2 Petrus 1:6-7

1:6 to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; ¹  to perseverance, godliness; 1:7 to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish ²  love. ³ 

2 Petrus 1:15

1:15 Indeed, I will also make every effort that, after my departure, you have a testimony of these things. ⁴ 

2 Petrus 1:5

1:5 For this very reason, ⁵  make every effort ⁶  to add to your faith excellence, ⁷  to excellence, knowledge;

2 Petrus 3:15

3:15 And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, ⁸  just as also our dear brother Paul ⁹  wrote to you, ¹⁰  according to the wisdom given to him,

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 1:18

1:18 When this voice was conveyed from heaven, we ourselves ¹¹  heard it, for we were with him on the holy mountain. ¹² 

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 ¹³  you, in which ¹⁴  I am trying to stir up ¹⁵  your pure mind by way of reminder:

2 Petrus 1:8

1:8 For if ¹⁶  these things are really yours ¹⁷  and are continually increasing, ¹⁸  they will keep you from becoming ¹⁹  ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of ²⁰  knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately. ²¹ 

2 Petrus 1:10

1:10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ²²  make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. ²³  For by doing this ²⁴  you will never ²⁵  stumble into sin. ²⁶ 

2 Petrus 1:16

1:16 For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return ²⁷  of our Lord Jesus Christ; ²⁸  no, ²⁹  we were ³⁰  eyewitnesses of his ³¹  grandeur. ³² 

2 Petrus 2:13

2:13 suffering harm as the wages for their harmful ways. ³³  By considering it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight, ³⁴  they are stains and blemishes, indulging ³⁵  in their deceitful pleasures when they feast together with you.

2 Petrus 2:16

2:16 yet was rebuked ³⁶  for his own transgression (a dumb donkey, ³⁷  speaking with a human voice, ³⁸  restrained the prophet’s madness). ³⁹ 

2 Petrus 2:21

2:21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment that had been delivered to them.

2 Petrus 3:12

3:12 while waiting for and hastening ⁴⁰  the coming of the day of God? ⁴¹  Because of this day, ⁴²  the heavens will be burned up and ⁴³  dissolve, and the celestial bodies ⁴⁴  will melt away in a blaze! ⁴⁵ 

2 Petrus 3:16

3:16 speaking of these things in all his letters. ⁴⁶  Some things in these letters ⁴⁷  are hard to understand, things ⁴⁸  the ignorant and unstable twist ⁴⁹  to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. ⁵⁰ 

[1:6]  ¹ tn Perhaps “steadfastness,” though that is somewhat archaic. A contemporary colloquial rendering would be “stick-to-it-iveness.”

[1:7]  ² sn The final virtue or character quality in this list is “love” (ἀγάπη, agaph). The word was not used exclusively of Christian or unselfish love in the NT (e.g., the cognate, ἀγαπάω [agapaw], is used in John 3:19 of the love of darkness), but in a list such as this in which ἀγάπη is obviously the crescendo, unselfish love is evidently in view. R. Bauckham (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 187) notes that as the crowning virtue, ἀγάπη encompasses all the previous virtues.

[1:7]  ³ tn Each item in Greek begins with “and.” The conjunction is omitted for the sake of good English style, with no change in meaning.

[1:7]  sn Add to your faith excellence…love. The list of virtues found in vv. 5-7 stands in tension to the promises given in vv. 2-4. What appears to be a synergism of effort or even a contradiction (God supplies the basis, the promises, the grace, the power, etc., while believers must also provide the faith, excellence, etc.) in reality encapsulates the mystery of sanctification. Each believer is responsible before God for his conduct and spiritual growth, yet that growth could not take place without God’s prior work and constant enabling. We must not neglect our responsibility, yet the enabling and the credit is God’s. Paul says the same thing: “Continue working out your salvation with humility and dependence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort…is God” (Phil 2:12-13).

