The Coming Day of the Lord
3 Dear friends, this is already the second letter I am writing to you, in both of which I am attempting to stir up your sincere mind by a reminder, 2 to remember the words proclaimed beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 above all knowing this, that in the last days scoffers will come with scoffing, following according to their own desires 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since[a] the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued just as they have been from the beginning of creation.” 5 For when[b] they maintain this, it escapes their notice that the heavens existed long ago and the earth held together out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 by means of which things the world that existed at that time was destroyed by[c] being inundated with water. 7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people.
8 Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, that one day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. 9 The Lord is not delaying the promise, as some consider slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he[d] does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will disappear with a rushing noise, and the celestial bodies will be destroyed by[e] being burned up, and the earth and the deeds done on it will be disclosed. 11 Because[f] all these things are being destroyed in this way, what sort of people must you be in holy behavior and godliness, 12 while[g] waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by[h] being burned up and the celestial bodies will melt as they[i] are consumed by heat! 13 But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness resides.
Final Exhortations and Conclusion
14 Therefore, dear friends, because you[j] are waiting for these things, make every effort to be found at peace, spotless and unblemished in him. 15 And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom that was given to him, 16 as he does also in all his[k][l] letters, speaking in them about these things, in which there are some things hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, as they also do the rest of the scriptures. 17 Therefore, dear friends, because you[m] know this beforehand, guard yourselves so that you do not lose your own safe position because you[n] have been led away by the error of lawless persons. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Footnotes
- 2 Peter 3:4 Literally “from which time”
- 2 Peter 3:5 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“maintain”) which is understood as temporal
- 2 Peter 3:6 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“being inundated”) which is understood as means
- 2 Peter 3:9 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“want”) which is understood as causal
- 2 Peter 3:10 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“being burned up”) which is understood as means
- 2 Peter 3:11 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“are being destroyed”) which is understood as causal
- 2 Peter 3:12 Here “while” is supplied as a component of the participle (“waiting for”) which is understood as temporal
- 2 Peter 3:12 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“being burned up”) which is understood as means
- 2 Peter 3:12 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“are consumed by heat”) which is understood as temporal
- 2 Peter 3:14 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“are waiting for”) which is understood as causal
- 2 Peter 3:16 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- 2 Peter 3:16 Some manuscripts do not explicitly state “his”
- 2 Peter 3:17 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“know beforehand”) which is understood as causal
- 2 Peter 3:17 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“have been led away”) which is understood as causal