¹⁵ And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—

⁹ The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.^[a]

²⁰ those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.^[a]

¹¹ When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.

³ Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with^[a] humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.”