2 Peter 3:5-6

3:5 For they deliberately suppress this fact, ¹  that by the word of God ²  heavens existed long ago and an earth ³  was formed out of water and by means of water. 3:6 Through these things ⁴  the world existing at that time was destroyed when it was deluged with water.

[3:5]  ¹ tn The Greek is difficult at this point. An alternative is “Even though they maintain this, it escapes them that…” Literally the idea seems to be: “For this escapes these [men] who wish [it to be so].”

[3:5]  ² tn The word order in Greek places “the word of God” at the end of the sentence. See discussion in the note on “these things” in v. 6.

[3:5]  ³ tn Or “land,” “the earth.”

[3:6]  ⁴ 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.