2 Peter 1:12

Salvation Based on the Word of God

1:12 Therefore, I intend to remind you constantly of these things even though you know them and are well established in the truth that you now have.

2 Peter 2:14-15

2:14 Their eyes, full of adultery, never stop sinning; they entice unstable people. They have trained their hearts for greed, these cursed children! 2:15 By forsaking the right path they have gone astray, because they followed the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,

2 Peter 2:17

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 Peter 3:1

The False Teachers’ Denial of the Lord’s Return

3:1 Dear friends, this is already the second letter I have written 12  you, in which 13  I am trying to stir up 14  your pure mind by way of reminder:

2 Peter 3:4

3:4 and saying, 15  “Where is his promised return? 16  For ever since 17  our ancestors 18  died, 19  all things have continued as they were 20  from the beginning of creation.”

2 Peter 3:7

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. 21 


tn Grk “always.”

tn Grk “having eyes.” See note on “men” at the beginning of v. 12.

tn Grk “full of an adulteress.”

tn Grk “and unceasing from sin.” Some translate this “insatiable for sin,” but such a translation is based on a textual variant with inadequate support.

tn Grk “enticing.” See note on “men” at the beginning of v. 12.

tn “People” is literally “souls.” The term ψυχή (yuch) can refer to one’s soul, one’s life, or oneself.

tn Grk “having hearts trained in greediness, children of cursing.” The participles continue the general description of the false teachers, without strong grammatical connection. The genitive κατάρας (kataras, “of cursing”) is taken attributively here.

tn Although many modern translations (e.g., NASB, TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT) read “Beor” here, this is due to harmonization with the OT rather than following a variant textual reading. The Greek text of NA27 reads “Bosor,” an otherwise unattested form of the name of Balaam’s father.

tn “Wages of unrighteousness” in Greek is the same expression found in v. 13, “wages for harmful ways.” The repetition makes the link between the false teachers and Balaam more concrete.

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.

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.

12 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.)

13 tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the following statement is true about both letters.

14 tn Or “I have stirred up, aroused.” The translation treats the present tense verb as a conative present.

15 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.

16 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).

17 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.).

18 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.

19 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.

20 tn Grk “thus,” “in the same manner.”

21 tn Grk “the ungodly people.”