SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Peter 2000 – Page 3

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:15

3:15a

This verse expresses the same idea as in verse 9: The Lord was being patient and had delayed his return to give people the opportunity to repent so that he could save them instead of punishing them.

Lord: is ambiguous, and could refer to God or Christ. You should probably make the same decision here as you made for verses 9–10.

3:15b

Peter said that Paul wrote the same things about the Lord’s return in his letter to them. He called Paul “our beloved brother.” Some scholars think it means “our beloved fellow believer.” The NT often refers to fellow believers as “brothers.” If that is the correct interpretation, then “our” is inclusive. Other scholars think that Peter meant “our beloved fellow apostle.” If that is the correct interpretation, then “our” is exclusive.

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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 1:3

Section 1:3–15

Peter taught about how people who believe in Christ should behave

Here is the basic message of this section: Christ has given Christians everything they need to live in a way that is good and that pleases him, so every Christian should try hard to become a strong and mature Christian. If they become that kind of Christian, it will be right and proper for God to allow them to enter heaven, Christ’s eternal kingdom.

Paragraph 1:3–4

In the Greek of these 2 verses, it is not clear to whom the 3rd person pronouns, “His,” “Him,” and “He,” refer. It is probable, however, that it is the same person throughout both verses. Both God and Christ are mentioned together in the previous verse, so that does not help us choose. Because of this, many translations (New International Version (2011 Revision), Revised Standard Version) leave the pronouns like the Greek, so that the person reading the letter must decide for himself. You may decide to do the same thing. However it may not be possible in your language to do this and therefore you must make a decision. Studying the 2 verses together, it does seem that some of what Peter says about this person, for example, that “he called us,” is normally used only of God himself (see 1 Corinthians 1:9). Therefore, if in your language, you need to make clear to whom these pronouns refer, it would be better to choose God, rather than Christ (see Good News Translation for one way of doing this). The Berean Standard Bible does this by capitalizing the first letter of these pronouns here. This is the interpretation these Notes will follow.

1:3a-b

Peter told the people to whom he wrote this letter that everything they needed to live as genuine Christians was available to them because they now knew God.

His divine power: This refers to the power which God has because he is God.

life and godliness: There are two ways to interpret this:

(1) These are two separate ideas, so the meaning is “spiritual (or eternal) life and godly behavior”. (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), The Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, Revised Standard Version)

(2) These are two related words, and one describes the other, so the meaning is “a truly godly life”. (Good News Translation, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation.

godliness: This means the good behavior of a person who has willingly chosen to live for God, and who wants to please him by doing everything in the way God wants him to.

1:3c

by His own glory and excellence: The Greek words here could mean one of two things:

(1) “by means of his own glory and goodness”. This means that God called us to be his people because of his own perfect and glorious character. This is the normal way of understanding the Greek. (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), New English Bible, The Jerusalem Bible)

(2) “to his own glory and goodness”. This means that God called us to share in his own glory and goodness. (Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation.

glory: The word glory means many different things in the New Testament. Here it refers to God’s greatness, his glorious character.

excellence: This also refers to God’s character, to his moral goodness.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:15

2:15

See the paragraph under the Paragraph heading for more about the story of Balaam.

loved the wages of wickedness: Balaam wanted so much to get the things that King Balak offered to pay him that he was willing to do wrong to get them.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:14

1:14a

this tent will soon be laid aside: Here Peter described dying as this tent will soon be laid aside. As in verse 13, unless you have a metaphor in your language that speaks of death in a very similar way, it will be better to translate the meaning directly rather than using a metaphor. So you can say, “I will soon die.”

General Comment about 1:13–14: In some languages, it may be necessary to reorder verses 13 and 14. A possible way of translating the reordered verses is:

Our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me that I will soon die. Therefore I think that it is right for me to continue to remind you of these things now while I am still alive.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:5

3:5–7

In verse 4, Peter said that the scoffers would claim that the usual pattern of events in the world had not changed in any way since the time when God created the world. In these verses, Peter said that this was not true. For example, God had interrupted that pattern when he caused a flood to punish people for sinning against him. And he would interrupt the pattern again in the future, but this time he would destroy the world by fire. The general sense of this passage is clear, but there are many differences of opinion about the meaning of some of the details in verses 5 and 6. The Display follows an opinion that many people accept.

3:5a

Here, Peter began to say why what the scoffers would say would be wrong. The Greek text shows the link with the previous verse by using the word gar, “for.” Most English translations leave this relationship implicit. In the Display line for 3:5a, there is an example of how to translate this part of the verse in a way that clearly shows this relationship.

deliberately overlook: The literal meaning of the Greek is “it escapes notice.” It may not make sense in your language to say “deliberately overlook.” Peter was saying that these people were choosing to ignore things they knew.

3:5b

by God’s word: Beginning in the book of Genesis, the Bible says that when God created the world, he did so by speaking, giving an order (see Genesis 1:3, 1:6, 1:9, 1:11, 1:14, 1:20, 1:24, 1:26.) This phrase probably goes with both 5c and 5d—God created both the sky and the earth by his word, and you need to make sure your translation makes that clear.

Good News Translation makes this clear by treating “heaven and earth” as a single unit:

God gave a command and the heavens and the earth were created. (Good News Translation)

In The Jerusalem Bible, the phrase “by the Word of God” applies only to the earth:

There were heavens at the beginning and the earth was formed by the Word of God. (The Jerusalem Bible)

This is a possible meaning of the Greek but less likely.

