This verse is related to Jude 17, with the difference that Jude refers only to Jesus Christ and the apostles, whereas here the prophets are mentioned as well. Furthermore Jude mentions only one warning, whereas here every prophecy and teaching seems to be included as long as it has a bearing on the second coming of Christ.

Remember is an infinitive in the Greek and is related to “reminder” in verse 1. In many translations remember is treated as the main verb of a complete sentence, as in New English Bible “Remember the predictions…,” and Good News Translation also restructures to a complete sentence, “I want you to remember…”; it may also be expressed as “I want you to bring to your mind.” This results in sentences that are not only shorter but also much easier to understand. What the readers are to remember are the predictions (Good News Translation “the words”) spoken in the past by the holy prophets as well as the commandment of the Lord and Savior that came to them through the apostles.

Predictions of the holy prophets recalls 1.21. Predictions is the same word as in Jude 17, where it is translated by Good News Translation as “what you were told.” Prophets are people who proclaim a message that they receive from God; the prophets referred to here are most likely Old Testament prophets rather than Christian prophets. See also the comments on 2.1. Holy in this context does not refer to moral or ethical virtue but to the relationship of the prophets to God, that is, their dedication to him and their consecration as people who speak for God (note New English Bible “God’s own prophets”). In certain languages this phrase will be rendered as “devoted people who spoke God’s message,” or “God’s special people who spoke his message,” or even “God’s specially appointed spokesmen.” Predictions is literally “words spoken before,” and this refers back to the time of the Old Testament, hence Good News Translation “long ago.” In the present context predictions refers to Old Testament prophecies and predictions about false teachings and godless actions, although no particular Old Testament reference is pointed out.

Commandment is singular and may refer to one command; it is more likely, however, that it is intended here to refer generally to the teachings of the Lord as a whole, with emphasis on their ethical and moral aspects. For further discussion see comments on 2.21 above. Lord and Savior clearly refer to Jesus Christ, and if necessary this information can be included in the translation. For Lord and Savior see 1.1, 2, 11.

The phrase through your apostles presents some problems. The Greek text is in the genitive case and can be translated literally as “of your apostles.” This understanding is reflected in King James Version “the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour.” Most modern translations, however, take the genitive here to mean “through,” in which case the apostles are understood as the instruments and vehicles of the Lord’s message. The use of the pronoun your may be a way of speaking of the apostles as a group actively functioning when the letter was written, since at that time they were recognized as the ones mainly responsible for transmitting the Christian message to various parts of the world. It is more likely, however, that what is meant here is the messengers who at a much earlier time first brought the Christian message to the communities the letter is addressed to, and who founded the churches there. Included in this list is the apostle Paul (verse 15). For apostle see comments on 1.1.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• I want to bring to your mind the words that God’s own prophets spoke long ago, and the command of our Lord and Savior that he caused your apostles to speak.

If translators wish to follow Revised Standard Version and join verses 1 and 2 together, we may translate:
• My dear Friends! This is now the second letter I have written to you. In both letters I have tried to cause you to think pure thoughts, by bringing to your minds what God’s own prophets spoke long ago and the commandment of our Lord and Savior that he caused your apostles to speak.

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 .

Peter now turns to his immediate readers. He warns them of the false teachers’ greed, that is, their desire to acquire more and more things for themselves and for their own exclusive benefit. The object of their greed is not mentioned, but perhaps New English Bible is correct in identifying it as “greed for money.” If this interpretation is correct, the phrase in their greed may be rendered as “Because they are greedy,” “Because these false teachers are greedy,” or “Because these false teachers want a lot of money.” This greed leads them to exploit Christians, that is, to “make a profit” (Good News Translation) from the members of the Christian community, or possibly, to “take advantage of” the Christians. One way they will do this is with false words. The Greek word translated false primarily means “invented,” “fabricated,” or “made up” (as in Good News Translation “made-up stories”). False words therefore are stories or accounts or teachings that have no factual basis but are simply the result of the clever imaginations of the false teachers. This of course is related to 1.16, “cleverly devised myths,” and the meaning is essentially the same, although Peter uses a different Greek word. What is being asserted here is that it is not the apostles and Christian teachers, but the false teachers, who are depending on concocted fairy tales.

