2 Peter / Chapter 3

2 Peter 3

18 verses • SBL Greek New Testament

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Peter addresses scoffers who mock the promise of Christ's return, arguing that the delay demonstrates God's patience, not his unfaithfulness. He reminds them that God's sense of time differs from humanity's — a thousand years is like a day. The day of the Lord will come unexpectedly like a thief, and the heavens and earth will be dissolved by fire. Yet Peter's hope looks beyond destruction to the promise of new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells. He closes by referencing Paul's letters and urging steadfastness.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The 'new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells' (v. 13) is one of the great eschatological hopes of the New Testament, drawing on Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22 and anticipating Revelation 21:1. The reference to Paul's letters as Scripture (vv. 15-16) is one of the earliest witnesses to the collection of Paul's correspondence and its elevation to scriptural authority. The 'day equals a thousand years' passage (v. 8) draws on Psalm 90:4 and has profoundly shaped Christian thinking about time, eternity, and divine patience.

Translation Friction

The cosmological language of dissolution by fire (vv. 10-12) has been interpreted literally (cosmic conflagration), figuratively (radical transformation), and ecologically. We render the Greek without imposing any particular scientific or theological framework. The reference to Paul writing things 'hard to understand' (v. 16) is remarkably candid and has been treasured by exegetes who find Paul difficult.

Connections

The 'new heavens and new earth' draws on Isaiah 65:17, 66:22, and anticipates Revelation 21:1. The 'day of the Lord as a thief' echoes Jesus's teaching (Matthew 24:43, Luke 12:39) and Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:2). The Psalm 90:4 quotation (v. 8) connects to the Mosaic prayer tradition. The fire cosmology may connect to Stoic ekpyrosis (cosmic conflagration) concepts familiar to Peter's Hellenistic audience.

2 Peter 3:1

Ταύτην ἤδη, ἀγαπητοί, δευτέραν ὑμῖν γράφω ἐπιστολήν, ἐν αἷς διεγείρω ὑμῶν ἐν ὑπομνήσει τὴν εἰλικρινῆ διάνοιαν,

This is now, dear friends, the second letter I am writing to you. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,

KJV This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The reference to a 'second letter' (deuteran epistolēn) identifies 1 Peter as the first. The word eilikrinē ('sincere, pure, unmixed') literally means 'judged by sunlight' — tested and found genuine. Peter's purpose is not to introduce new teaching but to activate (diegeirō, 'stir up, rouse from sleep') what they already know.

2 Peter 3:2

μνησθῆναι τῶν προειρημένων ῥημάτων ὑπὸ τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν καὶ τῆς τῶν ἀποστόλων ὑμῶν ἐντολῆς τοῦ κυρίου καὶ σωτῆρος,

So you can become mindful of the words which were spoken prior to by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:.

KJV That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Peter places two sources of authority side by side: the Old Testament prophets and the apostolic witness. The phrase tēs tōn apostolōn hymōn entolēs tou kyriou kai sōtēros ('the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles') establishes a chain of authority: the Lord commands, the apostles transmit, the churches receive. This two-testament consciousness (prophets + apostles) anticipates the later canonical structure of the Christian Bible.

2 Peter 3:3

τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες, ὅτι ἐλεύσονται ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐν ἐμπαιγμονῇ ἐμπαῖκται κατὰ τὰς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας αὐτῶν πορευόμενοι

Knowing this first, that there will come in the last days scoffers, walking following their own lusts,.

KJV Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The Greek en empaigmonē empaiktai ('with mocking, mockers') is a cognate construction — the mockers mock. Their behavior is driven by desire (kata tas idias epithymias, 'according to their own desires') rather than by truth — the mocking of Christ's return is not intellectual doubt but moral convenience. If there is no coming judgment, there is no moral accountability.

2 Peter 3:4

καὶ λέγοντες· Ποῦ ἐστιν ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ; ἀφ' ἧς γὰρ οἱ πατέρες ἐκοιμήθησαν, πάντα οὕτως διαμένει ἀπ' ἀρχῆς κτίσεως.

Declaring, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the start of creation.

