2 Peter 3:8-13 “Hasten The Day Of The Lord”

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church Manhattan KS, 17 Mar. 2024

Introduction

v. 8-9 – God Is Saving People

v. 10 – God Is Coming In Judgment

v. 11-13 – How To Hasten The Day

Comparison of Bible Translations of 2 Peter 3:7-13

GNTA

NAWB

KJVC

MurdockD (Peshitta)

RheimsE (Vulgate)

7̈ οἱ δὲ νῦν οὐρανοὶ καὶ ἡ γῆ τῳ῀ Fαὐτοῦ λόγῳ τεθησαυρισ­μένοιG εἰσὶ πυρίH τηρού­μενοι εἰς ἡμέραν κρίσ­εως καὶ ἀπωλε­ίας τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνθρώπων.

7 but the present heavens and earth having been safeguarded by His word, are being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly men by fire.

7 But the heavens and the earth, [which are] now, by the same word are kept in store, re­served unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

7 And the heav­ens [that] now [are], and the earth, are by his word stored up, be­ing reserved for [the] fire at the day of judgment and the perdition of wicked men.

7 But the heavens and the earth [which are] now, by the same word are kept in store, re­served unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of the ungodly men.

8 ῞Εν δὲ τοῦτο μὴ λανθαν­έτωI ὑμᾶς, ἀγαπητοί, ὅτι μία ἡμέρα παρὰ Κυρίῳ ὡς χίλια ἔτη, καὶ χίλια ἔτη ὡς ἡμέρα μία.

8 But this one thing must not escape notice with you, beloved, that, with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day.

8 But, be­loved, X be not ignorant [of] this one thing X, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

8 And [of] this one thing, my beloved, X be not forgetful X, That one day, to the Lord, is as a thousand years; and a thousand years, as one day.

8 But [of] this one thing X be not ignorant, X my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thous­and years, and a thousand years as one day.

9 οὐ βραδύνειJ Κύριος τῆς ἐπαγγελίαςK, ὥς τινες βραδύ­τηταL ἡγοῦν­ταιM, ἀλλὰ μακροθυμεῖ εἰς Nὑμᾶς, μὴ βουλόμενόςO τιναςP ἀπολέσθαι, ἀλλὰ πάντας εἰς μετάνοιαν χωρῆσαιQ.

9 The Lord is not tardy con­cerning His pro­mise, as some reckon tardiness among them­selves. Rather He is longsuffer­ing toward y’all, because He is not willing for any persons to perish but for all of them to find space for repentance.

9 The Lord is not slack con­cerning his promise, as some men count slack­ness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

9 The Lord doth not pro­crastinate his promise[s], as some estimate procrastina­tion; but he is long suffering, for your sakes, being not will­ing that any should perish, but that every one should come to repentance.

9 The Lord delayeth not his promise, as some im­agine X, but dealeth pat­iently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance,

10 ῞Ηξει δὲ R[ἡ] ἡμέρα Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν νυκτίS, ἐν ἧͺ οὐρανοὶ ῥοιζη­δὸνT παρελεύ­σονταιU, στοιχεῖαV δὲ καυσούμεναW λυθήσονταιX, καὶ γῆ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῃ῀ ἔργα κατακαή­σεταιY.

10 But the Day of the Lord will arrive like a thief {in the night}, in which the heavens will pass away with a rush, and the elements will be disintegrated by being heated, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up.

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall X melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

10 And the day of the Lord will come, like a thief; in which the heavens will suddenly pass away; and the elements, being ignited, will be dissolved; and the earth and the works in it, will [notZ] be found.

10 But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence and the elements shall be melted with heat [and the earth and the works which are in it shall be burnt upAA].

11 Τούτων οὖνAB πάντων λυομένωνAC ποταποὺςAD δεῖ ὑπάρχειν ὑμᾶςAE ἐν ἁγίαις ἀναστροφαῖςAF καὶ εὐσεβείαιςAG,

11 Therefore, concerning all these things being disintegrated, what sort of persons must y’all be in holy lifestyles and godlinesses,

11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dis­solved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conver­sationX and godlinessX,

11 As there­fore all these things are to be dissolved, what persons ought ye to be, in holy conductX, and in the fearX of God,

11 Seeing then that all these things are to be dis­solved, what manner of peopleX ought you to be in holy conversa­tionX and godlinessX?

12 προσδοκ­ῶντας καὶ σπεύδονταςAH τὴν παρουσίαν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμέρας, δι᾿AI ἣνAJ οὐρανοὶ πυρούμενοι λυθήσονται καὶ στοιχεῖα καυσούμεναAK τήκεταιAL;

12 anticipat­ing and hastening the coming of the Day of God, on account of which the heavens will be disinte­grated by burning and the elements be melted away by being heated?

12 Looking for and hasting [unto] the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heatX?

12 expecting and desiring the coming of the day of God, in which the heavens being [tried] by fire will be dissolved, and the elements being ignited will melt?

