SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Peter 2000 – Page 5

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:19

Paragraph 1:19–21

The Transfiguration proved that the message about Jesus was true, but that is not all that proved it. The writings of the prophets also confirmed that this was a true message.

1:19a

We: This may refer to all believers. If it does, the pronoun is inclusive. Or it may refer to all the apostles, or just to the three apostles who had seen the Transfiguration. If the pronoun refers only to the apostles, it is exclusive. It seems more likely that the first interpretation is the correct one, because the words of the prophets in the OT are for all believers.

confirmed beyond doubt: The form of this word in the Greek text here can mean “very, very certain.” This meaning fits the context well. However some commentators think that here Peter was making a comparison and saying that people can now be even more confident that the words of the prophets are true than they could be before the Transfiguration because the apostles saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus at the Transfiguration. Here are some other ways that translate this:

so we have confirmation of what was said in prophecy (The Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
all this confirms for us the message of prophecy (New English Bible)

Peter referred to the words of the prophets to support what he taught about Christ’s return. In order to clearly communicate this, it may be necessary for you to include this implied information, as in the Display of 1:19a.

1:19b

a lamp shining in a dark place: Peter compared what the prophets wrote to a lamp shining in the darkness. Just as a lamp shining in a dark place shows people the right way to go, so the words that the prophets wrote will show people what is true and what is false.

1:19c

the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts: The type of lamp that Peter mentioned in 1:19b radiated light so that people could see until the morning star appeared and daylight returned. The morning star is the bright star (actually a planet, the planet Venus) which rises immediately before dawn. Does this star have a special name in your language? There are a number of examples in Scripture where the writers used similar metaphors in a way that shows that the morning star very probably refers to Christ. See Revelation 22:16 and Luke 1:78. In the same way that the morning star brings light to a dark world, the coming of Christ brings light into the hearts of believers and enables them to know God more fully. Peter was almost certainly thinking of Christ’s second coming, since “the day” in the NT usually referred to this, as in Romans 13:12.

General Comment about 1:19b–c: Here is one example of how you could translate 1:19b and 1:19c in order to clearly express all of the meaning of the metaphors:

You should listen well to those words until our Lord Jesus Christ returns. His coming will bring light like the dawn of a new day, and he will be like the morning star. At that time his light will shine in your hearts and reveal God to you clearly.

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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 3:10

3:10

Christ will return when no one is expecting him. At that time the universe will burn up and in that way God will completely destroy it.

3:10a

the Day of the Lord: In the OT this expression meant the day when God would defeat his enemies and punish them. But the people who wrote the NT used the expression to refer to the day when Christ would return to judge all people.

come like a thief: Christ will come suddenly, at a time when people do not expect him to come. It may be necessary to clearly state this in your translation, otherwise the people who read it might think that Peter was saying that Christ is like a thief. If many people who read your translation think that it is not good to compare Christ to a thief, even when someone explains the similarity to them, then you should omit the reference to a thief and just say what the verse means. You could say something like “he will come unexpectedly.” Peter put the verb “will come” at the beginning of the sentence in the Greek in order to emphasize that Christ will certainly come.

3:10b

with a roar: The Greek word that Berean Standard Bible translates roar means “a rushing or hissing sound,” for example, the sound that a bird makes when it flaps its wings, or the sound that water makes when it flows in a river. Here it describes the crackling and roaring sound of a big fire burning.

3:10c

the elements: Most commentators think this means the heavenly bodies, such as the sun, the moon, and the stars. But people in Peter’s time who spoke Greek also used this word to refer to the basic ingredients of the physical world such as earth, air, and water.

3:10d

the earth and its works: The majority of scholars understand this to refer to the contents of the earth, whether made by man or by God. Most English versions follow this interpretation. It is recommended that you do so too.

will be laid bare: There is a problem with the Greek text here. The English versions treat the problem in different ways:

(1) heurethōsetai “will be found.” Some Greek manuscripts say this. The difficulty with this word is to decide what it means in this context. Some scholars say it means that people’s deeds will be laid bare. At the time that God will judge people, he will expose the things that they have done. Others think that this is a rhetorical question: “Will the earth and everything in it be found?” With the implied answer: “No, certainly not.” Then it means “the earth and everything in it will not be found,” that is, they will have vanished.

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), New Revised Standard Version, New English Bible)

(2) kataka?setai “will be burned up.” Some Greek manuscripts say this.

