2 Peter 2:11

2:11 yet even ¹  angels, who are much more powerful, ²  do not bring a slanderous ³  judgment against them before the Lord. ⁴ 

2 Peter 1:3

Believers’ Salvation and the Work of God

1:3 I can pray this because his divine power ⁵  has bestowed on us everything necessary ⁶  for life and godliness through the rich knowledge ⁷  of the one who called ⁸  us by ⁹  his own glory and excellence.

2 Peter 1:16

1:16 For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return ¹⁰  of our Lord Jesus Christ; ¹¹  no, ¹²  we were ¹³  eyewitnesses of his ¹⁴  grandeur. ¹⁵ 

2 Peter 2:18

2:18 For by speaking high-sounding but empty words ¹⁶  they are able to entice, ¹⁷  with fleshly desires and with debauchery, ¹⁸  people ¹⁹  who have just escaped ²⁰  from those who reside in error. ²¹ 

2 Peter 1:4

1:4 Through these things ²²  he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised ²³  you may become partakers of the divine nature, ²⁴  after escaping ²⁵  the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire. ²⁶ 

2 Peter 2:12

2:12 But ²⁷  these men, ²⁸  like irrational animals – creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed ²⁹  – do not understand whom ³⁰  they are insulting, and consequently ³¹  in their destruction they will be destroyed, ³² 

[2:11]  ¹ tn Grk “whereas.”

[2:11]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[1:3]  ⁵ tn The verse in Greek starts out with ὡς (Jws) followed by a genitive absolute construction, dependent on the main verb in v. 2. Together, they form a subordinate causal clause. A more literal rendering would be “because his divine power…” The idea is that the basis or authority for the author’s prayer in v. 2 (that grace and peace would abound to the readers) was that God’s power was manifested in their midst. The author’s sentence structure is cumbersome even in Greek; hence, the translation has broken this up into two sentences.

[1:3]  ⁶ tn The word “necessary” is not in the Greek, but is implied by the preposition πρός (pros).

[1:3]  ⁷ tn See the note on “rich knowledge” in v. 2.

[1:3]  ⁸ sn Called. The term καλέω (kalew), used here in its participial form, in soteriological contexts when God is the subject, always carries the nuance of effectual calling. That is, the one who is called is not just invited to be saved – he is also and always saved (cf. Rom 8:30). Calling takes place at the moment of conversion, while election takes place in eternity past (cf. Eph 1:4).

[1:3]  ⁹ tn The datives ἰδίᾳ δόξῃ καὶ ἀρετῇ (idia doxh kai areth) could be taken either instrumentally (“by [means of] his own glory and excellence”) or advantage (“for [the benefit of] his own glory and excellence”). Both the connection with divine power and the textual variant found in several early and important witnesses (διὰ δόξης καὶ ἀρετῆς in Ì⁷² B 0209^vid) argues for an instrumental meaning. The instrumental notion is also affirmed by the meaning of ἀρετῇ (“excellence”) in contexts that speak of God’s attributes (BDAG 130 s.v. ἀρετή 2 in fact defines it as “manifestation of divine power” in this verse).

[1:16]  ⁹ tn Grk “coming.”

[1:16]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Grk “but, instead.”

[1:16]  ¹² tn Grk “became.”

[1:16]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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).

[2:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “high-sounding words of futility.”

[2:18]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “they entice.”

[2:18]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “with the lusts of the flesh, with debauchery.”

[2:18]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “those.”

[2:18]  ¹⁷ tn Or “those who are barely escaping.”

[2:18]  ¹⁸ tn Or “deceit.”

[1:4]  ¹⁷ tn Verse 4 is in Greek a continuation of v. 3, “through which things.”

[1:4]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “through them.” The implication is that through inheriting and acting on these promises the believers will increasingly become partakers of the divine nature.

[1:4]  ¹⁹ sn Although the author has borrowed the expression partakers of the divine nature from paganism, his meaning is clearly Christian. He does not mean apotheosis (man becoming a god) in the pagan sense, but rather that believers have an organic connection with God. Because of such a connection, God can truly be called our Father. Conceptually, this bears the same meaning as Paul’s “in Christ” formula. The author’s statement, though startling at first, is hardly different from Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians that they “may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (3:19).

[1:4]  ²⁰ tn The aorist participle ἀποφυγόντες (apofugonte") is often taken as attendant circumstance to the preceding verb γένησθε (genhsqe). As such, the sense is “that you might become partakers…and might escape…” However, it does not follow the contours of the vast majority of attendant circumstance participles (in which the participle precedes the main verb, among other things). Further, attendant circumstance participles are frequently confused with result participles (which do follow the verb). Many who take this as attendant circumstance are probably viewing it semantically as result (“that you might become partakers…and [thereby] escape…”). But this is next to impossible since the participle is aorist: Result participles are categorically present tense.

[1:4]  ²¹ tn Grk “the corruption in the world (in/because of) lust.”

[2:12]  ²¹ tn 2 Pet 2:12 through 16 constitute one cumbersome sentence in Greek. It is difficult to tell whether a hard break belongs in the middle of v. 13, as the translation has it, or whether the compounding of participles is meant in a loosely descriptive sort of way, without strong grammatical connection. Either way, the sentence rambles in a way that often betrays a great “vehemence of spirit” (A. T. Robertson, Grammar, 435). The author is obviously agitated at these false teachers who are to come.

[2:12]  ²² tn The false teachers could conceivably be men or women, but in v. 14 they are said to have eyes “full of an adulteress.” This can only refer to men. Hence, both here and in v. 17 the false teachers are described as “men.”

[2:12]  ²³ tn Grk “born for capture and destruction.”

[2:12]  ²⁴ tn Grk “with [reference to] whom.”

[2:12]  ²⁵ tn There is no conjunction joining this last clause of v. 12 to the preceding (i.e., no “and consequently”). The argument builds asyndetically (a powerful rhetorical device in Greek), but cannot be naturally expressed in English as such.

[2:12]  ²⁶ tn This cryptic expression has been variously interpreted. (1) It could involve a simple cognate dative in which case the idea is “they will be utterly destroyed.” But the presence of αὐτῶν (autwn; their, of them) is problematic for this view. Other, more plausible views are: (2) the false teachers will be destroyed at the same time as the irrational beasts, or (3) in the same manner as these creatures (i.e., by being caught); or (4) the false teachers will be destroyed together with the evil angels whom they insult. Because of the difficulties of the text, it was thought best to leave it ambiguous, as the Greek has it.