12 Looking for and hast­ing [unto] the coming of the day of the Lord, by which the heavens be­ing on fire shall be dis­solved, and the elements shall melt with the burning heat?

13 καινοὺς δὲAM οὐρανοὺς καὶ γῆν καινὴν κατὰ τὸ ἐπάγ­γελμαAN αὐτοῦ προσδοκ­ῶμενAO, ἐν οἷς δικαιοσύνη κατοικεῖAP.

13 Further­more, in ac­cordance with His promise, let us look for­ward to new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness resides!

13 Neverthe­less we, ac­cording to his promise, look for new heav­ens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

13 But we, according to his promise, expect new heavens, and a new earth, in which righteousness dwelleth.

13 But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to his promise[s], in which justice dwelleth.


1“He is tardy who allows an occasion to pass by through slothfulness: there is nothing like this in God, who in the best manner regulates time to promote our salvation.” ~J. Calvin

2cf. Matthew Henry’s commentary: “...it is giving more time to his own people, whom he has chosen before the foundation of the world, many of whom are not as yet converted...for God is not willing that any of these should perish, but that all of them should come to repentance.”

3Gordon Clark commented, “If it had been fully realized that Peter was addressing Christians, a great deal of theological confusion would have been avoided…. The Similitudes viii, xi, 1 in the Shepherd of Hermas… says, ‘But the Lord, being long-suffering, wishes [thelei] those who were called [ten klesin ten genomenen] through his Son to be saved.’ This quotation shows how the verse was understood in the second century.

4This is the same word for “work” which Peter used, but the words for “fire” and “revealed” are synonyms to the words Peter used.

5The Greek version of this has “quake” (σαλευθήσεται) instead of “melt,” but the Hebrew is “melt” ‎ וְנָמַ֤סּוּ

6“...not that God’s eternal appointment of the time is changeable, but God appoints us as instruments of accomplish­ing those events which must be first before the day of God can come. By praying for His coming (Rev. 22:20), furthering the preaching of the Gospel for a witness to all nations, and bringing in those whom ‘the long-suffering of God’ waits to save, we hasten the coming of the day of God.” ~A.R. Fausset (cf. Acts 3:19-21)

7https://joshuaproject.net/

8https://www.wycliffe.net/resources/statistics/

9The spelling would be exactly the same either way.

A1904 "Patriarchal" edition of the Greek Orthodox Church, as published by E-Sword in June 2016. Annotated by NAW where the 27th edition of the Nestle-Aland GNT differs.

BNathan A Wilson’s translation

CKing James Version of the Holy Bible (a.k.a. Authorized Version), 1769 edition, as published by E-Sword in July 2019.

DTranslation of the Peshito Syriac New Testament into English by James Murdock. Published in 1851. Republished by E-sword in June 2016.

ERheims New Testament first published by the English College at Rheims, A.D. 1582, Revised by Bishop Richard Challoner, A.D. 1749-1752, as published by E-sword in June 2016.


F“By His word” is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts (including 2 of the 5 oldest-known ones) and of the traditional Greek Orthodox editions. (The original Textus Receptus also reads this way, except it dropped the definite article, which doesn’t change the meaning.) The NASB and Peshitta reflect this reading. However, all the other English versions read, “By the same word,” reflecting 18 Greek manuscripts (including 3 of the 5 oldest-known ones) which read αυτω instead of αυτου. It is especially curious that the Geneva and KJV followed the minority variant, and this resulted in the variant being published in Scrivner’s 1894 edition of the Textus Receptus, even though Stephens’ 1550 edition followed the majority.

GThis is a perfect paraphrastic in an unusual reverse order with the perfect participle followed by the present verb of being. The Perfect paraphrastic normally retains the Perfect tense meaning; the NASB alone opts for the present tense. Wallace noted in his Greek Grammar that a distinction should be made between the English Perfect tense (which indicates uninterrupted action in the past) and the Greek Perfect tense (which emphasizes the current condition).
The only other time in the Bible that God is said to “treasure up” something is Proverbs 2:7 “...he treasures up salvation for them that walk uprightly...” (Brenton, cf. Romans 2:5)

HThis phrase “they are in fire” is awkward to translate. The dative case for “fire” leads me to believe it is speaking of the means by which the destruction will come, although all the other English versions interpreted it as objective or purpos­ive “for/unto fire.” DFZ called it a “dative of destination,” but Wallace did not list this as an instance of such a dative.
Although liberal theologians have suggested that this is just Greek Stoic philosophy rehashed, Gordon Clark noted that “Stoicism cannot be the source of the apostle’s ideas… In Stoicism the final conflagration is a gradual, natural, [cyclical] process inherent in the constitution of matter… Peter, on the other hand, announces a sudden, non-cyclical, virtually instantaneous cataclysm... of... divine punishment.”

