2 Peter 3:4

3:4 and saying, ¹  “Where is his promised return? ²  For ever since ³  our ancestors ⁴  died, ⁵  all things have continued as they were ⁶  from the beginning of creation.”

2 Peter 1:17

1:17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when that ⁷  voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: “This is my dear Son, in whom I am delighted.” ⁸ 

2 Peter 2:22

2:22 They are illustrations of this true proverb: ⁹  “A dog returns to its own vomit,” ¹⁰  and “A sow, after washing herself, ¹¹  wallows in the mire.” ¹² 

2 Peter 1:9

1:9 But ¹³  concerning the one who lacks such things ¹⁴  – he is blind. That is to say, he is ¹⁵  nearsighted, since he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins.

2 Peter 2:19

2:19 Although these false teachers promise ¹⁶  such people ¹⁷  freedom, they themselves are enslaved to ¹⁸  immorality. ¹⁹  For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved. ²⁰ 

2 Peter 2:10

2:10 especially those who indulge their fleshly desires ²¹  and who despise authority.

Brazen and insolent, ²²  they are not afraid to insult ²³  the glorious ones, ²⁴ 

2 Peter 3:16

3:16 speaking of these things in all his letters. ²⁵  Some things in these letters ²⁶  are hard to understand, things ²⁷  the ignorant and unstable twist ²⁸  to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. ²⁹ 

[3:4]  ¹ tn The present participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) most likely indicates result. Thus, their denial of the Lord’s return is the result of their lifestyle. The connection to the false teachers of chapter 2 is thus made clear.

[3:4]  ² tn Grk “Where is the promise of his coming?” The genitive παρουσίας (parousia", “coming, advent, return”) is best taken as an attributed genitive (in which the head noun, promise, functions semantically as an adjective; see ExSyn 89-91).

[3:4]  ³ tn The prepositional phrase with the relative pronoun, ἀφ᾿ ἧς (af’ |h"), is used adverbially or conjunctively without antecedent (see BDAG 727 s.v. ὅς 1.k.).

[3:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “fathers.” The reference could be either to the OT patriarchs or first generation Christians. This latter meaning, however, is unattested in any other early Christian literature.

[3:4]  ⁵ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.

[3:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “thus,” “in the same manner.”

[1:17]  ⁷ tn Grk “such a.” The pronoun τοιᾶσδε (toiasde) most likely refers to what follows, connoting something of the uniqueness of the proclamation.

[1:17]  ⁸ tn The verb εὐδόκησα (eudokhsa) in collocation with εἰς ὅν (ei" Jon) could either mean “in whom I am well-pleased, delighted” (in which case the preposition functions like ἐν [en]), or “on whom I have set my favor.”

[2:22]  ¹³ tn Grk “the [statement] of the true proverb has happened to them.” The idiom in Greek cannot be translated easily in English.

[2:22]  ¹⁴ tn The quotation is a loose rendering of Prov 26:11. This proverb involves a participle that is translated like a finite verb (“returns”). In the LXX this line constitutes a subordinate and dependent clause. But since the line has been lifted from its original context, it has been translated as an independent statement.

[2:22]  ¹⁵ tn Or “after being washed.” The middle verb may be direct (“wash oneself”) or permissive (“allow oneself to be washed”).

[2:22]  ¹⁶ tn The source of this quotation is uncertain. Heraclitus has often been mentioned as a possible source, but this is doubtful. Other options on the translation of the second line include a sow, having (once) bathed herself (in mud), (returns) to wallowing in the mire, or a sow that washes herself by wallowing in the mire (BDAG 181 s.v. βόρβορος). The advantage of this last translation is that no verbs need to be supplied for it to make sense. The disadvantage is that in this context it does not make any contribution to the argument. Since the source of the quotation is not known, there is some guesswork involved in the reconstruction. Most commentators prefer a translation similar to the one in the text above.

[1:9]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “for.” The connection, though causal, is also adversative.

[1:9]  ²⁰ tn Grk “to the one for whom these things are not present.”

[1:9]  ²¹ tn The words “that is to say, he is” are not in Greek. The word order is unusual. One might expect the author to have said “he is nearsighted and blind” (as the NIV has so construed it), but this is not the word order in Greek. Perhaps the author begins with a strong statement followed by a clarification, i.e., that being nearsighted in regard to these virtues is as good as being blind.

[2:19]  ²⁵ tn Verse 19 is a subordinate clause in Greek. The masculine nominative participle “promising” (ἐπαγγελλόμενοι, epangellomenoi) refers back to the subject of vv. 17-18. At the same time, it functions subordinately to the following participle, ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte", “while being”).

[2:19]  ²⁶ tn Grk “them.”

[2:19]  ²⁷ tn Grk “slaves of.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[2:19]  ²⁸ tn Or “corruption,” “depravity.” Verse 19 constitutes a subordinate clause to v. 18 in Greek. The main verbal components of these two verses are: “uttering…they entice…promising…being (enslaved).” The main verb is (they) entice. The three participles are adverbial and seem to indicate an instrumental relation (by uttering), a concessive relation (although promising), and a temporal relation (while being [enslaved]). For the sake of English usage, in the translation of the text this is broken down into two sentences.

[2:19]  ²⁹ tn Grk “for by what someone is overcome, to this he is enslaved.”

[2:10]  ³¹ tn Grk “those who go after the flesh in [its] lust.”

[2:10]  ³² tn There is no “and” in Greek; it is supplied for the sake of English convention.

[2:10]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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.

[3:16]  ³⁷ tn Grk “as also in all his letters speaking in them of these things.”

[3:16]  ³⁸ tn Grk “in which are some things hard to understand.”

[3:16]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “distort,” “wrench,” “torture” (all are apt descriptions of what heretics do to scripture).

[3:16]  ⁴¹ 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.