2 Peter 1:2

1:2 May grace and peace be lavished on you ¹  as you grow ²  in the rich knowledge ³  of God and of Jesus our Lord! ⁴ 

2 Peter 1:11

1:11 For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you.

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 ⁵  you, in which ⁶  I am trying to stir up ⁷  your pure mind by way of reminder:

2 Peter 1:8

1:8 For if ⁸  these things are really yours ⁹  and are continually increasing, ¹⁰  they will keep you from becoming ¹¹  ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of ¹²  knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately. ¹³ 

2 Peter 1:16

1:16 For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return ¹⁴  of our Lord Jesus Christ; ¹⁵  no, ¹⁶  we were ¹⁷  eyewitnesses of his ¹⁸  grandeur. ¹⁹ 

2 Peter 2:13

2:13 suffering harm as the wages for their harmful ways. ²⁰  By considering it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight, ²¹  they are stains and blemishes, indulging ²²  in their deceitful pleasures when they feast together with you.

2 Peter 3:15

3:15 And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, ²³  just as also our dear brother Paul ²⁴  wrote to you, ²⁵  according to the wisdom given to him,

2 Peter 2:1

The False Teachers’ Ungodly Lifestyle

2:1 But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. ²⁶  These false teachers ²⁷  will ²⁸  infiltrate your midst ²⁹  with destructive heresies, ³⁰  even to the point of ³¹  denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring ³²  swift destruction on themselves.

[1:2]  ¹ tn Grk “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

[1:2]  ² tn The words “as you grow” are not in the Greek text, but seem to be implied.

[1:2]  ³ tn The word ἐπίγνωσις (epignwsis) could simply mean knowledge, but J. B. Mayor (Jude and Second Peter, 171-74) has suggested that it is often a fuller knowledge, especially in reference to things pertaining to spiritual truth. R. Bauckham (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 169-70) argues that it refers to the knowledge of God that is borne of conversion, but this is probably saying too much and is asking questions of the author that are foreign to his way of thinking. The term is used in 1:2, 3, 8; 2:20 (the verb form occurs twice, both in 2:21). In every instance it evidently involves being in the inner circle of those who connect to God, though it does not necessarily imply such a direct and relational knowledge of God for each individual within that circle. An analogy would be Judas Iscariot: Even though he was a disciple of the Lord, he was not converted.

[1:2]  ⁴ tn A comma properly belongs at the end of v. 2 instead of a period, since v. 3 is a continuation of the same sentence. With the optative in v. 2, the author has departed from Paul’s normal greeting (in which no verb is used), rendering the greeting a full-blown sentence. Nevertheless, this translation divides the verses up along thematic lines in spite of breaking up the sentence structure. For more explanation, see note on “power” in v. 3.

[3:1]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the following statement is true about both letters.

[3:1]  ⁷ tn Or “I have stirred up, aroused.” The translation treats the present tense verb as a conative present.

[1:8]  ⁹ tn The participles are evidently conditional, as most translations render them.

[1:8]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Grk “cause [you] not to become.”

[1:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “unto,” “toward”; although it is possible to translate the preposition εἰς (eis) as simply “in.”

[1:8]  ¹⁴ 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.

[1:16]  ¹³ tn Grk “coming.”

[1:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “for we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by following cleverly concocted fables.”

[1:16]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “but, instead.”

[1:16]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “became.”

[1:16]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “that one’s.” That is, “eyewitnesses of the grandeur of that one.” The remote demonstrative pronoun is used perhaps to indicate esteem for Jesus. Along these lines it is interesting to note that “the Pythagoreans called their master after his death simply ἐκεῖνος” as a term of reverence and endearment (BDAG 302 s.v. ἐκεῖνος a.γ).

[1:16]  ¹⁸ sn The term grandeur was used most frequently of God’s majesty. In the 1st century, it was occasionally used of the divine majesty of the emperor. 2 Pet 1:1 and 1:11 already include hints of a polemic against emperor-worship (in that “God and Savior” and “Lord and Savior” were used of the emperor).

[2:13]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “considering carousing in the daytime a pleasure.”

[2:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “carousing,” “reveling.” The participle ἐντρυφῶντες (entrufwnte") is a cognate to the noun τρυφή (trufh, “carousing”) used earlier in the verse.

[3:15]  ²¹ tn The language here is cryptic. It probably means “regard the patience of our Lord as an opportunity for salvation.” In the least, Peter is urging his audience to take a different view of the delay of the parousia than that of the false teachers.

[3:15]  ²² sn Critics generally assume that 2 Peter is not authentic, partially because in vv. 15-16 Paul is said to have written scripture. It is assumed that a recognition of Paul’s writings as scripture could not have happened until early in the 2nd century. However, in the same breath that Paul is canonized, Peter also calls him “brother.” This is unparalleled in the 2nd century apocryphal works, as well as early patristic writings, in which the apostles are universally elevated above the author and readers; here, Peter simply says “he’s one of us.”

[3:15]  ²³ sn Paul wrote to you. That Paul had written to these people indicates that they are most likely Gentiles. Further, that Peter is now writing to them suggests that Paul had already died, for Peter was the apostle to the circumcised. Peter apparently decided to write his two letters to Paul’s churches shortly after Paul’s death, both to connect with them personally and theologically (Paul’s gospel is Peter’s gospel) and to warn them of the wolves in sheep’s clothing that would come in to destroy the flock. Thus, part of Peter’s purpose seems to be to anchor his readership on the written documents of the Christian community (both the Old Testament and Paul’s letters) as a safeguard against heretics.

[2:1]  ²⁵ sn There will be false teachers among you. Peter uses the same verb, γίνομαι (ginomai), in 2 Pet 2:1 as he had used in 1:20 to describe the process of inspiration. He may well be contrasting, by way of a catchword, the two kinds of prophets.

[2:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “who”; verse 1 is one sentence in Greek, the second half constituting a relative clause.

[2:1]  ²⁷ sn By the use of the future tense (will infiltrate), Peter is boldly prophesying the role that false teachers will have before these Gentile believers. It was necessary for him to establish both his own credentials and to anchor his audience’s faith in the written Word before he could get to this point, for these false teachers will question both.

[2:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “will bring in,” often with the connotation of secretiveness; “your midst” is implied.

[2:1]  ²⁹ tn Or “destructive opinions,” “destructive viewpoints.” The genitive ἀπωλείας (apwleia") could be taken either attributively (“destructive”) or as a genitive of destination (“leading to destruction”). Although the preferable interpretation is a genitive of destination, especially because of the elaboration given at the end of the verse (“bringing swift destruction on themselves”), translating it attributively is less cumbersome in English. Either way, the net result is the same.

[2:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “even.” The καί (kai) is ascensive, suggesting that the worst heresy is mentioned in the words that follow.

[2:1]  ³¹ tn Grk “bringing.” The present participle ἐπάγοντες (epagonte") indicates the result of the preceding clause.