2 Petrus 2:10

2:10 especially those who indulge their fleshly desires ¹  and who despise authority.

Brazen and insolent, ²  they are not afraid to insult ³  the glorious ones, ⁴ 

2 Petrus 2:12

2:12 But ⁵  these men, ⁶  like irrational animals – creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed ⁷  – do not understand whom ⁸  they are insulting, and consequently ⁹  in their destruction they will be destroyed, ¹⁰ 

2 Petrus 2:16

2:16 yet was rebuked ¹¹  for his own transgression (a dumb donkey, ¹²  speaking with a human voice, ¹³  restrained the prophet’s madness). ¹⁴ 

2 Petrus 3:7-8

3:7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, by being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. ¹⁵ 

3:8 Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, ¹⁶  that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day.

2 Petrus 3:18

3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge ¹⁷  of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on ¹⁸  that eternal day. ¹⁹ 

[2:10]  ¹ tn Grk “those who go after the flesh in [its] lust.”

[2:10]  ² tn There is no “and” in Greek; it is supplied for the sake of English convention.

[2:10]  ³ tn The translation takes βλασφημοῦντες (blasfhmounte") as an adverbial participle of purpose, as most translations do. However, it is also possible to see this temporally (thus, “they do not tremble when they blaspheme”).

[2:10]  ⁴ tn Δόξας (doxas) almost certainly refers to angelic beings rather than mere human authorities, though it is difficult to tell whether good or bad angels are in view. Verse 11 seems to suggest that wicked angels is what the author intends.

[2:12]  ⁵ tn 2 Pet 2:12 through 16 constitute one cumbersome sentence in Greek. It is difficult to tell whether a hard break belongs in the middle of v. 13, as the translation has it, or whether the compounding of participles is meant in a loosely descriptive sort of way, without strong grammatical connection. Either way, the sentence rambles in a way that often betrays a great “vehemence of spirit” (A. T. Robertson, Grammar, 435). The author is obviously agitated at these false teachers who are to come.

[2:12]  ⁶ tn The false teachers could conceivably be men or women, but in v. 14 they are said to have eyes “full of an adulteress.” This can only refer to men. Hence, both here and in v. 17 the false teachers are described as “men.”

[2:12]  ⁷ tn Grk “born for capture and destruction.”

[2:12]  ⁸ tn Grk “with [reference to] whom.”

[2:12]  ⁹ tn There is no conjunction joining this last clause of v. 12 to the preceding (i.e., no “and consequently”). The argument builds asyndetically (a powerful rhetorical device in Greek), but cannot be naturally expressed in English as such.

[2:12]  ¹⁰ tn This cryptic expression has been variously interpreted. (1) It could involve a simple cognate dative in which case the idea is “they will be utterly destroyed.” But the presence of αὐτῶν (autwn; their, of them) is problematic for this view. Other, more plausible views are: (2) the false teachers will be destroyed at the same time as the irrational beasts, or (3) in the same manner as these creatures (i.e., by being caught); or (4) the false teachers will be destroyed together with the evil angels whom they insult. Because of the difficulties of the text, it was thought best to leave it ambiguous, as the Greek has it.

[2:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “but he had a rebuke.”

[2:16]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Grk “a voice of a (man/person).”

[2:16]  ¹⁴ sn Balaam’s activities are detailed in Num 22—24 (see also Num 31:8, 16).

[3:7]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the ungodly people.”

[3:8]  ¹⁶ tn The same verb, λανθάνω (lanqanw, “escape”) used in v. 5 is found here (there, translated “suppress”).

[3:18]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Or “until.”

[3:18]  ¹⁹ 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.”