KJV And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The scoffers' argument is what modern philosophy would call uniformitarianism — the assumption that natural processes continue unchanging, therefore no divine intervention (parousia) should be expected. 'The fathers fell asleep' (hoi pateres ekoimēthēsan) refers to the first generation of Christians who died without seeing the return — their death seems to disprove the promise.
The rhetorical question 'Where is the promise?' (Pou estin hē epangelia) echoes the Old Testament taunt pattern: 'Where is your God?' (Psalm 42:3, 10; Joel 2:17; Malachi 2:17).
[TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Psalm 42:3. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Joel 2:17. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Malachi 2:17. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.

2 Peter 3:5

λανθάνει γὰρ αὐτοὺς τοῦτο θέλοντας ὅτι οὐρανοὶ ἦσαν ἔκπαλαι καὶ γῆ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ δι' ὕδατος συνεστῶσα τῷ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγῳ,

For they deliberately overlook this fact: that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God,

KJV For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The Greek lanthanei autous touto thelontas ('it escapes them, this being willing' — i.e., 'they willingly ignore') marks their ignorance as deliberate, not innocent. Peter's counter-argument begins with creation: the world was not always as it is. It was formed by God's word (tō tou theou logō) out of and through water — referencing Genesis 1:2-9, where the primordial waters are separated and dry land appears at God's command.
[TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Genesis 1:2-9 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.

2 Peter 3:6

δι' ὧν ὁ τότε κόσμος ὕδατι κατακλυσθεὶς ἀπώλετο·

Whereby the age that then was, while overflowed with the waters, perished:.

KJV Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The Greek di' hōn ('through which things') refers back to both the water and the word — the same elements that formed the world were used to destroy it in the flood. The uniformitarian argument ('everything continues unchanged') is refuted by history: there was a cataclysmic interruption. The word kataklustheis ('deluged, flooded') is the root of English 'cataclysm.'

2 Peter 3:7

οἱ δὲ νῦν οὐρανοὶ καὶ ἡ γῆ τῷ αὐτῷ λόγῳ τεθησαυρισμένοι εἰσὶν πυρὶ τηρούμενοι εἰς ἡμέραν κρίσεως καὶ ἀπωλείας τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνθρώπων.

But by that same word the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people.

KJV But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The parallel is precise: as the ancient world was destroyed by water, the present world is reserved (tēroumenoi, 'being kept, guarded') for destruction by fire. The word tethēsaurismenoi ('stored up, treasured') is ironic — the heavens and earth are 'treasured' for fire as one stores up valuables. The concept of cosmic conflagration by fire was also present in Stoic philosophy (ekpyrosis), which may have made Peter's argument accessible to Hellenistic readers.

2 Peter 3:8

ἓν δὲ τοῦτο μὴ λανθανέτω ὑμᾶς, ἀγαπητοί, ὅτι μία ἡμέρα παρὰ κυρίῳ ὡς χίλια ἔτη καὶ χίλια ἔτη ὡς ἡμέρα μία.

But do not overlook this one fact, dear friends: that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

KJV But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Peter quotes Psalm 90:4 ('A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by'), but adds the reverse — not only does a millennium seem brief to God, but a single day can contain what seems like a millennium's worth of divine activity. The point is that God operates on a fundamentally different time scale. What seems like a 'delay' from a human perspective may be an instant in divine reckoning.
The verb lanthanetō ('let it escape, let it be hidden') echoes verse 5 where the same root described the scoffers' willful ignorance. Peter tells believers: do not make the same mistake of ignoring crucial facts.
[TCR Cross-Reference] References Psalms 90:4 — the TCR OT rendering of that text provides the Hebrew source and explains the translation decisions involved.

2 Peter 3:9

οὐ βραδύνει κύριος τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, ὥς τινες βραδύτητα ἡγοῦνται, ἀλλὰ μακροθυμεῖ εἰς ὑμᾶς, μὴ βουλόμενός τινας ἀπολέσθαι ἀλλὰ πάντας εἰς μετάνοιαν χωρῆσαι.

