2 Petrus 2:4

2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, ¹  but threw them into hell ²  and locked them up ³  in chains ⁴  in utter darkness, ⁵  to be kept until the judgment,

2 Petrus 2:16-17

2:16 yet was rebuked ⁶  for his own transgression (a dumb donkey, ⁷  speaking with a human voice, ⁸  restrained the prophet’s madness). ⁹ 

2:17 These men ¹⁰  are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm, for whom the utter depths of darkness ¹¹  have been reserved.

2 Petrus 2:19

2:19 Although these false teachers promise ¹²  such people ¹³  freedom, they themselves are enslaved to ¹⁴  immorality. ¹⁵  For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved. ¹⁶ 

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 ¹⁷  the coming of the day of God? ¹⁸  Because of this day, ¹⁹  the heavens will be burned up and ²⁰  dissolve, and the celestial bodies ²¹  will melt away in a blaze! ²² 

[2:4]  ¹ tn The participle ἁμαρτησάντων (Jamarthsantwn) could either be attributive (“who sinned”) or adverbial (“when they sinned”). The relation to the judgment of the false teachers in v. 3 suggests that the objects of God’s judgment are not in question, but the time frame for the execution of justice is. If the participle is taken temporally, the point of comparison is not as acute. The objection that the illustrations following (the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah) are viewed temporally does not mitigate this translation, for in both instances only the time of executing judgment is in view. Further, in both instances the OT notes that God withheld punishment for a long time.

[2:4]  ² tn Grk “casting them into Tartarus” or “holding them captive in Tartarus.” This verb, ταρταρόω (tartarow), occurs only here in the NT, but its meaning is clearly established in both Hellenistic and Jewish literature. “Tartarus [was] thought of by the Greeks as a subterranean place lower than Hades where divine punishment was meted out, and so regarded in Israelite apocalyptic as well” (BDAG 991 s.v.). Grammatically, it has been translated as an indicative because it is an attendant circumstance participle.

[2:4]  ³ tn Grk “handed them over.”

[2:4]  ⁴ tc The reading σειραῖς (seirai", “chains”) is found in Ì⁷² P Ψ 33 1739 Ï vg sy, while σιροῖς (sirois [or σειροῖς, seirois], “pits”) is found in א A B C 81 pc. The evidence is thus fairly evenly divided. Internally, the reading adopted here (σειραῖς) is a rarer term, perhaps prompting some scribes to replace it with the more common word. However, this more common term is not a synonym and hence does not follow the normal pattern of scribes. As well, the use of the genitive ζόφου (zofou) in “chains of darkness” is a bit awkward (a rare genitive of place), perhaps prompting some scribes to change the imagery to “pits of darkness” (in which case ζόφου is an attributive genitive). A further point that complicates the issue is the relationship of 2 Peter to Jude. Jude’s parallel (v. 6) has δεσμοῖς (desmois, “chains”). Apart from the issue of whether 2 Peter used Jude or Jude used 2 Peter, this parallel suggests one of two possibilities: either (1) since these two books obviously have a literary relationship, σειραῖς is original, or (2) early scribes, recognizing that these two books shared their material, changed σειροῖς to σειραῖς to conform the wording, at least conceptually, to Jude 6. On balance, σειραῖς looks to be original because scribes were not prone to harmonize extensively between books other than the Gospels (although 2 Peter and Jude do display some of this harmonizing). Further, such harmonization is often, if not usually, verbally exact, but δεσμοῖς is not a variant here.

[2:4]  ⁵ tn The genitive ζόφου (zofou) is taken as a genitive of place. See previous note for discussion.

[2:16]  ⁶ tn Grk “but he had a rebuke.”

[2:16]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Grk “a voice of a (man/person).”

[2:16]  ⁹ sn Balaam’s activities are detailed in Num 22—24 (see also Num 31:8, 16).

[2:17]  ¹⁰ tn Although some translations have simply “these” or “these people,” since in v. 14 they are described as having eyes “full of an adulteress,” men are in view.

[2:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “utter darkness of darkness.” Verse 4 speaks of wicked angels presently in “chains of utter darkness,” while the final fate of the false teachers is a darker place still.

[2:19]  ¹² tn Verse 19 is a subordinate clause in Greek. The masculine nominative participle “promising” (ἐπαγγελλόμενοι, epangellomenoi) refers back to the subject of vv. 17-18. At the same time, it functions subordinately to the following participle, ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte", “while being”).

[2:19]  ¹³ tn Grk “them.”

[2:19]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “slaves of.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[2:19]  ¹⁵ tn Or “corruption,” “depravity.” Verse 19 constitutes a subordinate clause to v. 18 in Greek. The main verbal components of these two verses are: “uttering…they entice…promising…being (enslaved).” The main verb is (they) entice. The three participles are adverbial and seem to indicate an instrumental relation (by uttering), a concessive relation (although promising), and a temporal relation (while being [enslaved]). For the sake of English usage, in the translation of the text this is broken down into two sentences.

[2:19]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “for by what someone is overcome, to this he is enslaved.”

[3:12]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “on account of which” (a subordinate relative clause in Greek).

[3:12]  ²⁰ tn Grk “being burned up, will dissolve.”

[3:12]  ²¹ tn See note in v. 10 on “celestial bodies.”

[3:12]  ²² tn Grk “being burned up” (see v. 10).