2 Petrus 3:1

The False Teachers’ Denial of the Lord’s Return

3:1 Dear friends, this is already the second letter I have written ¹  you, in which ²  I am trying to stir up ³  your pure mind by way of reminder:

Hagai 1:14

1:14 So the Lord energized and encouraged ⁴  Zerubbabel ⁵  son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ⁶  and the whole remnant of the people. ⁷  They came and worked on the temple of their God, the Lord who rules over all.

Hagai 1:2

The Indifference of the People

1:2 The Lord who rules over all ⁸  says this: “These people have said, ‘The time for rebuilding the Lord’s temple has not yet come.’” ⁹ 

Titus 1:6

1:6 An elder must be blameless, ¹⁰  the husband of one wife, ¹¹  with faithful children ¹²  who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion.

[3:1]  ¹ tn Grk “I am already writing this [as] a second letter.” The object-complement construction is more smoothly rendered in English a bit differently. Further, although the present tense γράφω (grafw) is used here, English convention employs an epistolary past tense. (The Greek epistolary aorist might have been expected here, but it also occurs in situations unlike its English counterparts.)

[3:1]  ² tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the following statement is true about both letters.

[3:1]  ³ tn Or “I have stirred up, aroused.” The translation treats the present tense verb as a conative present.

[1:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “stirred up” (as in many English versions). Only one verb appears in the Hebrew text, but the translation “energized and encouraged” brings out its sense in this context. Cf. TEV “inspired”; NLT “sparked the enthusiasm of”; CEV “made everyone eager to work.”

[1:14]  sn It was God who initiated the rebuilding by providing the people with motivation and ability.

[1:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “the spirit of Zerubbabel” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest” (as in many English versions), but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

[1:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the spirit of all the remnant of the people.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם (shÿ’erit ha’am) in this postexilic context is used as a technical term to refer to the returned remnant; see the note on the phrase “the whole remnant of the people” in v. 12.

[1:2]  ⁸ sn The epithet Lord who rules over all occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Haggai (see 1:5, 7, 9, 14; 2:4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 23). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yÿhvah tsÿva’ot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV, NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.

[1:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “the time has not come, the time for the house of the Lord to be built” (similar KJV). A number of English versions refer to “rebuilding” (so NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT) since the reconstruction of Solomon’s temple is actually in view.

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “if anyone is blameless…” as a continuation of v. 5b, beginning to describe the elder’s character.

[1:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “married only once,” “devoted solely to his wife.” See the note on “wife” in 1 Tim 3:2; also 1 Tim 3:12; 5:9.

[1:6]  ¹² tn Or “believing children.” The phrase could be translated “believing children,” but the parallel with 1 Tim 3:4 (“keeping his children in control”) argues for the sense given in the translation.