The second half of the verse speaks of the judgment and destruction of the false teachers. Condemnation and destruction may be taken as having the same meaning, in which case the two clauses can be taken as parallel to each other. On the other hand condemnation may refer more specifically to the process of judgment in order to assess just punishment. Destruction can then be taken as the result of punishment: they will be punished to such an extent that they will be utterly destroyed. Here both condemnation and destruction are personified, that is, they are spoken of as if they are persons who are able to act. Good News Translation has shifted the focus from the personified action to the doer of the action; hence “For a long time now their Judge has been ready, and their Destroyer has been wide awake!” It is clearly understood in the text that the agent in the judgment and destruction of the false teachers is God himself, and if necessary this information can be included in the translation; for example, “God, who judges them, is the one who will destroy them.”

From of old refers to a time in the distant past, although the text does not indicate when or where their condemnation was pronounced. Among the possibilities suggested by commentators are:

1. The condemnation of false prophets in the Old Testament already included the condemnation of false teachers, and that condemnation shows how the false teachers will be judged and punished.

2. The examples in the following verses (verses 4-9) are pictures of the coming judgment, which means that the false teachers will be judged in a similar manner. For further discussion, see comments on Jude 4.

Has not been idle and has not been asleep are parallel expressions, stressing certainty and nearness of both judgment and destruction. It is possible that the time of punishment is associated with the end of the age, which will be signaled by the Parousia. There are in fact some references in the New Testament to the effect that the last days before the end will be characterized by the appearance of false prophets and false teachers (as in Matt 24.24; 1 Tim 4.1). In certain languages the order of the two verb phrases may be reversed; for example, “has been wide awake and ready to punish them.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• Because these false teachers want a lot of money, they will take advantage of you by telling you made-up stories. For a long time now, God their Judge and Destroyer has been ready and wide awake to punish them.

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 .

The destruction of creation described in verses 10 and 12 pictures a return to chaos, disorder, and lifelessness. Verse 13, however, talks about a new creation to replace the old creation that will be destroyed. Whether this is an entirely new creation or a renewal of creation will depend on our interpretation of the previous verses, especially the last part of verse 10.

His refers to God. The promise referred to is probably Isa 65.17 or 66.22, or both. For heavens see comments on verses 5 and 10 above.

We includes the writer and all his readers. One possible translation is “we Christians.”

Righteousness may be “justice” or “goodness,” but it is probably better taken as living according to God’s demands, doing God’s will. Righteousness here is personified, that is, it is spoken of as acting like a person; this may not be natural in some languages, and therefore the clause may need to be restructured; for example, “people everywhere will live according to God’s will.” Dwells describes both constancy and naturalness, that is, it will be part of the nature of people to live righteously. Translations find different ways of capturing the intent of the idiom righteousness dwells; for example, New English Bible “the home of justice,” An American Translation “uprightness will prevail.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• But we Christians wait for the new heavens and new earth that God has promised (to bring into being), where people everywhere will live according to God’s will (or, do what God wants them to do).

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 .

A special problem is raised by verses 3 and 4 with regard to determining whether God or Jesus is the person referred to by the third person pronouns. Decisions reached on this matter will affect the interpretation of these two verses. It is because of this that a more detailed analysis of this problem is presented below.

1. Who does His refer to in the expression His divine power The choice is of course between God and Christ. Many translations simply have His here, thus retaining the ambiguity of the text. However, Good News Translation has resolved the ambiguity by translating “God.”

It should be noted first of all that verse 3 begins with a Greek particle sometimes translated “as” or “seeing that”; this has led many interpreters to connect verse 3 with verse 2, and then to regard verses 3 and 4 as an expansion of verse 2. This opinion is by no means universal, since there are some other interpreters who favor connecting verse 3 with what follows. One primary reason for this preference is that verse 3 doesn’t have a finite verb but has a Greek form called “the genitive absolute,” which is usually used at the beginning of a paragraph. In view of this, many translations leave the particle untranslated and treat verse 3 as a new sentence.

Whether verse 3 is treated as a new sentence or as a part of verse 2, the fact remains that, in the latter part of verse 2, both God and Jesus are mentioned, with Jesus being mentioned last. It would be logical then to take Jesus as the subject of the very next clause. In fact, were it not for the paragraph break, the Greek text would easily favor Jesus Christ as the person referred to by the pronoun “his.” It should be noted, however, that connecting verse 3 with verse 4 would favor “God” (as in Good News Translation).

A further consideration is the expression divine power, which was a popular term in Greek literature. In the New Testament, however, it is used only here, which is one indication of how this letter has been influenced by Greek literature. It should be mentioned, however, that the Greek adjective for divine is used also in Paul’s speech at the Areopagus (Acts 17.29, “the Deity” or “divine likeness”), and that the equivalent expression “the power of God” is frequently used in the New Testament. “Divine power” is of course a natural way of describing God’s power; and this seems to favor “God” as the one referred to by “his.” It should be noted, however, that in verse 1 the letter has just used the expression “the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” There is of course a possibility of rendering this as “our God and the Savior Jesus Christ,” as indicated in the discussion of 2 Peter 1.1. But 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. If this is the case, then it will not be strange to talk of Jesus as having “divine power,” and this expression does not necessarily exclude Jesus as the person indicated by His.

2. Who is referred to by him in the knowledge of him who called us, and who is referred to by his in to his own glory and excellence

It would be logical to identify the person referred to here with the person referred to in the first part of this verse. This in fact is what most translations do; that is, if God is the subject of the first part of the sentence, then God is kept as the subject of all of verses 3 and 4.

It should be noted that, in the New Testament, the function of calling people to become God’s people is usually assigned to God and not to Jesus Christ (see Rom 8.30; 2 Tim 1.9; 1 Cor 7.15; 1 Peter 5.10; and other passages). This favors God as the one referred to here. However, we cannot be dogmatic at this point, since there are just too many passages where “called” is in the passive form, with the implicit agent either God or Jesus Christ.

3. Who does he refer to in the clause at the beginning of verse 4, by which he has granted us Again he can refer to either God or Christ. If we take the position that him in of him who called us is God, then it is logical to conclude that God is also the one referred to in by which he has granted us. The same holds true of course if we come to the conclusion that these clauses refer to Jesus Christ.

In summary, then, the following alternatives are possible:
A. “his divine power”—God
“through the knowledge of him who called us”—God
“by which he has granted us”—God

B. “his divine power”—Christ
“through the knowledge of him who called us”—Christ
“by which he has granted us”—Christ

C. “his divine power”—Christ
“through the knowledge of him who called us”—God
“by which he has granted us”—God

D. “his divine power”—God
“through the knowledge of him who has called us”—Christ
“by which he has granted us”—Christ

Most translations follow one of the above alternatives. Our preference for this Handbook is alternative C.

A translator’s decision as to whether the subject of this verse is Christ or God will determine how divine power is translated. If the subject is Christ, then we may say “Christ, through his power as God,” but if God is the subject, then a possible translation is “God, through his own power.” In the light of the discussion above, we recommend the former as the more reasonable interpretation, namely “Christ, through his power.”

Has granted translates a Greek verb that means “to give, bestow, present something to someone,” but is used especially when the giver is either a king, a high official, or God himself (see Mark 15.45).

A literal translation would give the understanding that it is divine power that is the source of these gifts. It is clear, however, from the analysis of the verse that it is Christ (or God) who bestows these gifts, and he bestows them through (or because of) his divine power. In other words, Christ (or God) has made use of his divine power in order to grant his people what they need.

Who are the people who receive the gift? Who does us refer to? There are three possibilities:

1. It can refer to Peter and the other apostles. This position has some validity, since there seems to be a contrast between “us” in verses 3 and 4a and “you” in verse 4b. Understood this way, “us” then will be translated in the exclusive form in languages that make a distinction between the exclusive and inclusive (“we not including you” as contrasted with “we including you”). It is, however, unlikely that it is only the apostles that are meant here, considering the purpose of the gifts of God, which is to enable someone to live a godly life.

2. It can refer to Peter and his readers, in which case “us” is inclusive.

3. It can refer to Christians in general. This would explain why Peter switched from “us” to “you” in the second part of verse 4. He has been talking about all Christians in verses 3 and 4a, but in verse 4b he addresses his readers directly.

Therefore it is best to translate us as inclusive in those languages that make a distinction.

The expression all things accents the completeness of God’s gift. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, that is, everything that we need in order to live a life of piety and godliness.

The expression life and godliness is best understood, not as two separate elements, but as two related words, with one word describing the other. Such a construction is known as “hendiadys,” meaning one thing is expressed by saying two things. An example of this construction is “grace and apostleship” in Rom 1.5, which means “the grace (or, the privilege) of being an apostle.” So here life and godliness means “godly life” or “the way God wants us to live.” The word for godliness is used elsewhere in this letter (1.6, 7; 3.11; and see also 2.9). It is a Greek term and is used many times in the Pastoral letters (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus). Outside of Jewish-Christian usage it meant piety toward the gods. In this letter it covers both worship of God and proper conduct arising out of such worship; see Good News Translation “a truly religious life,” and New English Bible “true religion.” We may also say “to live as a Christian really should live,” or idiomatically, “to walk one’s life as a Christian should really walk (or, live).”

The phrase through the knowledge of is similar to “in the knowledge of” in verse 2 above, except that the Greek preposition for through used in this verse puts emphasis on the instrumental relationship, hence “by means of our knowing” (or “… knowledge of”), although it is also possible to render it as “because we have come to know.” The expression of him (Good News Translation “the one”) may be too vague in many languages. It may be necessary to identify who of him refers to; for example, “God, the one…” or “Christ, the one…” (see the discussion under “C”).

Who called us: as we have noted above, us refers to Christians in general. To his own (Good News Translation “share in his own…”) can also be translated as “to have a part in his own….” Glory is one of those New Testament words that are hard to translate because they can be interpreted and understood in so many ways. For instance, glory can refer to God’s greatness or majesty, to a bright light from God, to God’s power, to honor and praise, or to a blessed state in the presence of God. Central to the meaning of glory is the praise and honor people express toward God, but here it seems best to understand glory as referring to the very nature or the very person of God, whom people praise, and to the privilege God gives his people of sharing the praise God receives, simply because they are God’s people and have been welcomed into his presence. Excellence refers to God’s moral excellence or goodness (see 2 Peter 1.5 for a more detailed discussion on “goodness”).

In many languages it will be necessary to break the complex sentence in this verse into two sentences; for example:
• Jesus, through his own power, has given us everything we need to live as Christians really should. This is possible because we have come to know God. He is the one who has called us to have a part in his greatness and moral goodness.

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 .

The letter now moves from the common meals to the day-to-day behavior of the false teachers.

They have eyes full of adultery is literally “having eyes full of an adulteress,” with “adulteress” understood in a general way as referring either to the act of adultery or to adulterous women (Good News Translation “immoral women”). The inclusion of the word full indicates that they are entirely engrossed and preoccupied with what they are doing. The whole expression can then be understood in two ways:

1. Every time they look at a woman, they think of committing adultery with her, or negatively, they cannot look at a woman without thinking of themselves as being in bed with her.