(Revised Standard Version, The Jerusalem Bible)

(3) Some translations have “will disappear,” “vanish” which is equivalent to translating the first interpretation above as a rhetorical question.

(Good News Translation, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

Scholars are not certain what Peter wrote. It could be any of the three possibilities above. So it may be best to follow the choice of the major translation used in your area. If you are using footnotes, you should add a note mentioning what the other manuscripts say.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:10

2:10a

God will punish all people who do wrong. In verses 4–9, Peter had been talking about such people in general, but now in verse 10, he returned to the false teachers whom, he said, God would punish especially severely. He gave two reasons for this: their immoral behavior and the way they despised authority.

the flesh: The Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek word literally as flesh. This refers to the fact that people want to do what their bodies desire to do, even if this is something wrong. In this verse, Peter was referring to sinful sexual behavior which causes people to think and behave in an impure way.

authority: This probably refers to the right that God and Christ have to rule people. Good News Translation: “and despise God’s authority.” But some scholars think it means the right that any person has to rule people. If these scholars are correct, Peter was talking about people who not only despised God’s right to rule people but also despised the right that humans, for example government and church leaders, have to rule other people.

Paragraph 2:10b–13a

Peter was saying that the false teachers did all kinds of wicked things. They did not show respect for anyone, not even those greater than themselves. They behaved like wild animals, doing only what their bodies desired to do. Because they were so evil, and because they enticed others to behave as they themselves did, God would destroy them.

2:10b

Bold: This word can mean “courageous,” which is something good. But here it described people who dared to do all kinds of wrong things because they did not respect and fear God as people should respect and fear him, and because they did not care about other people.

self-willed: This word described people who were proud and stubborn. They did not listen to anyone else. Instead, they did exactly what they wanted to do.

2:10c

unafraid to slander: Most versions interpret these words like Berean Standard Bible in a way that refers to only one action. This is the most likely interpretation. Here is another example:

are not afraid of offending the glorious ones (The Jerusalem Bible)

Good News Translation follows the other interpretation and refers to two actions:

“they show no respect—instead they insult them.”

glorious beings: The literal meaning of the Greek is “glorious ones.” It is difficult to know to whom Peter was referring. The word may refer to:

(1) angels or other heavenly beings, maybe the wicked angels that Peter mentioned in verse 4. The parallel verses 8–11 in Jude clearly refer to angels.

(2) important people such as emperors, magistrates, or important church leaders. But this is less likely since the word usually refers to spiritual beings.

If possible, it is better to choose a neutral expression which could refer to any living beings, heavenly or human leaders. But if this is impossible, choose one of these interpretations and translate it that way. Then if you are using footnotes, explain the other interpretation in a note.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:9

1:9a

Here Peter was not talking about problems that people have with their physical eyes. Instead, he was using metaphors to describe spiritual blindness. When people say that a person is spiritually blind, they mean that he does not understand about God or about living God’s way. One thing that people should understand about living God’s way is that after God has forgiven them for sinning against him, they should live in a way which pleases him. Peter wrote that people who do not understand this are like blind people.

nearsighted to the point of blindness: These are two kinds of eye problems. When a person is nearsighted, he can see clearly only things which are very near to him. When referring to a person’s blindness, this indicates that he is completely unable to see. Good News Translation combines the two:

so short-sighted that he cannot see (Good News Translation)

The most important thing to do when you are translating this part of this verse is to check that the people who will read your translation understand that Peter was writing about spiritual blindness.

1:9b

cleansed from his past sins: The Greek verb here, which Berean Standard Bible translates as cleansed, means “to be made clean.” The New Testament often talks about a Christian being “cleansed” from his sins (see Titus 2:14). Many scholars believe that Peter is here talking about baptism, but it is probably best to translate this verb as “forgiven” in this context. (For more discussion on this word and other possible ways of translating it, see 1:9 in the UBS Handbook Handbook on the Letter from Jude and the Second Letter from Peter.)

Paragraph 1:10–11

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:21

2:21

This verse further explains why the final result is worse for them than if they had never been Christians at all. The Greek text shows this relationship by using the link word “for,” which is left implicit in Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version. The Display line shows one way to translate the link.

This verse is one long and complex sentence in Greek. You may need to divide it into shorter sentences. The Display shows one way to do this.

2:21a

It would have been better: Peter wrote that it would have been better for these people never to have known Christ than to turn away after knowing him. The reason is that God punishes those who sin even though they know that they are sinning more severely than he punishes those who sin but who do not know that they are sinning. It may be necessary for you to state this explicitly in your translation or to explain the reason in a footnote to enable your readers to understand this verse clearly.

way of righteousness: This refers to the way a person should behave in order to do what is right, to behave in the way God wants them to.