[1:15]  ⁴ sn There are various interpretations of v. 15. For example, the author could be saying simply, “I will make every effort that you remember these things.” But the collocation of σπουδάζω (spoudazw) with μνήνη (mnhnh) suggests a more specific image. R. Bauckham (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 201-2) is right when he notes that these two words together suggest a desire to write some sort of letter or testament. Most commentators recognize the difficulty in seeing the future verb σπουδάσω (spoudasw) as referring to 2 Peter itself (the present or aorist would have been expected, i.e., “I have made every effort,” or “I am making every effort”). Some have suggested that Mark’s Gospel is in view. The difficulty with this is threefold: (1) Mark is probably to be dated before 2 Peter, (2) early patristic testimony seems to imply that Peter was the unwitting source behind Mark’s Gospel; and (3) “these things” would seem to refer, in the least, to the prophecy about Peter’s death (absent in Mark). A more plausible suggestion might be that the author was thinking of the ending of John’s Gospel. This is possible because (1) John 21:18-19 is the only other place in the NT that refers to Peter’s death; indeed, it fleshes out the cryptic statement in v. 14 a bit more; (2) both 2 Peter and John were apparently written to Gentiles in and around Asia Minor; (3) both books were probably written after Paul’s death and perhaps even to Paul’s churches (cf. 2 Pet 3:1-2, 15-16); and (4) John 21 gives the appearance of being added to the end of a finished work. There is thus some possibility that this final chapter was added at the author’s request, in part to encourage Gentile Christians to face impending persecution, knowing that the martyrdom of even (Paul and) Peter was within the purview of God’s sovereignty. That 2 Pet 1:15 alludes to John 21 is of course by no means certain, but remains at least the most plausible of the suggestions put forth thus far.

[1:5]  ⁵ tn The Greek text begins with “and,” a typical Semitism.

[1:5]  sn The reason given is all the provisions God has made for the believer, mentioned in vv. 3-4.

[1:5]  ⁶ tn The participle is either means (“by making every effort”) or attendant circumstance (“make every effort”). Although it fits the normal contours of attendant circumstance participles, the semantics are different. Normally, attendant circumstance is used of an action that is a necessary prelude to the action of the main verb. But “making every effort” is what energizes the main verb here. Hence it is best taken as means. However, for the sake of smoothness the translation has rendered it as a command with the main verb translated as an infinitive. This is in accord with English idiom.

[1:5]  ⁷ tn Or “moral excellence,” “virtue”; this is the same word used in v. 3 (“the one who has called us by his own glory and excellence”).

[3:15]  ⁸ tn The language here is cryptic. It probably means “regard the patience of our Lord as an opportunity for salvation.” In the least, Peter is urging his audience to take a different view of the delay of the parousia than that of the false teachers.

[3:15]  ⁹ sn Critics generally assume that 2 Peter is not authentic, partially because in vv. 15-16 Paul is said to have written scripture. It is assumed that a recognition of Paul’s writings as scripture could not have happened until early in the 2nd century. However, in the same breath that Paul is canonized, Peter also calls him “brother.” This is unparalleled in the 2nd century apocryphal works, as well as early patristic writings, in which the apostles are universally elevated above the author and readers; here, Peter simply says “he’s one of us.”

[3:15]  ¹⁰ sn Paul wrote to you. That Paul had written to these people indicates that they are most likely Gentiles. Further, that Peter is now writing to them suggests that Paul had already died, for Peter was the apostle to the circumcised. Peter apparently decided to write his two letters to Paul’s churches shortly after Paul’s death, both to connect with them personally and theologically (Paul’s gospel is Peter’s gospel) and to warn them of the wolves in sheep’s clothing that would come in to destroy the flock. Thus, part of Peter’s purpose seems to be to anchor his readership on the written documents of the Christian community (both the Old Testament and Paul’s letters) as a safeguard against heretics.

[1:18]  ¹¹ tn The “we” in v. 18 is evidently exclusive, that is, it refers to Peter and the other apostles.

[1:18]  ¹² tn 2 Pet 1:17-18 comprise one sentence in Greek, with the main verb “heard” in v. 18. All else is temporally subordinate to that statement. Hence, more literally these verses read as follows: “For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am delighted,’ we ourselves heard this voice when it was conveyed from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.”

[3:1]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the following statement is true about both letters.

[3:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “I have stirred up, aroused.” The translation treats the present tense verb as a conative present.

[1:8]  ¹⁶ tn The participles are evidently conditional, as most translations render them.

[1:8]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “cause [you] not to become.”

[1:8]  ²⁰ tn Grk “unto,” “toward”; although it is possible to translate the preposition εἰς (eis) as simply “in.”

[1:8]  ²¹ 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.

[1:10]  ²² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1., where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:10]  ²³ tn Grk “make your calling and election sure.”