The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some consider slowness, but is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

KJV The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

This verse reframes the 'delay' of the parousia: what appears to be divine procrastination is actually divine patience (makrothymei, 'is long-tempered, is patient'). The purpose of the delay is soteriological — God extends the time before judgment so that more people have opportunity for repentance (metanoian, 'change of mind, turning of life direction').
The phrase mē boulomenos tinas apolesthai ('not wanting anyone to perish') expresses God's desire for universal salvation, while the history of judgment in chapter 2 shows that this desire does not override human choice. The tension between divine patience and divine justice runs throughout the letter.

2 Peter 3:10

ἥξει δὲ ἡμέρα κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης, ἐν ᾗ οἱ οὐρανοὶ ῥοιζηδὸν παρελεύσονται, στοιχεῖα δὲ καυσούμενα λυθήσεται, καὶ γῆ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα εὑρεθήσεται.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be dissolved with intense heat, and the earth and the works done on it will be exposed.

KJV But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The thief simile comes from Jesus himself (Matthew 24:43, Luke 12:39) and is used by Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:2). The Greek rhoizēdon ('with a rushing sound, with a roar, with a loud noise') appears only here in the New Testament — it describes the sound of an arrow in flight, the hiss of a serpent, or the rush of a flame.
The Greek stoicheia ('elements, elemental substances, heavenly bodies') could refer to the four classical elements (earth, water, air, fire), the celestial bodies (sun, moon, stars), or the spiritual 'elemental forces' (cf. Galatians 4:3, 9). Given the cosmological context, 'heavenly bodies' is most likely.
A major textual variant exists in the final clause: some manuscripts read katakaesetai ('will be burned up'), others heurethēsetai ('will be found/exposed'). The SBLGNT reads heurethēsetai, which is the more difficult reading and likely original — the earth and its works will be 'found out,' 'laid bare,' 'exposed' before God's judgment.

2 Peter 3:11

Τούτων οὕτως πάντων λυομένων, ποταποὺς δεῖ ὑπάρχειν ὑμᾶς ἐν ἁγίαις ἀναστροφαῖς καὶ εὐσεβείαις,

Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,

KJV Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Peter draws ethical implications from eschatology: if everything material will be dissolved (lyomenōn, 'being loosened, being destroyed'), then clinging to material things is foolish and investing in holy conduct is wise. The rhetorical question potapous dei ('what sort must you be') expects the answer: people of extraordinary holiness and devotion. The plural hagiois anastrophais kai eusebeiais ('holy conducts and godlinesses') emphasizes that holiness and godliness are expressed in multiple, varied ways.

2 Peter 3:12

προσδοκῶντας καὶ σπεύδοντας τὴν παρουσίαν τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμέρας, δι' ἣν οὐρανοὶ πυρούμενοι λυθήσονται καὶ στοιχεῖα καυσούμενα τήκεται.

Indeed, looking for and hasting to the coming of the day of God, wherein the sky being on fire will be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

KJV Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The Greek speudontas ('hastening, speeding up') is striking — believers can actually hasten the day of God's coming. How? The traditional interpretation is through repentance, holy living, and proclamation of the gospel (cf. v. 9, where God waits for all to come to repentance). The rabbinical tradition also held that Israel's repentance could hasten the Messiah's coming.
The phrase tēs tou theou hēmeras ('the day of God') rather than 'the day of the Lord' (v. 10) shifts the focus from judgment to the full arrival of God's purposes.

2 Peter 3:13

καινοὺς δὲ οὐρανοὺς καὶ γῆν καινὴν κατὰ τὸ ἐπάγγελμα αὐτοῦ προσδοκῶμεν, ἐν οἷς δικαιοσύνη κατοικεῖ.

But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

KJV Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Peter draws on Isaiah 65:17 ('I am about to create new heavens and a new earth') and 66:22. The adjective kainous ('new') denotes newness of quality rather than mere chronological succession — not 'another' world but a 'renewed, transformed' world. The verb katoikei ('dwells, inhabits permanently') is present tense, vividly placing the reader in the future reality where righteousness is not visiting but residing.
This verse is the theological climax of the letter — beyond the dissolution of the present order lies not annihilation but renewal. The fire of judgment is the means to the end of a world where righteousness is the permanent atmosphere.
[TCR Cross-Reference] References Isaiah 65:17 — the TCR OT rendering of that text provides the Hebrew source and explains the translation decisions involved.

