2 Petrus 3:12-13

3:12 while waiting for and hastening ¹  the coming of the day of God? ²  Because of this day, ³  the heavens will be burned up and ⁴  dissolve, and the celestial bodies ⁵  will melt away in a blaze! ⁶  3:13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for ⁷  new heavens and a new earth, in which ⁸  righteousness truly resides. ⁹ 

[3:12]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “on account of which” (a subordinate relative clause in Greek).

[3:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “being burned up, will dissolve.”

[3:12]  ⁵ tn See note in v. 10 on “celestial bodies.”

[3:12]  ⁶ tn Grk “being burned up” (see v. 10).

[3:13]  ⁷ tn Or possibly, “let us wait for.” The form in Greek (προσδόκωμεν, prosdokwmen) could be either indicative or subjunctive. The present participle in v. 14, however, is best taken causally (“since you are waiting for”), suggesting that the indicative is to be read here.

[3:13]  ⁸ tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the sphere in which righteousness dwells is both the new heavens and the new earth.

[3:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “dwells.” The verb κατοικέω (katoikew) is an intensive cognate of οἰκέω (oikew), often with the connotation of “taking up residence,” “settling down,” being at home,” etc. Cf., e.g., Matt 2:23; Acts 17:26; 22:12; Eph 3:17; Col 1:19; 2:9. Hence, the addition of the adverb “truly” is implicit in the connotation of the verb in a context such as this.