2 Peter 3:8

3:8 Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, ¹  that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day.

2 Peter 2:10

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

Brazen and insolent, ³  they are not afraid to insult ⁴  the glorious ones, ⁵ 

2 Peter 2:18

2:18 For by speaking high-sounding but empty words ⁶  they are able to entice, ⁷  with fleshly desires and with debauchery, ⁸  people ⁹  who have just escaped ¹⁰  from those who reside in error. ¹¹ 

2 Peter 2:11

2:11 yet even ¹²  angels, who are much more powerful, ¹³  do not bring a slanderous ¹⁴  judgment against them before the Lord. ¹⁵ 

2 Peter 1:3

Believers’ Salvation and the Work of God

1:3 I can pray this because his divine power ¹⁶  has bestowed on us everything necessary ¹⁷  for life and godliness through the rich knowledge ¹⁸  of the one who called ¹⁹  us by ²⁰  his own glory and excellence.

2 Peter 1:8-9

1:8 For if ²¹  these things are really yours ²²  and are continually increasing, ²³  they will keep you from becoming ²⁴  ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of ²⁵  knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately. ²⁶  1:9 But ²⁷  concerning the one who lacks such things ²⁸  – he is blind. That is to say, he is ²⁹  nearsighted, since he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins.

2 Peter 3:1

The False Teachers’ Denial of the Lord’s Return

3:1 Dear friends, this is already the second letter I have written ³⁰  you, in which ³¹  I am trying to stir up ³²  your pure mind by way of reminder:

2 Peter 3:14

Exhortation to the Faithful

3:14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for ³³  these things, strive to be found ³⁴  at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. ³⁵ 

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, ³⁶  when God ³⁷  brought a flood on an ungodly world, ³⁸ 

2 Peter 3:17

3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, ³⁹  be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men ⁴⁰  and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. ⁴¹ 

[3:8]  ¹ tn The same verb, λανθάνω (lanqanw, “escape”) used in v. 5 is found here (there, translated “suppress”).

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

[2:10]  ³ tn There is no “and” in Greek; it is supplied for the sake of English convention.

[2:10]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[2:18]  ³ tn Grk “high-sounding words of futility.”

[2:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “they entice.”

[2:18]  ⁵ tn Grk “with the lusts of the flesh, with debauchery.”

[2:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “those.”

[2:18]  ⁷ tn Or “those who are barely escaping.”

[2:18]  ⁸ tn Or “deceit.”

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “whereas.”

[2:11]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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).

[1:8]  ⁶ tn The participles are evidently conditional, as most translations render them.

[1:8]  ⁷ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντα (Juparconta) is stronger than the verb εἰμί (eimi), usually implying a permanent state. Hence, the addition of “really” is implied.

[1:8]  ⁸ sn Continually increasing. There are evidently degrees of ownership of these qualities, implying degrees of productivity in one’s intimacy with Christ. An idiomatic rendering of the first part of v. 8 would be “For if you can claim ownership of these virtues in progressively increasing amounts…”

[1:8]  ⁹ tn Grk “cause [you] not to become.”

[1:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “unto,” “toward”; although it is possible to translate the preposition εἰς (eis) as simply “in.”

[1:8]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the [rich] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 8 in Greek does not make a full stop (period), for v. 9 begins with a subordinate relative pronoun. Contemporary English convention requires a full stop in translation, however.

[1:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “for.” The connection, though causal, is also adversative.

[1:9]  ⁸ tn Grk “to the one for whom these things are not present.”

[1:9]  ⁹ 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.

[3:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “I am already writing this [as] a second letter.” The object-complement construction is more smoothly rendered in English a bit differently. Further, although the present tense γράφω (grafw) is used here, English convention employs an epistolary past tense. (The Greek epistolary aorist might have been expected here, but it also occurs in situations unlike its English counterparts.)

[3:1]  ⁹ tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the following statement is true about both letters.

[3:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “I have stirred up, aroused.” The translation treats the present tense verb as a conative present.

[3:14]  ⁹ tn Grk “dear friends, waiting for.” See note in v. 13 on “waiting for.”

[3:14]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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}.”

[2:5]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Grk “a world of the ungodly.”

[3:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “knowing beforehand.”

[3:17]  ¹² tn Or “lawless ones.”

[3:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “fall from your firmness.”