As indicated in Revised Standard Version, the first name of Peter (Simon) is given in its Hebrew spelling Simeon, which is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew form. This spelling is used only here and in Acts 15.14, although several other people in the New Testament have the name “Simeon” (see Luke 2.25, 34; 3.30; Acts 13.1; Rev 7.7).

There are some scholars who find the use of Symeōn significant here, especially since the Greek form “Simon” is the more popular form in the New Testament. Among the reasons given for the use of the Hebrew form are:

1. to emphasize the Jewish origin of Peter;

2. to stress the fact that Peter was an eyewitness of the events in Jesus’ life, and therefore to affirm his authority as valid in opposition to the false teachers mentioned in the letter; and

3. to establish the authenticity of the letter.

Many interpreters, however, do not see any particular significance in the use of the Hebrew form, and simply understand it as a variation of the Greek form that was more commonly used during the first century.

At any rate, since “Simon” is the more common and familiar form, it means that in all likelihood Symeōn was the form used to designate the author of this letter. A formal type of translation will reflect this feature of the text, which is what Revised Standard Version has done. In such a case it is important to make sure that the name is spelled according to the way words are formed in the translator’s language. For instance, in a language that lacks the cluster “sym,” Symeōn will have to be spelled according to what is allowed in the language, such as “Simeon” or “Simyon.” However, in translations that focus on meaning, especially on a common language level, the variations in the spelling of a name do not have to be retained. What is more important is that the reader is aware that a particular name refers to a particular person. That is why, in common language translations, only one name (and one spelling) is used for a person, even if that person is known by different names, or even if there are different spellings of the same name.

Peter calls himself a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. The Greek word for servant is literally “slave,” which puts emphasis on being owned by Jesus Christ and being committed to follow and obey him completely. It is possible, however, and even likely, that the Greek word for “slave” here translates the Hebrew word (literally “servant”), in which case the emphasis is on serving Christ rather than being a slave of Christ. In the Old Testament the term “servant” is used as an honorific title of many Israelite leaders, including Abraham (Psa 105.42), Moses (Neh 9.14), David (Psa 89.3), and Daniel (Dan 6.20). In the New Testament the term is used both of believers in general and of particular individuals. The focus is on their being called by God and designated to perform certain tasks within the Christian fellowship, and as a result to become examples to all the believers of what it really means to be a follower of Christ.

Certain languages maintain a clear distinction between a person who works for a fixed salary and one who is a personal servant or attendant supported by his master but who does not have a fixed salary. It is this latter term that should be used in this context, if it is necessary to make such a distinction. There are also languages where people say “I am Jesus Christ’s man,” meaning “I work for Jesus Christ.”

For apostle see discussion on Jude 17.

The apostles were recognized as having authority in the early church. They traveled from one place to another, encouraging the believers and taking care of problems encountered by the congregations, especially in matters of doctrine and church government. Peter uses the title here to remind his readers not only that he is one of the twelve original disciples, but that what he writes should be taken seriously, since he writes as one whose authority comes from Jesus Christ himself.

In many languages it is impossible to maintain the structure Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, in which a noun phrase is in apposition with the name of a person. In such cases we may translate this sentence as “I, Simeon Peter, who am a servant and….” Some translators will find it helpful to begin this epistle in a way that is more natural to letter writing in their own languages, instead of following the English or Greek; for example, “I, Simon Peter, who am a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, write this letter to…” or “This letter comes from me, Simeon Peter, who am a servant and….” It also may be necessary in certain languages to combine the initial clause with what follows and say, for example, “I, Simeon Peter, who am … write this letter to those who….” The phrase To those may also be rendered as “to those people,” or even “to those people among you.”

The readers are not identified in terms of race, nationality, or geographical location. Any statement regarding them must be derived from a study of the letter itself. If it can be assumed that those who received the letter are the same as those who received The First Letter from Peter, then we can know more definitely who they are and what their situation is, since The First Letter from Peter makes various references to the situation of its readers. In fact some scholars accept this position, primarily because of 3.1, where this letter refers to a first letter. However, such an assumption is held in doubt by many scholars. It is therefore necessary to examine the letter itself in order to identify the readers, and to understand the situation in which they find themselves, together with the problems that confront them. The letter tells us that those it is addressed to have also received Paul’s letters (3.15). Because of this some have come to the conclusion that they are primarily Gentiles. However, this is hard to justify, since Paul wrote to churches that were composed of both Jews and Gentiles.

The word for obtained (Good News Translation “has been given”) primarily means “to receive.” In translating this term we should avoid the idea that faith is acquired through a person’s own effort or that it is given as a reward for what a person has done. Faith itself, or the power to trust in Jesus Christ, is a gift from God. In the phrase To those who have obtained (Good News Translation “To those who … have been given”), it is clear that God is the one who causes people to accept or receive this faith. Therefore it is possible to translate this phrase as “To you whom God has caused to receive the….”

What does faith mean in this case? It can refer to trust in and commitment to Jesus Christ, or to a body of authoritative teaching, or else, to the Christian faith as a religious movement. There is, however, no one view among commentaries or translations as to what faith here means. While English translations in general retain the word faith, they show their preference by the use of an indefinite article (for instance, a faith, as in Moffatt, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation) or by the absence of an article (as in Knox, New English Bible).

In the light of our interpretation above, we may translate To those who have obtained a faith as “To you who have received the teachings about Jesus Christ,” or “To you whom God has caused to trust in Jesus Christ,” or even “To you whom God has caused to receive the teachings of the Christian religion.” Note also the discussion of the term in the comments on Jude 3.

