2 Peter 3
3
The Eschatological Day of the Lord
1 Beloved, this is now the second letter I am writing to you, in which I am awakening your pure mind by way of reminder, 2 to remember the words spoken in advance by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles,* 3 knowing this first of all, that in the last days scoffers will come with scoffing, advancing according to their own inordinate desires, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, everything continues just as it was from creation’s beginning.” 5 For this deliberately escapes their notice, that the heavens existed long ago and the earth was fashioned out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 through which means the world of that time, flooded with water, was destroyed. 7 But by the same word, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.*
8 Now, do not let this one thing escape your notice, beloved, that one day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. 9 The Lord does not delay the promise, as some consider delay, but is patient towards you, not willing any to perish, but for all to advance into repentance.*
10 Now the day of the Lord will arrive like a thief,* in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing sound, and the celestial bodies* will be destroyed by burning heat, and the earth and the works done* on it will be exposed.*
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of persons should you be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 anticipating and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the celestial bodies will melt as they burn with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise, we anticipate new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore, beloved, while anticipating these things, make every effort to be found by Him spotless, unblemished, and at peace. 15 And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them about these things, in which there are certain things difficult to understand, which the unlearned and unstable twist, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their destruction. 17 Therefore you, beloved, knowing this in advance, be on your guard so that you are not led away by the error of the lawless and fall from your own stability; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity.*
Notes
2 Or by the holy prophets and the commandment of your apostles from the Lord and Saviour
7 Or people, as the term is generically understood
9 Or to come to repentance
10 Some ancient manuscripts expand the text at this point to read like a thief in [the] night, in order to harmonise the reading with a parallel construction in 1 Thess. 5:2
10 Greek elements. So also v. 12
10 The past participle done is supplied to the text based on context for the sake of clarity
10 One ancient Greek manuscript omits the latter part of the verse: and the earth and the works [ done ] on it will be exposed
18 Some ancient manuscripts insert Amen at the end of the letter
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2 Peter 3: AFINTLIT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
