2 Peter 2:12

2:12 But ¹  these men, ²  like irrational animals – creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed ³  – do not understand whom ⁴  they are insulting, and consequently ⁵  in their destruction they will be destroyed, ⁶ 

2 Peter 3:6

3:6 Through these things ⁷  the world existing at that time was destroyed when it was deluged with water.

2 Peter 3:11

3:11 Since all these things are to melt away ⁸  in this manner, ⁹  what sort of people must we ¹⁰  be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness, ¹¹ 

2 Peter 3:10

3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, ¹²  the heavens will disappear ¹³  with a horrific noise, ¹⁴  and the celestial bodies ¹⁵  will melt away ¹⁶  in a blaze, ¹⁷  and the earth and every deed done on it ¹⁸  will be laid bare. ¹⁹ 

2 Peter 2:5

2:5 and if he did not spare the ancient world, but did protect Noah, a herald of righteousness, along with seven others, ²⁰  when God ²¹  brought a flood on an ungodly world, ²² 

2 Peter 3:12

3:12 while waiting for and hastening ²³  the coming of the day of God? ²⁴  Because of this day, ²⁵  the heavens will be burned up and ²⁶  dissolve, and the celestial bodies ²⁷  will melt away in a blaze! ²⁸ 

[2:12]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “born for capture and destruction.”

[2:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “with [reference to] whom.”

[2:12]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.

[3:6]  ⁷ tn The antecedent is ambiguous. It could refer to the heavens, the heavens and earth, or the water and the word. If the reference is to the heavens, the author is reflecting on the Genesis account about “the floodgates of the heavens” being opened (Gen 7:11). If the reference is to the heavens and earth, he is also thinking about the cosmic upheaval that helped to produce the flood (Gen 6:11). If the reference is to the water and the word, he is indicating both the means (water) and the cause (word of God). This last interpretation is the most likely since the final nouns of v. 5 are “water” and “word of God,” making them the nearest antecedents.

[3:11]  ¹³ tn Grk “all these things thus being dissolved.”

[3:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “thus.”

[3:11]  ¹⁵ tc ‡ Most mss have a pronoun with the infinitive – either ὑμᾶς (Jumas, “you”; found in A C^[*^] P Ψ 048^vid 33 1739 Ï, as well as the corrector of Ì⁷² and second corrector of א), ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “we”; read by א* 630 2464 al), or ἑαυτούς (Jeautous, “[you your]selves/[we our]selves,” read by 1243). But the shorter reading (with no pronoun) has the support of Ì^72*,74vid B pc. Though slim, the evidence for the omission is nevertheless the earliest. Further, the addition of some pronoun, especially the second person pronoun, seems to be a clarifying variant. It would be difficult to explain the pronoun’s absence in some witnesses if the pronoun were original. That three different pronouns have shown up in the mss is testimony for the omission. Thus, on external and internal grounds, the omission is preferred. For English style requirements, however, some pronoun has to be added. NA ²⁷ has ὑμᾶς in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[3:11]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “in holy conduct and godliness.”

[3:10]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “in which.”

[3:10]  ²⁰ tn Or “pass away.”

[3:10]  ²¹ tn Or “hissing sound,” “whirring sound,” “rushing sound,” or “loud noise.” The word occurs only here in the NT. It was often used of the crackle of a fire, as would appear appropriate in this context.

[3:10]  ²² tn Grk “elements.” Most commentators are agreed that “celestial bodies” is meant, in light of this well-worn usage of στοιχεῖα (stoiceia) in the 2nd century and the probable allusion to Isa 34:4 (text of Vaticanus). See R. Bauckham, Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 315-16 for discussion.

[3:10]  ²³ tn Grk “be dissolved.”

[3:10]  ²⁴ tn Grk “being burned up.”

[3:10]  ²⁵ tn Grk “the works in it.”

[3:10]  ²⁶ tc One of the most difficult textual problems in the NT is found in v. 10. The reading εὑρεθήσεται (Jeureqhsetai), which enjoys by far the best support (א B K P 0156^vid 323 1241 1739^txt pc) is nevertheless so difficult a reading that many scholars regard it as nonsensical. (NA²⁷ lists five conjectures by scholars, from Hort to Mayor, in this text.) As R. Bauckham has pointed out, solutions to the problem are of three sorts: (1) conjectural emendation (which normally speaks more of the ingenuity of the scholar who makes the proposal than of the truth of the conjecture, e.g., changing one letter in the previous word, ἔργα [erga] becomes ἄργα [arga] with the meaning, “the earth and the things in it will be found useless”); (2) adoption of one of several variant readings (all of which, however, are easier than this one and simply cannot explain how this reading arose, e.g., the reading of Ì⁷² which adds λυόμενα [luomena] to the verb – a reading suggested no doubt by the threefold occurrence of this verb in the surrounding verses: “the earth and its works will be found dissolved”; or the simplest variant, the reading of the Sahidic mss, οὐχ [ouc] preceding ἑυρεθήσεται – “will not be found”); or (3) interpretive gymnastics which regards the text as settled but has to do some manipulation to its normal meaning. Bauckham puts forth an excellent case that the third option is to be preferred and that the meaning of the term is virtually the equivalent of “will be disclosed,” “will be manifested.” (That this meaning is not readily apparent may in fact have been the reason for so many variants and conjectures.) Thus, the force of the clause is that “the earth and the works [done by men] in it will be stripped bare [before God].” In addition, the unusualness of the expression is certainly in keeping with the author’s style throughout this little book. Hence, what looks to be suspect because of its abnormalities, upon closer inspection is actually in keeping with the author’s stylistic idiosyncrasies. The meaning of the text then is that all but the earth and men’s works will be destroyed. Everything will be removed so that humanity will stand naked before God. Textually, then, on both external and internal grounds, εὑρεθήσεται commends itself as the preferred reading.

[2:5]  ²⁵ tn “Along with seven others” is implied in the cryptic, “the eighth, Noah.” A more literal translation thus would be, “he did protect Noah [as] the eighth…”

[2:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been repeated here for clarity, although this is somewhat redundant with the beginning of v. 4.

[2:5]  ²⁷ tn Grk “a world of the ungodly.”

[3:12]  ³¹ tn Or possibly, “striving for,” but the meaning “hasten” for σπουδάζω (spoudazw) is normative in Jewish apocalyptic literature (in which the coming of the Messiah/the end is anticipated). Such a hastening is not an arm-twisting of the divine volition, but a response by believers that has been decreed by God.

[3:12]  ³² sn The coming of the day of God. Peter elsewhere describes the coming or parousia as the coming of Christ (cf. 2 Pet 1:16; 3:4). The almost casual exchange between “God” and “Christ” in this little book, and elsewhere in the NT, argues strongly for the deity of Christ (see esp. 1:1).

[3:12]  ³³ tn Grk “on account of which” (a subordinate relative clause in Greek).

[3:12]  ³⁴ tn Grk “being burned up, will dissolve.”

[3:12]  ³⁵ tn See note in v. 10 on “celestial bodies.”

[3:12]  ³⁶ tn Grk “being burned up” (see v. 10).