2 Peter 3:14

Διό, ἀγαπητοί, ταῦτα προσδοκῶντες σπουδάσατε ἄσπιλοι καὶ ἀμώμητοι αὐτῷ εὑρεθῆναι ἐν εἰρήνῃ,

Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for these things, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

KJV Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The adjectives aspiloi kai amōmētoi ('without spot and without blame') echo 1 Peter 1:19, where Christ is described as a lamb 'without defect or blemish' (amōmou kai aspilou). Believers are to mirror the character of their redeemer. The phrase en eirēnē ('in peace, at peace') describes both internal serenity and relational harmony — the opposite of the agitation produced by false teachers.

2 Peter 3:15

καὶ τὴν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν μακροθυμίαν σωτηρίαν ἡγεῖσθε, καθὼς καὶ ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἡμῶν ἀδελφὸς Παῦλος κατὰ τὴν δοθεῖσαν αὐτῷ σοφίαν ἔγραψεν ὑμῖν,

And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him,

KJV And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Peter reframes the delay as salvation: God's patience (makrothymian, cf. v. 9) is not weakness but redemptive opportunity. The reference to Paul as 'our dear brother' (ho agapētos hēmōn adelphos Paulos) is warm and collegial, despite the confrontation between them recorded in Galatians 2:11. Peter acknowledges Paul's wisdom as divinely given (kata tēn dotheisan autō sophian, 'according to the wisdom given to him').

2 Peter 3:16

ὡς καὶ ἐν πάσαις ἐπιστολαῖς λαλῶν ἐν αὐταῖς περὶ τούτων, ἐν αἷς ἐστιν δυσνόητά τινα, ἃ οἱ ἀμαθεῖς καὶ ἀστήρικτοι στρεβλώσουσιν ὡς καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς γραφὰς πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν αὐτῶν ἀπώλειαν.

As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things. In which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction.

KJV As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The phrase en pasais epistolais ('in all the letters') implies Peter knows of a collection of Paul's letters — an early stage of the Pauline corpus taking shape. The candid admission dysnoēta tina ('some things hard to understand') is remarkable — an apostle acknowledging that another apostle's writing is difficult. This honesty has comforted generations of readers who struggle with Paul.
The phrase hōs kai tas loipas graphas ('as they do the other Scriptures') is momentous: it places Paul's letters in the same category as graphai ('Scriptures') — one of the earliest attestations of Paul's correspondence being regarded as Scripture alongside the Old Testament.
The verb streblousin ('twist, distort, torture on the rack') is violent — these false interpreters put Scripture on the rack and twist it until it says what they want.

2 Peter 3:17

Ὑμεῖς οὖν, ἀγαπητοί, προγινώσκοντες φυλάσσεσθε, ἵνα μὴ τῇ τῶν ἀθέσμων πλάνῃ συναπαχθέντες ἐκπέσητε τοῦ ἰδίου στηριγμοῦ·

You therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.

KJV Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The warning is practical: foreknowledge of these dangers should produce watchfulness (phylassesthe, 'guard yourselves'). The Greek synapachthentes ('carried away together with, swept along') pictures being caught in a current — the error of the lawless has momentum and can pull the unsuspecting along with it. The word stērigmou ('stability, steadfastness, firm standing') connects to the stable foundation language throughout the letter (1:10, 12).

2 Peter 3:18

αὐξάνετε δὲ ἐν χάριτι καὶ γνώσει τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς ἡμέραν αἰῶνος. ἀμήν.

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.

KJV But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The letter closes where it began — with grace (charis) and knowledge (gnōsis) of Jesus Christ (cf. 1:2). The imperative auxanete ('grow, increase') is the final command: not merely maintain but advance. The phrase eis hēmeran aiōnos ('to the day of eternity') is unusual — it combines temporal ('day') and eternal ('of eternity') language, pointing to a moment that opens into endless duration.
The doxology attributes glory (doxa) to Jesus Christ — both now and for eternity — a strong affirmation of his divine status, consistent with the letter's opening identification of Jesus as 'our God and Savior' (1:1).

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