2 Peter 1:15

1:15 Indeed, I will also make every effort that, after my departure, you have a testimony of these things. ¹ 

2 Peter 1:14

1:14 since I know that my tabernacle will soon be removed, ²  because ³  our Lord Jesus Christ revealed this to me. ⁴ 

2 Peter 1:17

1:17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when that ⁵  voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: “This is my dear Son, in whom I am delighted.” ⁶ 

2 Peter 3:1

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:

2 Peter 1:10

1:10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ¹⁰  make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. ¹¹  For by doing this ¹²  you will never ¹³  stumble into sin. ¹⁴ 

2 Peter 3:8

3:8 Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, ¹⁵  that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day.

2 Peter 3:14

Exhortation to the Faithful

3:14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for ¹⁶  these things, strive to be found ¹⁷  at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. ¹⁸ 

2 Peter 3:17

3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, ¹⁹  be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men ²⁰  and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. ²¹ 

[1:15]  ¹ sn There are various interpretations of v. 15. For example, the author could be saying simply, “I will make every effort that you remember these things.” But the collocation of σπουδάζω (spoudazw) with μνήνη (mnhnh) suggests a more specific image. R. Bauckham (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 201-2) is right when he notes that these two words together suggest a desire to write some sort of letter or testament. Most commentators recognize the difficulty in seeing the future verb σπουδάσω (spoudasw) as referring to 2 Peter itself (the present or aorist would have been expected, i.e., “I have made every effort,” or “I am making every effort”). Some have suggested that Mark’s Gospel is in view. The difficulty with this is threefold: (1) Mark is probably to be dated before 2 Peter, (2) early patristic testimony seems to imply that Peter was the unwitting source behind Mark’s Gospel; and (3) “these things” would seem to refer, in the least, to the prophecy about Peter’s death (absent in Mark). A more plausible suggestion might be that the author was thinking of the ending of John’s Gospel. This is possible because (1) John 21:18-19 is the only other place in the NT that refers to Peter’s death; indeed, it fleshes out the cryptic statement in v. 14 a bit more; (2) both 2 Peter and John were apparently written to Gentiles in and around Asia Minor; (3) both books were probably written after Paul’s death and perhaps even to Paul’s churches (cf. 2 Pet 3:1-2, 15-16); and (4) John 21 gives the appearance of being added to the end of a finished work. There is thus some possibility that this final chapter was added at the author’s request, in part to encourage Gentile Christians to face impending persecution, knowing that the martyrdom of even (Paul and) Peter was within the purview of God’s sovereignty. That 2 Pet 1:15 alludes to John 21 is of course by no means certain, but remains at least the most plausible of the suggestions put forth thus far.

[1:14]  ² tn Grk “since I know that the removal of my tabernacle is [coming] soon.”

[1:14]  ³ tn Grk “just as.”

[1:14]  ⁴ sn When the author says our Lord Jesus Christ revealed this to me, he is no doubt referring to the prophecy that is partially recorded in John 21:18-19.

[1:17]  ³ tn Grk “such a.” The pronoun τοιᾶσδε (toiasde) most likely refers to what follows, connoting something of the uniqueness of the proclamation.

[1:17]  ⁴ tn The verb εὐδόκησα (eudokhsa) in collocation with εἰς ὅν (ei" Jon) could either mean “in whom I am well-pleased, delighted” (in which case the preposition functions like ἐν [en]), or “on whom I have set my favor.”

[3:1]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the following statement is true about both letters.

[3:1]  ⁶ tn Or “I have stirred up, aroused.” The translation treats the present tense verb as a conative present.

[1:10]  ⁵ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1., where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:10]  ⁶ tn Grk “make your calling and election sure.”

[1:10]  ⁷ tn Grk “these things.”

[1:10]  ⁸ tn In Greek οὐ μή (ou mh) followed by the subjunctive is normally the strongest way to negate an action. Coupled with πότε (pote, “ever”), the statement is even more emphatic. The author is offering sage advice on how to grow in grace.

[1:10]  ⁹ tn The words “into sin” are not in the Greek text, but the Greek word πταίω (ptaiw) is used in soteriological contexts for more than a mere hesitation or stumbling. BDAG 894 s.v. 2 suggests that here it means “be ruined, be lost,” referring to loss of salvation, while also acknowledging that the meaning “to make a mistake, go astray, sin” is plausible in this context. Alternatively, the idea of πταίω here could be that of “suffer misfortune” (so K. L. Schmidt, TDNT 6:884), as a result of sinning.

[3:8]  ⁶ tn The same verb, λανθάνω (lanqanw, “escape”) used in v. 5 is found here (there, translated “suppress”).

[3:14]  ⁷ tn Grk “dear friends, waiting for.” See note in v. 13 on “waiting for.”

[3:14]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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}.”

[3:17]  ⁸ tn Grk “knowing beforehand.”

[3:17]  ⁹ tn Or “lawless ones.”

[3:17]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “fall from your firmness.”