3:5c

the heavens existed: Notice that here, the word heavens refers to the sky, to what is above the earth. Peter was not talking here about the place where God is. Peter used the plural noun heavens, even though its meaning is singular. Many NT writers use this form of the word, but it does not mean that Peter was referring to more than one “heaven.” This is also acceptable in English, but you should only use a plural in your translation if it is natural to do so.

3:5d

earth was formed out of water: There are two ways that we can understand this:

(1) Peter was referring to Genesis chapter 1 which tells how God gathered the waters together into seas and made the earth (or land) appear out of the water.

(2) Some commentators believe, however, that these words mean that God used water as the material from which he formed the earth.

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1).

earth was formed…by water: The Greek word dia can mean “by” or “through.” There are again different opinions about what this means. The two main views are:

(1) Many think this means that God used water as the instrument or tool by which he made the earth. Most English versions follow this interpretation.

(2) Other scholars think the meaning is similar to that of the previous phrase “formed out of water.” In Genesis it says that God put a “dome,” that is, the sky, in the midst of the water and then caused the water that was underneath the sky to come together into one place so that dry land appeared. So these scholars think that, when Peter said “the earth was formed by means of water,” he meant that God formed the earth by doing something to the water, that is, by dividing it and gathering it into one place, so that the land could appear.

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1) as most English versions have done.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:5

2:5a

The second example that Peter mentioned here are the wicked people of Noah’s time. God punished them by causing a flood to cover the earth and drown them, but he saved Noah who was a good man. You can read about this in Genesis 6–9.

the ancient world: This refers to the world long ago at the time of Noah.

its ungodly people: This means people who do not fear/respect God and therefore behave in a wicked way because they do not obey him. See also 2:6b and 3:7b.

2:5b

preacher of righteousness: Here Peter probably meant that Noah was telling the people they should live in a way that God considered good. However some scholars think it means that Noah himself was righteous, a good man. Or Peter may have meant to include both these ideas.

2:5c

the eight: These were the members of Noah’s family; his wife, his three sons and their wives (see Genesis 8:18).

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:16

3:16a

such matters: This could refer to:

(1) General teaching about the Lord’s return, as in verses 9–15a.

(2) Exhortation about how people should live in a pure manner because they remember that the Lord will return. In verses 14–15a, Peter exhorted the people to whom he was writing to live in this way.

If it is possible for you to use a general expression here like most English versions, you should do so.

3:16b–c

Peter said that “some parts” of Paul’s letters were difficult to understand and so those who did not understand clearly what they believed changed the meaning of them, and also of other parts of Scripture. Peter was also saying that doing this would cause God to destroy them. Maybe Peter was thinking of the false teachers he wrote about in chapter two, and saying that they were among those who did this.

Peter referred to Paul’s letters at the same time as he was referring to other Scripture. This shows that already the Christians recognized that God had authorized Paul to write letters to groups of Christians in order to teach them what God wanted them to know.

ignorant: This means “unlearned, uneducated.” In this context, the word is not referring to ordinary education. It refers to people who have not learned what Christians should believe.

unstable: This means “not firm in their faith.” Peter also used this word in 2:14c. Read again the note on that verse.

distort: This means “twist, change, explain in a wrong way.” Peter meant that some people were saying that what Paul wrote meant something different from what it really meant.

the rest of the Scriptures: Peter was probably referring to the OT and also to some other Christian writings.

destruction: See note on 2:1e.

Paragraph 3:17–18a

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:4

1:4a

Through these: The literal meaning of the Greek is “by which.” This may refer to what comes immediately before (God’s glory and excellence) or to all of verse 3. Here is another way to translate this phrase:

In this way (Good News Translation)

promises: This word may refer to:

(1) promises of things that God will do for us in the future, for example, the promise of a new heaven and earth which Peter wrote about later in the letter (see 3:13). Peter described these promises as “precious” and “magnificent.”

(2) the things that God promised to give. This would mean his blessings and gifts (Good News Translation).

If it is necessary in your language to choose between these interpretations, it is recommended that you choose the first interpretation. Try to find words to show that these promises are extremely valuable.

1:4b

Peter said that when people receive the good things that God has promised to give, God frees them from the evil influence of the world and they become holy like God instead.

The Berean Standard Bible follows the order of the Greek text but it may be more logical in your language to reverse the order of the clauses and follow the order of Good News Translation and the Meaning Lines in the Display.

you: Peter changed from “us” in 1:4a to “you” in 1:4b. But what he was saying obviously applied to himself as well as to those who would read what he had written.

become partakers of the divine nature: This is a difficult phrase to translate. Peter said that a Christian can share in God’s own nature. This means that his character can become like God’s and he will behave like God does.

escaped: Peter used this word figuratively. Although it literally means “escape,” here it means “be free from.” Peter was saying that the bad way that unbelievers behave would no longer influence the believers to whom he wrote this letter.

corruption: This means literally “the decaying of a dead body.” But the meaning here is probably moral corruption. Peter was saying that when a person desires evil things it spoils that person’s heart and character.

the world: Here, and in 2:20, this refers to people who do not believe in Christ.

Paragraph 1:5–9

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Source: SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2000

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:15

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:3

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:15

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:14

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:5

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:5

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:16

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:4

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