of an action that is a necessary prelude to the action of the main verb. But “making every effort” is what energizes the main verb here. Hence it is best taken as means. However, for the sake of smoothness the translation has rendered it as a command with the main verb translated as an infinitive. This is in accord with English idiom.

[1:5]  ⁴² tn Or “moral excellence,” “virtue”; this is the same word used in v. 3 (“the one who has called us by his own glory and excellence”).

[2:7]  ⁴³ tn Or “unprincipled.”

[2:7]  ⁴⁴ tn This verse more literally reads “And [if] he rescued righteous Lot, who was deeply distressed by the lifestyle of the lawless in [their] debauchery.”

[1:8]  ⁴⁵ tn The participles are evidently conditional, as most translations render them.

[1:8]  ⁴⁶ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντα (Juparconta) is stronger than the verb εἰμί (eimi), usually implying a permanent state. Hence, the addition of “really” is implied.

[1:8]  ⁴⁷ sn Continually increasing. There are evidently degrees of ownership of these qualities, implying degrees of productivity in one’s intimacy with Christ. An idiomatic rendering of the first part of v. 8 would be “For if you can claim ownership of these virtues in progressively increasing amounts…”

[1:8]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “cause [you] not to become.”

[1:8]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “unto,” “toward”; although it is possible to translate the preposition εἰς (eis) as simply “in.”

[1:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “the [rich] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 8 in Greek does not make a full stop (period), for v. 9 begins with a subordinate relative pronoun. Contemporary English convention requires a full stop in translation, however.

[1:9]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “for.” The connection, though causal, is also adversative.

[1:9]  ⁵² tn Grk “to the one for whom these things are not present.”

[1:9]  ⁵³ 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.

[2:8]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “that righteous man tormented his righteous soul.”

[2:8]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “by lawless deeds, in seeing and hearing [them].”

[1:7]  ⁵⁶ 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]  ⁵⁷ 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).

[1:12]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “always.”

[2:10]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “those who go after the flesh in [its] lust.”

[2:10]  ⁶⁰ tn There is no “and” in Greek; it is supplied for the sake of English convention.

[2:10]  ⁶¹ 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]  ⁶² 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.

[2:14]  ⁶³ tn Grk “having eyes.” See note on “men” at the beginning of v. 12.

[2:14]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “full of an adulteress.”

[2:14]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “and unceasing from sin.” Some translate this “insatiable for sin,” but such a translation is based on a textual variant with inadequate support.

[2:14]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “enticing.” See note on “men” at the beginning of v. 12.

[2:14]  ⁶⁷ tn “People” is literally “souls.” The term ψυχή (yuch) can refer to one’s soul, one’s life, or oneself.

[2:14]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “having hearts trained in greediness, children of cursing.” The participles continue the general description of the false teachers, without strong grammatical connection. The genitive κατάρας (kataras, “of cursing”) is taken attributively here.

[2:15]  ⁶⁹ 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]  ⁷⁰ 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.

[2:12]  ⁷¹ 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]  ⁷² 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]  ⁷³ tn Grk “born for capture and destruction.”

[2:12]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “with [reference to] whom.”

[2:12]  ⁷⁵ 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]  ⁷⁶ 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.