The phrase of equal standing may be understood with the meaning “of the same kind” or “of equal value,” thus accenting the quality of such a faith. These possibilities are expressed in translations such as New International Version, the Spanish common language version (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), and Good News Translation by the phrase “as precious as ours.” The choice of meaning is in some sense influenced by how faith is understood (see above). If faith in this context is understood to mean “a body of teaching,” then we may translate the phrase obtained a faith of equal standing as “received teachings about Jesus Christ just like the ones we did” or “received the same teachings about Jesus Christ as we did.” If, however, faith is understood as trust in Jesus Christ, then the phrase may be translated “trusted in Jesus Christ in the same way we did” or “who trust in Jesus Christ as fervently as we do.”

The pronoun ours may refer: (1) to Peter and the other apostles, as contrasted with the intended readers, who were not apostles or eyewitnesses; (2) to Peter and the other Jewish Christians, as contrasted with the intended readers, who were most probably non-Jewish believers; or (3) to Peter and the Christian community to which he belongs, as contrasted with the intended readers, who obviously don’t belong to Peter’s immediate group. All three are possible, but most commentaries choose either the first or the second possibility. It seems, however, that the first possibility is to be preferred for the following reasons: firstly, the Jewish-Gentile conflict is not in focus in the letter; and secondly, in the light of 1.16-18 it is more likely that Peter is referring to the apostles as eyewitnesses rather than to Jewish Christians as a whole. Therefore ours can be translated as “that of us apostles.” In any case, whatever possibility is chosen, the pronoun ours should be understood and translated as exclusive, that is “we” (Peter and others) excluding “you” (the intended readers).

This faith is given in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. The expression our God and Savior Jesus Christ may also be rendered as “our God and the Savior Jesus Christ,” as the Revised Standard Version footnote shows. The problem here can be made clear by a question: does the expression refer to two persons (God and Jesus Christ), or to only one person (Jesus Christ)? Those who interpret the expression as referring to both God and Jesus Christ put forth the following arguments:

1. The very next verse (verse 2) clearly distinguishes between God and Jesus Christ.

2. Similar expressions within the letter refer to Jesus Christ not as “God” but as “Lord.”

3. The term “God” is rarely used of Jesus in the New Testament.

Arguments for understanding the expression as referring only to Jesus Christ include the following:

1. The Greek text itself favors this position. A word-for-word translation looks like this: “… of the God our and of Savior Jesus Christ.” That the text favors the understanding that the whole expression refers to Christ is shown by the presence of only one definite article, which is placed before God. If the expression were intended to refer to both God and Jesus Christ, a definite article would have been placed before “Savior.”

2. Elsewhere in the letter the same grammatical construction is used, and it is clear that in those other contexts the whole phrase refers to Jesus Christ (for example, 1.11; 3.18, except of course that in these expressions “Lord” is used instead of “God”).

3. The term “God” is used of Christ elsewhere in the New Testament (see John 1.1; 2 Thes 1.12; and possibly Titus 2.13; 1 John 5.20) and in extra-biblical writings by the beginning of the second century (as in Ignatius’ letter to the Ephesians 1.1; 7.2; 18.2; 19.3; and so on).

Considering all the arguments, it is probably best to understand the expression as referring to one person, namely, Jesus Christ, rather than to both God and Christ.

The other title used of Jesus Christ is Savior, for which see the discussion on Jude 25.

The expression in the righteousness can also be understood as “by the righteousness” or “through the righteousness” (Good News Translation). This is because the Greek preposition en can mean “in,” “by,” or “through.” In the last case the faith is given to the readers through or by means of the righteousness of Christ. But what does righteousness mean here? This word is one of those biblical terms that are rich in meaning and can be translated in various ways, depending on their context. For example, the expression “the righteousness of God” appears in different contexts with different meanings and emphases. In Rom 1.17 the righteousness of God refers to God’s activity of putting people into a right relationship with himself (as Good News Translation correctly translates). In Matt 6.33, however, the righteousness of God refers to what he requires people to do in order that they will be pleasing to him. In the present verse righteousness has been interpreted in the following ways:

1. It refers to Christ’s righteous, redemptive work. It is through Christ’s righteousness (that is, his dying on the cross) that Christians are given the power to put their trust in him.

2. It refers to Christ’s righteous character as Savior and Redeemer. It is because of Christ’s righteousness (that is, his sinlessness, holiness, uprightness, goodness) that he is able to do his work as Savior and redeemer.

3. It refers to Christ’s righteous sense of justice, generosity, fairness and impartiality. This means that Christ is no respecter of persons; he plays no favorites. When applied in the realm of faith, it means that Christ makes it possible for anyone, Jew or Gentile, apostle or nonapostle, to have the same faith.

In the light of the context, and in the light of the usage of “righteousness” in the rest of the letter, the second and third meanings seem to be the more logical choices. A literal translation (as in Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, and most other translations) will of course allow all three possibilities, but it is not meaningful to most readers, since it does not give them any clue as to what the word really means. A much better approach, although a more risky one, is to make a choice in the translation and put alternative renderings in the notes, provided these alternatives can be justified. Therefore it is possible to translate the phrase in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ as “who through the fairness and impartial generosity of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” or “through the goodness and uprightness of Jesus Christ.”

Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• I, Simon Peter, who am a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, write to you. You have received through the fairness and impartial generosity of our [inclusive] God and Savior Jesus Christ the same teachings about him as we did.

Or:
• I, Simon Peter, who am a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, write to you. Our God and Savior Jesus Christ has been fair and generous. He has impartially given you the same teachings about him as we received.

Or:
• I, Simon Peter … write this letter to you who through the goodness of our [inclusive] God and Savior Jesus Christ have come to trust in him as we did.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Second Letter from Peter. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .