SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Peter 2000

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:6

1:6a

self-control: This refers to a person controlling his own body, and refusing to do evil things even if he wants to do them.

1:6b

perseverance: This refers to being patient while suffering, and to being steadfast. Here is another way to translate this word:

endurance (New Revised Standard Version)

1:6c

godliness: See note on 1:3a.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:18

2:18

When the false teachers were teaching people, they used words and phrases which sounded very impressive and important, but really didn’t mean much. However, because what they said sounded impressive, it deceived people who had recently become Christians and encouraged them to live in an immoral way.

2:18a

lofty but empty words: Peter used two words in Greek which contrast with each other. The teaching of the false teachers was impressive or lofty (literally “very big, excessive”), but at the same time, it was also empty, it had no value or sense.

2:18b

Because what the false teachers said sounded so impressive, it deceived people and they believed it and acted in the way the false teachers said they could.

they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh: This refers to behaving in a sexually immoral way, acting according to what their bodies told them and what they wanted to do. See the note on 2:2a. The false teachers enticed the new Christians away from the truth by teaching them that they were free to act immorally if they wanted to.

2:18c

entice: The Greek word which Berean Standard Bible translates as entice here is the same word as Peter used in verse 14 (Berean Standard Bible “seduce”). It literally means “to lure/trap/catch with bait.” Peter has used it in a figurative way in both verses; what the false teachers say and what they promise (verse 19) sounds so good that it attracts people away from the true teaching and way to live, in the same way that a person uses bait to attract an animal so he can catch it.

those who are just escaping from others who live in error: This probably refers to people who had recently become Christians. Peter was probably referring to the same people as in verse 14, where he described them as “the unstable.” They were new Christians who did not yet completely understand all they believed.

Here Peter described becoming a Christian as “escaping from others who live in error.” Peter did not mean that they had run away from the non-Christians, but that they no longer behaved in the same wrong way as those people did.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:17

1:17a

For: Peter again used this word to link what he would say next with what he had said before. The Display of 1:17a shows one way to translate what Peter meant here.

honor and glory: These two words, honor and glory, are very similar in meaning. Some commentaries say two separate things are referred to: that “honor” refers to what God said and that “glory” refers to how Jesus shone brightly at the time that Peter was talking about. However other scholars think that they are a pair of words that Peter used together in this sentence in order to emphasize in a special way how much God honored Jesus. If that is how Peter used these words, it is possible to translate them together. For example:

greatly honored
-or-
truly honored (Contemporary English Version)

God the Father: This is what the Greek text and most English versions say. If in your language, you need to make clear who God is the father of, you should translate this:

God his Father (Living Bible)

1:17b

the Majestic Glory: Most commentaries say that this is a way of referring to God without mentioning his name. If you accept this interpretation, you should translate carefully in a way that ensures that both the voice and the Majestic Glory clearly refer to God the Father. One way to do this is to say “God who is very glorious” or “God who has great glory.”

However, other people think that the Majestic Glory referred to the bright cloud that the men who wrote the Gospel accounts spoke about (see Matthew 17:5).

1:17c

This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: Peter quotes here the words that God the Father (speaking as a voice from heaven) spoke to Jesus, his Son, as recorded in the gospels. Check your translation of these words in Matthew 3:17 and 17:5 (similar in Mark 9:7 and Luke 3:22.) You should translate them the same way here.

This is My beloved Son: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as This is My beloved Son is literally “This is my son the beloved.” The words “the beloved” indicate here that Jesus was God the Father’s one and only dear son. This phrase does not imply that God has other sons whom he did not love.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

This is my own dear Son (Good News Translation)
-or-
This is my dearly loved Son (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
This person is my son. I love him.

My beloved Son: The phrase My…Son describes the relationship that Jesus had with God the Father. “God’s Son” or “the Son of God” is a title that was often used to refer to a savior who would be a descendant of King David. God would send this savior to rescue his people. This person was often referred to as the “Messiah” or “Christ.”

The title “the Son of God” also indicates that Jesus has the same nature and character as God. The relationship between God the Father and Jesus, his Son, is similar in some way to the relationship between human fathers and sons. God the Father does not have a physical body. He did not have a sexual relationship with Mary that resulted in her becoming pregnant and giving birth to Jesus. The Son of God existed eternally as the Son with his Father.

In areas where people do not understand the title “the Son of God” in this way, you may want to include a footnote that explains the correct meaning. Here is a suggested footnote:

This title refers to Jesus. It indicates that Jesus has the same nature and character as God. It does not mean that God the Father had a sexual relationship with Mary that resulted in her becoming pregnant and giving birth to Jesus. Mary became pregnant with Jesus in a miraculous way by the Holy Spirit of God.

In some languages, it is natural to speak of a son as a “child,” without specifying male or female. If that is true in your language, you may use a more general term, such as:

my Child (A translation of the title “the Son of God” must include a familial term such as “son” or “child.” Translations such as “the man who is God,” “the divine man,” or “the God man” are not acceptable, since they do not retain familial language. Examples of acceptable translation options include “the Son who comes from God,” and “the divine/unique/eternal Son of God.”)

Other verses will usually make clear that Jesus was a male child. If you use a phrase such as “my male child,” be sure that it does not imply that God had another child who was female.

in whom I am well pleased: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I am well pleased means “I am delighted” or “I am very pleased/satisfied.”

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

He makes me very happy/pleased.
-or-
in him I take great delight (NET Bible)
-or-
he makes my heart glad

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:8

3:8–9

These verses contrast with verse 5. Peter said that there would be some things that the people who would scoff would deliberately ignore, but he appealed to the people to whom he sent his letter not to ignore or forget one important fact: God does not count time in the same way that we do. To him one thousand years is not a long time, and one day is not a short time; they are both the same.

Some people thought that Christ was late in fulfilling his promise to return. But Peter said that was not true but that the reason why he had not yet returned was that he was giving people time to repent, because he did not want to condemn and destroy anyone.

3:8a

Beloved: See the note on 3:1a.

do not let this one thing escape your notice: The Greek pronoun that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as your is not translated in most English versions. However, since it shows the contrast with “they” in verse 5, you should make this contrast clear in your translation.

3:8b

With the Lord: “Lord” in this verse and in the next verse may refer to Christ or God, but Bible scholars do not agree on which. These Notes will take “Lord” as referring to Christ in these verses. You may choose either, but be careful to be consistent.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:8

2:8

This verse describes more about how Lot felt about his wicked neighbors. The wicked actions he saw and heard “tormented” his heart. “Tormented” is even stronger than “distressed” in verse 7.

lawless deeds: Although the Greek word for lawless that Peter used here is different from the one he used in 2:7b, the meaning is the same. (The Berean Standard Bible translates both Greek words as “lawless”. These were the actions of people who did not fear or respect God.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:7

1:7a

brotherly kindness: This is one word in Greek. It refers to how brothers and sisters of the same family love each other and show that they care about each other. Christians in Peter’s time used it also to refer to how Christians loved other Christians.

1:7b

love: The Greek word Peter used here means “love” for all people, not only for families and other Christians.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:19

2:19

The false teachers taught the people who had recently become Christians that they could live however they wanted to live because they were free. In other words, these teachers taught that God no longer required people to obey his laws. But in fact, the teachers were slaves to their own wicked behavior, and they themselves were not free to do what was right.

2:19a

freedom: Peter did not specify what the false teachers promised freedom from. Most probably they were promising that those who followed them would be free from the need to obey any rules on how a Christian should behave. They were probably teaching that Christians could therefore behave just as they wanted to, even immorally. In languages where there is no word for freedom, you could translate this as: “You are no longer under the law,” or “God does not require you to obey his laws any more.”

2:19b

slaves to depravity: The Greek word that Berean Standard Bible translates depravity is the same word that Peter used in 1:4, where Berean Standard Bible translated it “corruption.” See note on 1:4b. The wicked way that they behaved controlled them and would ruin them.

2:19c

For: This word links 19c to 19b. You may need to make the link clearer by saying something like “I call them slaves because….”

a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him: This was probably a well-known proverb. Peter quoted it to explain why he had called the false teachers “slaves of depravity” in 19b. They had allowed their desire to do wicked and immoral things control them and so now they were like slaves to those wicked actions and could behave in no other way.

mastered: The Greek word here means “overcome by, defeated by.”

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:18

1:18

Peter emphasized that “we ourselves” heard this voice, so you should emphasize “we” in your translation also. If your language has a special pronoun that people use to emphasize “we,” you should use that pronoun here.

holy mountain: The mountain was holy because of what happened there. If the only word available in your language means “pure, clean,” then it is better to say “God’s mountain.”

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Source: SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2000

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:6

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:18

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:17

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:8

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:8

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:7

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:19

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:18

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