2. They are always engrossed in looking for immoral women so that they can have illicit sexual relations with them.

While the first of these alternatives makes more sense, the second takes seriously the fact that the text says “adulteress,” not “adultery”; in other words it focuses on desire for the person rather than on desire for the act. Languages have varying ways to translate “immoral women.” Examples are “easy women” or “women with easy hearts.”

Insatiable means “unceasing,” “restless,” “unsatisfied.” In the Greek text insatiable for sin is connected with the previous statement and directly related to eyes, which means that not only are their eyes always looking for women with whom they can commit adultery, but they are also looking for other opportunities to commit sin. Eyes is used figuratively here to refer to the whole person, and the translator may need to express the meaning in plain terms, especially if this figurative usage of “eyes” is not natural in the language of the translation; for example, “they are never happy unless they are sinning,” or “they never stop wanting to do sinful things.”

Not only are they preoccupied with adultery and other sexual perversions, but the false teachers also entice unsteady souls. Entice comes from the world of fishing and hunting; it means “to lure with a bait,” hence Good News Translation “lead … into a trap.” In certain languages this idea is rendered idiomatically; for example, “lure the hearts of” or “seduce the hearts of.” Souls here means people, and these people are described as unsteady. This translates a word that occurs only here and in 3.16 in the whole Bible; it means “weak” (Good News Translation), “unstable,” “wavering” (Knox). The “unstable” people are those whose foundation in the Christian faith is rather weak, and who therefore can be led astray very easily, not only in their understanding of the Christian message, but also in their actions. Some identify these people as new converts in the Christian faith. Other ways of expressing this are “weak-hearted people,” “people who have little faith,” or “people who are not sure of what they believe.” The sentence may be rendered “They entice people who are not sure of what they believe to commit sin.”

In contrast to the unsteadiness of their victims, the false teachers have hearts trained, but their training is in greed. The heart is the center of emotion, will, and affection; it can be used figuratively to mean the whole person. Trained translates a participle of a verb that comes from athletics; it means “to exercise” and is used of an athlete exercising in the gymnasium and preparing to participate in athletic contests. Here it is the opposite of “unsteady,” which was used to describe the victims of the false teachers. Unfortunately, however, they are well trained not for good but for ill. The term greed is related to the earlier term insatiable; it means “avarice,” “covetousness,” and is an apt description of a person who is never satisfied and always desires to have more. Trained is a perfect participle, which means that greediness has already become a habit for these false teachers; they have become experts in taking advantage of others in order to acquire for themselves the things for which they crave. Other ways of expressing this clause are “They train their hearts or minds to be greedy,” “They train their hearts or minds to continually want what other people have,” or “They are experts in acquiring whatever they want.”

Having described the false teachers in this very disapproving manner, it is no surprise that Peter now pronounces a curse on them. The expression Accursed children is literally “children of a curse,” which is an idiom based on a Hebrew way of speaking. To be a child of something is to be included in something and share in its characteristics, as for example “children of iniquity” (Hos 10.9, KJV), which Revised Standard Version translates as “wayward people” (positioning it in verse 10 of that chapter). Therefore to be “children of a curse” means that these people share the characteristics of being accursed. A literal translation may give the wrong meaning, for it may give the idea that these people are real children when in fact they are adults.

A curse is something that one person can pronounce on another but in fact cannot bring it to pass, for a curse is always addressed to a higher power, calling on that higher power to do something bad to the person upon whom the curse is pronounced. So here the higher power invoked is most probably God (as in Good News Translation “They are under God’s curse!”), and the statement means that God is sure to punish them because of all the bad things that they have done. The expression here means the same thing as “Woe to them” in Jude 11.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• They are continually looking for easy women; they never stop wanting to do evil things. They seduce to commit sin the hearts of people who believe in Jesus weakly. They themselves are experts in acquiring whatever their hearts desire. Because of all the evil things they do, God will punish them.

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 .