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11 Since all these things are to melt away[a] in this manner,[b] what sort of people must you[c] be, conducting your lives in holiness and godliness,[d] 12 while waiting for and hastening[e] the coming of the day of God?[f] Because of this day,[g] the heavens will be burned up and[h] dissolve, and the celestial bodies[i] will melt away in a blaze![j] 13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for[k] new heavens and a new earth, in which[l] righteousness truly resides.[m]

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 3:11 tn Grk “all these things thus being dissolved.”
  2. 2 Peter 3:11 tn Or “thus.”
  3. 2 Peter 3:11 tc ‡ Most mss have a pronoun with the infinitive—either ὑμᾶς (humas, “you”; found in A C P Ψ 048vid 33 1739 M, the corrector of P72, the second corrector of א, and many other witnesses), ἡμᾶς (hēmas, “we”; read by א* 5 630 2464), or ἑαυτούς (heautous, “[you your]selves/[we our]selves,” read by 1243). But the shorter reading (with no pronoun) has the support of P72*,74vid B 1175. Though slim, the evidence for the omission is nevertheless the earliest. Further, the addition of some pronoun, especially the second person pronoun, seems to be a clarifying variant. It would be difficult to explain the pronoun’s absence in some witnesses if the pronoun were original. That three different pronouns have shown up in the mss is testimony for the omission’s authenticity. Thus, on external and internal grounds, the omission is preferred. For English style requirements, however, some pronoun has to be added. NA27 has ὑμᾶς in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity, while NA28 drops the brackets.tn Or “you.”
  4. 2 Peter 3:11 tn Grk “in holy conduct and godliness.”
  5. 2 Peter 3:12 tn Or possibly, “striving for,” but the meaning “hasten” for σπουδάζω (spoudazō) 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.
  6. 2 Peter 3:12 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).
  7. 2 Peter 3:12 tn Grk “on account of which” (a subordinate relative clause in Greek).
  8. 2 Peter 3:12 tn Grk “being burned up, will dissolve.”
  9. 2 Peter 3:12 tn See note in v. 10 on “celestial bodies.”
  10. 2 Peter 3:12 tn Grk “being burned up” (see v. 10).
  11. 2 Peter 3:13 tn Or possibly, “let us wait for.” The form in Greek (προσδόκωμεν, prosdokōmen) 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.
  12. 2 Peter 3:13 tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the sphere in which righteousness dwells is both the new heavens and the new earth.
  13. 2 Peter 3:13 tn Grk “dwells.” The verb κατοικέω (katoikeō) is an intensive cognate of οἰκέω (oikeō), 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.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 (A)looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which (B)the heavens burning will be destroyed, and the (C)elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His (D)promise we are looking for (E)new heavens and a new earth, (F)in which righteousness dwells.

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