2 Peter 2:10

2:10 especially those who indulge their fleshly desires ¹  and who despise authority.

Brazen and insolent, ²  they are not afraid to insult ³  the glorious ones, ⁴ 

2 Peter 2:18

2:18 For by speaking high-sounding but empty words ⁵  they are able to entice, ⁶  with fleshly desires and with debauchery, ⁷  people ⁸  who have just escaped ⁹  from those who reside in error. ¹⁰ 

2 Peter 2:11

2:11 yet even ¹¹  angels, who are much more powerful, ¹²  do not bring a slanderous ¹³  judgment against them before the Lord. ¹⁴ 

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 ¹⁵  you, in which ¹⁶  I am trying to stir up ¹⁷  your pure mind by way of reminder:

2 Peter 3:8

3:8 Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, ¹⁸  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 ¹⁹  these things, strive to be found ²⁰  at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. ²¹ 

2 Peter 3:17

3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, ²²  be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men ²³  and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. ²⁴ 

[2:10]  ¹ tn Grk “those who go after the flesh in [its] lust.”

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

[2:10]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[2:18]  ⁵ tn Grk “high-sounding words of futility.”

[2:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “they entice.”

[2:18]  ⁷ tn Grk “with the lusts of the flesh, with debauchery.”

[2:18]  ⁸ tn Grk “those.”

[2:18]  ⁹ tn Or “those who are barely escaping.”

[2:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “deceit.”

[2:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “whereas.”

[2:11]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “who are greater in strength and power.” What is being compared, however, could either be the false teachers or “the glorious ones,” in which case “angels” would refer to good angels and “the glorious ones” to evil angels.

[2:11]  ¹¹ tn Or “insulting.” The word comes from the same root as the term found in v. 10 (“insult”), v. 12 (“insulting”), and v. 2 (“will be slandered”). The author is fond of building his case by the repetition of a word in a slightly different context so that the readers make the necessary connection. English usage cannot always convey this connection because a given word in one language cannot always be translated the same way in another.

[2:11]  ¹² tc ‡ Some witnesses lack παρὰ κυρίῳ (para kuriw; so A Ψ 33 81 1505 1881 2464 al vg co), while others have the genitive παρὰ κυρίου (para kuriou; so Ì⁷² 1241 al sy^ph,h**). The majority of witnesses (including א B C P 1739 Ï) read the dative παρὰ κυρίῳ. The genitive expression suggests that angels would not pronounce a judgment on “the glorious ones” from the Lord, while the dative indicates that angels would not pronounce a judgment on “the glorious ones” in the presence of the Lord. The parallel in Jude 9 speaks of a reviling judgment against the devil in which the prepositional phrase is entirely absent. At the same time, in that parallel Michael does say, “The Lord rebuke you.” (Hence, he is offering something of a judgment from the Lord.) The best options externally are the dative or the omission of the phrase, but a decision is difficult. Internally, the omission may possibly be a motivated reading in that it finds a parallel in Jude 9 (where no prepositional phrase is used). All things considered, the dative is to be preferred, though with much reservation.

[3:1]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the following statement is true about both letters.

[3:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “I have stirred up, aroused.” The translation treats the present tense verb as a conative present.

[3:8]  ¹⁷ tn The same verb, λανθάνω (lanqanw, “escape”) used in v. 5 is found here (there, translated “suppress”).

[3:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “dear friends, waiting for.” See note in v. 13 on “waiting for.”

[3:14]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁵ tn Grk “knowing beforehand.”

[3:17]  ²⁶ tn Or “lawless ones.”

[3:17]  ²⁷ tn Grk “fall from your firmness.”