2 Petrus 1:8

1:8 For if ¹  these things are really yours ²  and are continually increasing, ³  they will keep you from becoming ⁴  ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of ⁵  knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately. ⁶ 

2 Petrus 1:11

1:11 For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you.

2 Petrus 1:16

1:16 For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return ⁷  of our Lord Jesus Christ; ⁸  no, ⁹  we were ¹⁰  eyewitnesses of his ¹¹  grandeur. ¹² 

2 Petrus 3:4

3:4 and saying, ¹³  “Where is his promised return? ¹⁴  For ever since ¹⁵  our ancestors ¹⁶  died, ¹⁷  all things have continued as they were ¹⁸  from the beginning of creation.”

2 Petrus 3:18

3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge ¹⁹  of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on ²⁰  that eternal day. ²¹ 

[1:8]  ¹ tn The participles are evidently conditional, as most translations render them.

[1:8]  ² tn The participle ὑπάρχοντα (Juparconta) is stronger than the verb εἰμί (eimi), usually implying a permanent state. Hence, the addition of “really” is implied.

[1:8]  ³ sn Continually increasing. There are evidently degrees of ownership of these qualities, implying degrees of productivity in one’s intimacy with Christ. An idiomatic rendering of the first part of v. 8 would be “For if you can claim ownership of these virtues in progressively increasing amounts…”

[1:8]  ⁴ tn Grk “cause [you] not to become.”

[1:8]  ⁵ tn Grk “unto,” “toward”; although it is possible to translate the preposition εἰς (eis) as simply “in.”

[1:8]  ⁶ tn Grk “the [rich] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 8 in Greek does not make a full stop (period), for v. 9 begins with a subordinate relative pronoun. Contemporary English convention requires a full stop in translation, however.

[1:16]  ⁷ tn Grk “coming.”

[1:16]  ⁸ tn Grk “for we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by following cleverly concocted fables.”

[1:16]  ⁹ tn Grk “but, instead.”

[1:16]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “became.”

[1:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “that one’s.” That is, “eyewitnesses of the grandeur of that one.” The remote demonstrative pronoun is used perhaps to indicate esteem for Jesus. Along these lines it is interesting to note that “the Pythagoreans called their master after his death simply ἐκεῖνος” as a term of reverence and endearment (BDAG 302 s.v. ἐκεῖνος a.γ).

[1:16]  ¹² sn The term grandeur was used most frequently of God’s majesty. In the 1st century, it was occasionally used of the divine majesty of the emperor. 2 Pet 1:1 and 1:11 already include hints of a polemic against emperor-worship (in that “God and Savior” and “Lord and Savior” were used of the emperor).

[3:4]  ¹³ tn The present participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) most likely indicates result. Thus, their denial of the Lord’s return is the result of their lifestyle. The connection to the false teachers of chapter 2 is thus made clear.

[3:4]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Where is the promise of his coming?” The genitive παρουσίας (parousia", “coming, advent, return”) is best taken as an attributed genitive (in which the head noun, promise, functions semantically as an adjective; see ExSyn 89-91).

[3:4]  ¹⁵ tn The prepositional phrase with the relative pronoun, ἀφ᾿ ἧς (af’ |h"), is used adverbially or conjunctively without antecedent (see BDAG 727 s.v. ὅς 1.k.).

[3:4]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “fathers.” The reference could be either to the OT patriarchs or first generation Christians. This latter meaning, however, is unattested in any other early Christian literature.

[3:4]  ¹⁷ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.

[3:4]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “thus,” “in the same manner.”

[3:18]  ¹⁹ tn The term “knowledge” (γνῶσις, gnwsis) used here is not the same as is found in 2 Pet 1:2, 3, 8; 2:20. This term is found in 1:5 and 1:6.

[3:18]  ²⁰ tn Or “until.”

[3:18]  ²¹ tc ‡ The vast bulk of mss add ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of this letter, as they do almost all the rest of the NT books (only Acts, James, and 3 John lack a majority of witnesses supporting a concluding ἀμήν). The omission in B 1241 1243 1739* 1881 2298 appears to be original, although the fact that some of the best and earliest Alexandrian witnesses (Ì⁷² א A C P Ψ 33 co), along with the Byzantine text and early versions (vg sy), add the particle renders such a judgment less than iron-clad. NA²⁷ places the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[3:18]  tn Grk “day of eternity.”