2:21c

holy commandment: The holy commandment refers to God’s law which tells people how to behave.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:20

1:20

In this verse and the next Peter emphasized that people can rely on prophecy because the prophets did not speak by their own wisdom, but rather spoke what the Spirit of God inspired them to speak.

Above all: The literal meaning of the Greek is “first.” Peter wanted to emphasize that what he would say next would be very important.

no prophecy…comes from one’s own interpretation: The Greek here is more literally “No prophecy…is a matter of one’s own interpretation” (see Revised Standard Version). It is unclear whose “interpretation” Peter is referring to. There are two main ways to understand this part of the verse:

(1) Some scholars believe it refers to the prophet’s own interpretation, that is, none of the OT prophets spoke any prophecy by his own power. This meaning fits with verse 21 which says it was God’s Spirit who inspired them.

(2) Other scholars believe it refers generally to any person who hears or reads an OT prophecy. No one who hears or reads an OT prophecy should explain/interpret it by his own power. Peter was saying that no person had the right to interpret Scripture according to that person’s own ideas. If this interpretation is the correct one, then in this verse Peter was referring ahead to chapter 2 where he would speak about false teachers who twisted the meaning of Scripture as they wished. For example:

the interpretation of scriptural prophecy is never a matter for the individual (The Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
No one can interpret any prophecy of Scripture himself (New English Bible)

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1). If, however, you decide to accept the second interpretation, you could translate it like this:

You must understand that when a person reads the words of the prophets in Scripture and explains the meaning of those words according to his own thinking, he is not acting rightly.

This verse is very important for doctrine, so if you have footnotes in your translation, you should include a note that explains the interpretation which you have not followed in the main text.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:11

Paragraph 3:11–13

Peter told the people to whom he wrote this letter that they should live in a manner that would please God because God would destroy the present earth and everything that is in it and there would be a new earth where only good people would live.

3:11–12

In the Greek, verses 11 and 12 are one sentence, but you may need to use shorter sentences in your translation as the Display has done.

3:11b

Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), and Good News Translation interpret this part of the verse as a question: “what kind of people ought you to be?” This is a rhetorical question. Peter was not asking for information. He was telling the people to whom he wrote to consider how they should behave now that they knew that God would judge the world in the way that Peter had described. Peter was advising them that it was necessary to live in a holy and godly manner if they did not want God to judge them and to condemn them.

Other translations do not have a question. For example:

think what sort of people you ought to be (New English Bible)
-or-
you should be living holy and saintly lives (The Jerusalem Bible)

3:11c

holiness: Here this means “pure, upright, dedicated to God.”

godliness: See note on “godliness” in 1:3a; also the note in 2:9a.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:11

2:11a

greater in strength and power: These two expressions mean almost the same thing, so they are probably a pair of words that Peter used together in this sentence in order to emphasize how powerful the angels that he is talking about are. Then this expression means, “have much greater power.”

In the Greek it is not clear whom Peter was saying the angels were stronger than, but in many languages it will be necessary to state this. Many scholars think that Peter meant to say that the angels were stronger than the false teachers. Others think he meant that the angels were stronger than the celestial beings. If your language requires that you say whom the angels are stronger than, we recommend that you say that they are stronger than the false teachers. For example:

so much stronger and mightier than these false teachers (Good News Translation)

2:11b

dare to bring such slanderous charges against them: Peter said that the angels do not bring slanderous accusations against them. Here is another way to translate this:

do not pronounce a reviling judgement upon them. (Good News Translation)

It is not clear to whom Peter was referring when he used the word them.

(1) In some translations, them refers to the heavenly beings of verse 10c. If this is the correct interpretation, then the meaning is that the false teachers insult the heavenly beings, but the angels, who are even more powerful, do not.

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), New English Bible, The Jerusalem Bible)

(2) In the Good News Translation, them refers to the false teachers. If this is the correct interpretation, then Peter was contrasting the false teachers, who insult the heavenly beings, with the angels. Even when the angels are telling God about the wrong things the false teachers have done, they do not use insulting language to do so.

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

Lord: This is referring to God, not Christ, in this verse. See note on 2:9a.

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Source: SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2000

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:19

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:10

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:10

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:9

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:21

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:20

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:11

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2:11

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