2 Peter 3
The full text of 2 Peter 3 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Dear friends, this is now the second letter I am writing to you. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,
2 so that you will remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles.
3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
4 They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, everything goes on just as it has since the beginning of creation."
5 But they deliberately overlook this: that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and through water,
6 and by these waters the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and the destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not overlook this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a single day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a single day.
9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a roar, the elements will be dissolved in fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be laid bare.
11 Since everything will be dissolved in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You should live holy and godly lives,
12 as you look forward to the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of it the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt in the heat.
13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to these things, make every effort to be found by him at peace—spotless and blameless.
15 Consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you, according to the wisdom given him.
16 He writes the same way in all his letters when he speaks in them about these matters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your own secure standing.
18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Translation notes (6)
- 2 Peter 3:2a The Greek phrase means 'the command of the Lord and Savior given through your apostles.' The way the Greek words are connected allows for more than one interpretation, but the overall sense is that the Lord's command reached the readers through their apostles.
- 2 Peter 3:4a The Greek phrase means 'the fathers fell asleep'; 'fell asleep' is a common biblical way of gently referring to death.
- 2 Peter 3:5a This can also be translated 'this escapes them by their own choosing.' The Greek phrase lanthanei... thelontas can mean either that they willfully forget, or that the fact escapes them because of what they want to believe.
- 2 Peter 3:9a Some early manuscripts read 'patient with us' or 'on your account'; however, the well-supported reading is 'patient toward you' (referring to multiple people).
- 2 Peter 3:10a The Greek word heurethēsetai means 'will be found,' 'laid bare,' or 'disclosed' (this is the reading of the earliest manuscripts, Aleph and B). Other manuscripts read 'will be burned up' (katakaēsetai) or 'will be found dissolved'; this is one of the most debated textual problems in the New Testament. The Trinity Bible Version follows the earliest reading and translates the sense as 'laid bare,' meaning exposed before God.
- 2 Peter 3:12a This can also be translated as "as you wait eagerly for the coming of the day of God." The Greek word speudontas can mean either "hastening" the day or "earnestly desiring" it.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own translation of Scripture, made directly from the original Greek rather than revised from an older English Bible. Completed in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation available, and it is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Reading the TBV here on the web is free — the full study edition, with original-language tools and notes on every verse, lives in the Trinity Bible app.
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