2 Peter 3:11-18

3:11 Since all these things are to melt away ¹  in this manner, ²  what sort of people must we ³  be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness, ⁴  3:12 while waiting for and hastening ⁵  the coming of the day of God? ⁶  Because of this day, ⁷  the heavens will be burned up and ⁸  dissolve, and the celestial bodies ⁹  will melt away in a blaze! ¹⁰  3:13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for ¹¹  new heavens and a new earth, in which ¹²  righteousness truly resides. ¹³ 

Exhortation to the Faithful

3:14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for ¹⁴  these things, strive to be found ¹⁵  at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. ¹⁶  3:15 And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, ¹⁷  just as also our dear brother Paul ¹⁸  wrote to you, ¹⁹  according to the wisdom given to him, 3:16 speaking of these things in all his letters. ²⁰  Some things in these letters ²¹  are hard to understand, things ²²  the ignorant and unstable twist ²³  to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. ²⁴  3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, ²⁵  be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men ²⁶  and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. ²⁷  3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge ²⁸  of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on ²⁹  that eternal day. ³⁰ 

[3:11]  ¹ tn Grk “all these things thus being dissolved.”

[3:11]  ² tn Or “thus.”

[3:11]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “in holy conduct and godliness.”

[3:12]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “on account of which” (a subordinate relative clause in Greek).

[3:12]  ⁸ tn Grk “being burned up, will dissolve.”

[3:12]  ⁹ tn See note in v. 10 on “celestial bodies.”

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

[3:13]  ¹¹ tn Or possibly, “let us wait for.” The form in Greek (προσδόκωμεν, prosdokwmen) could be either indicative or subjunctive. The present participle in v. 14, however, is best taken causally (“since you are waiting for”), suggesting that the indicative is to be read here.

[3:13]  ¹² tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the sphere in which righteousness dwells is both the new heavens and the new earth.

[3:13]  ¹³ tn Grk “dwells.” The verb κατοικέω (katoikew) is an intensive cognate of οἰκέω (oikew), often with the connotation of “taking up residence,” “settling down,” being at home,” etc. Cf., e.g., Matt 2:23; Acts 17:26; 22:12; Eph 3:17; Col 1:19; 2:9. Hence, the addition of the adverb “truly” is implicit in the connotation of the verb in a context such as this.

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

[3:14]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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}.”

[3:15]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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.

[3:16]  ²⁰ tn Grk “as also in all his letters speaking in them of these things.”

[3:16]  ²¹ tn Grk “in which are some things hard to understand.”

[3:16]  ²² tn Grk “which.” The antecedent is the “things hard to understand,” not the entirety of Paul’s letters. A significant principle is seen here: The primary proof texts used for faith and practice ought to be the clear passages that are undisputed in their meaning. Heresy today is still largely built on obscure texts.

[3:16]  ²³ tn Or “distort,” “wrench,” “torture” (all are apt descriptions of what heretics do to scripture).

[3:16]  ²⁴ sn This one incidental line, the rest of the scriptures, links Paul’s writings with scripture. This is thus one of the earliest affirmations of any part of the NT as scripture. Peter’s words were prophetic and were intended as a preemptive strike against the heretics to come.

[3:17]  ²⁵ tn Grk “knowing beforehand.”

[3:17]  ²⁶ tn Or “lawless ones.”

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

[3:18]  ²⁸ tn The term “knowledge” (γνῶσις, gnwsis) used here is not the same as is found in 2 Pet 1:2, 3, 8; 2:20. This term is found in 1:5 and 1:6.

[3:18]  ²⁹ tn Or “until.”

[3:18]  ³⁰ tc ‡ The vast bulk of mss add ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of this letter, as they do almost all the rest of the NT books (only Acts, James, and 3 John lack a majority of witnesses supporting a concluding ἀμήν). The omission in B 1241 1243 1739* 1881 2298 appears to be original, although the fact that some of the best and earliest Alexandrian witnesses (Ì⁷² א A C P Ψ 33 co), along with the Byzantine text and early versions (vg sy), add the particle renders such a judgment less than iron-clad. NA²⁷ places the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.