[1:10]  sn Make sure of your calling and election. The author is not saying that virtue and holiness produce salvation, but that virtue and holiness are the evidence of salvation.

[1:10]  ²⁴ tn Grk “these things.”

[1:10]  ²⁵ tn In Greek οὐ μή (ou mh) followed by the subjunctive is normally the strongest way to negate an action. Coupled with πότε (pote, “ever”), the statement is even more emphatic. The author is offering sage advice on how to grow in grace.

[1:10]  ²⁶ tn The words “into sin” are not in the Greek text, but the Greek word πταίω (ptaiw) is used in soteriological contexts for more than a mere hesitation or stumbling. BDAG 894 s.v. 2 suggests that here it means “be ruined, be lost,” referring to loss of salvation, while also acknowledging that the meaning “to make a mistake, go astray, sin” is plausible in this context. Alternatively, the idea of πταίω here could be that of “suffer misfortune” (so K. L. Schmidt, TDNT 6:884), as a result of sinning.

[1:16]  ²⁷ tn Grk “coming.”

[1:16]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ tn Grk “but, instead.”

[1:16]  ³⁰ tn Grk “became.”

[1:16]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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).

[2:13]  ³³ tn There is a play on words in Greek, but this is difficult to express adequately in English. The verb ἀδικέω (adikew) as a passive means “to suffer harm,” or “to suffer an injustice.” The noun ἀδικία (adikia) means “unrighteousness.” Since the Greek verb has a wider field of meaning than the English, to translate it as suffer an injustice is unwarranted, for it implicitly attributes evil to God. As R. Bauckham notes, “in English it is impossible to translate ἀδικούμενοι as a morally neutral term and ἀδικίας with a morally pejorative term, while retaining the play on words” (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 265).

[2:13]  ³⁴ tn Grk “considering carousing in the daytime a pleasure.”

[2:13]  ³⁵ tn Or “carousing,” “reveling.” The participle ἐντρυφῶντες (entrufwnte") is a cognate to the noun τρυφή (trufh, “carousing”) used earlier in the verse.

[2:16]  ³⁶ tn Grk “but he had a rebuke.”

[2:16]  ³⁷ tn The Greek word ἄφωνος (afwno") means “mute, silent” or “incapable of speech.” For reasons of English style the word “dumb” was used in the translation. Despite the potential for misunderstanding (since “dumb” can refer to a lack of intellectual capability) more dynamic glosses were judged to be inelegant.

[2:16]  ³⁸ tn Grk “a voice of a (man/person).”

[2:16]  ³⁹ sn Balaam’s activities are detailed in Num 22—24 (see also Num 31:8, 16).

[3:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Or possibly, “striving for,” but the meaning “hasten” for σπουδάζω (spoudazw) is normative in Jewish apocalyptic literature (in which the coming of the Messiah/the end is anticipated). Such a hastening is not an arm-twisting of the divine volition, but a response by believers that has been decreed by God.

[3:12]  ⁴¹ sn The coming of the day of God. Peter elsewhere describes the coming or parousia as the coming of Christ (cf. 2 Pet 1:16; 3:4). The almost casual exchange between “God” and “Christ” in this little book, and elsewhere in the NT, argues strongly for the deity of Christ (see esp. 1:1).

[3:12]  ⁴² tn Grk “on account of which” (a subordinate relative clause in Greek).

[3:12]  ⁴³ tn Grk “being burned up, will dissolve.”

[3:12]  ⁴⁴ tn See note in v. 10 on “celestial bodies.”

[3:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “being burned up” (see v. 10).

[3:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “as also in all his letters speaking in them of these things.”

[3:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “in which are some things hard to understand.”

[3:16]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “which.” The antecedent is the “things hard to understand,” not the entirety of Paul’s letters. A significant principle is seen here: The primary proof texts used for faith and practice ought to be the clear passages that are undisputed in their meaning. Heresy today is still largely built on obscure texts.

[3:16]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “distort,” “wrench,” “torture” (all are apt descriptions of what heretics do to scripture).

[3:16]  ⁵⁰ sn This one incidental line, the rest of the scriptures, links Paul’s writings with scripture. This is thus one of the earliest affirmations of any part of the NT as scripture. Peter’s words were prophetic and were intended as a preemptive strike against the heretics to come.