ISee same word at beginning of v.5. This verb is active and it is 3rd person singular, matching “this one thing” which is also 3rd person and singular and nominative as its subject. The NIV is the only English translation which got this right. “You” is not the subject; it is the accusative. However, the addressees are still “you,” so the practical upshot in meaning is not that different, even when English versions reverse the Greek subject and object of this verb.

Jcf. Deut. 7:9-10 & Isa. 46:12-13

KBlass & Debrunner noted in their Grammar that this noun is genitive due to the idea of tardiness separating God from His promises.

LHapex Legomenon.

Mcf. the 3 other uses of this verb in 2 Peter 1:13; 2:13; and 3:15.

NThe majority of Greek manuscripts reads ημας “us” (followed by one of the Greek Orthodox editions and the Textus Receptus and the KJV and Geneva Bible), but none of those manuscripts are older than the 9th century AD. The critical GNTs as well as the Patriarchal GNT, the ancient Vulgate, Peshitta, Coptic, and all the modern English versions go with 29 Greek manuscripts (including all 5 of the oldest-known ones) which read “y’all.” The difference in meaning is negligible, as there is no indication that Peter was trying to exclude himself from God’s patience or salvation!

OA.T. Robertson’s Grammar labels this participle as a causal.

PMost English translators chose English words that could mean either singular or plural, but the Greek words for “any” and later for “all” are plural.

QThis verb literally means “to make space.” Cf. Matthew 19:11 and John 8:37.

RThe majority of manuscripts (including 2 of the 5 oldest-known), followed by the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox NT, have a definite article before “day.” The Patriarchal GNT, along with the modern critical editions follow about two dozen Greek manuscripts (including three of the five oldest-known) which omit the definite article. But “the Lord” makes “the day” definite either way, so there’s no difference in meaning.

SThe majority of Greek manuscripts (including one of the 5 oldest-known), followed by the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions and the Geneva & KJV, include the phrase “in the night,” but 15 manuscripts (including the three oldest-known), followed by the ancient Latin and Coptic versions and the modern critical editions and contemporary English versions all omit it. The ancient Syriac versions go both ways. The phrase in question is in every manuscript of 1 Thess. 5:2, so it is an undisputedly Biblical phrase, the presence or nonpresence here of which does not change anybody’s theology.

THapex Legomenon. Onomatopoeia for a rushing or whizzing sound of an arrow or a stream of water. The other verb and noun forms in the LXX are 2 Mac. 9:7; Cant. 4:15; Wis. 5:11; Ezek. 47:5; and Bet. 1:36.

Ucf. James 1:10 “but the rich in what is his that is lowly, because he will pass on like a grass-flower” (NAW)

VIn the Bible only in Gal. 4:3 & 9; Col. 2:8 & 20; Heb. 5:12, and here and in v.12. ESV (following Fausset) is out on a limb with the translation “heavenly bodies,” since this word doesn’t carry the idea of “heavenly” or of “body,” but rather of “elemental” parts used to make up something - “building blocks,” or “basic principles” from which philoso­phies are developed. Others have suggested it denotes component parts of the heavens, such as the sun, moon, and stars.

WDuplex Legomenon – only here and v.12 in the Greek Bible. The ESV is the only English version I found which translated this participle as though it were an indicative verb. Almost all translated the participle as explaining the means by which the elements would disintegrate.

XThe majority of Greek manuscripts (the oldest of which dates 5th century, followed by the Textus Receptus and the Greek Orthodox editions) read with the plural ending, matching the plural subject “elements,” however 11 manuscripts (including the three oldest-known) read with a singular ending, and that is what the critical editions followed. It makes no difference in meaning because a Greek singular verb can have a plural subject if the subject is neuter, and “elements” is neuter. This variant is about a change in grammar rules over the centuries, not about a difference in meaning.

YThe majority of Greek manuscripts (the oldest of which is 5th century) are followed by the Textus Receptus and the Greek Orthodox editions and the ancient Vulgate and modern Geneva, KJV, and NASB English versions reading “will be burned up.” The 5 oldest-known manuscripts contain four significantly-different readings, so it is little wonder that subsequent Bible translators have had difficulty deciding the original reading. The two among the 5 oldest-known that coincide read ευρεθησεται “will be found,” and this is the reading of about 9 other Greek manuscripts, so that’s what the modern critical versions followed (with one exception), as did the the NLT, and the NET/NIV “will be laid bare” and ESV “will be exposed.” (The exception to the critical versions is the Nestle-Aland, which decided, after 27 editions, to add the word “not” in front of this word in its 28th edition, without any manuscript support – and, among the ancient versions, only the Sahidic reads this way). The ancient Coptic and Syriac versions are split between the two main readings, although there are other variants in existence, such as the omission of the entire phrase (Vulgate) or the substitution of “will disappear” (C) or the addition of “will be destroyed” (P72).

ZPeshitta doesn’t actually say “not,” but all the English translators of it insert “not” to translate ܕܒܗ (“in/with”).

AAThis last phrase is not in Jerome’s original Vulgate, but it is in the Claramontanus edition.

ABThe Majority of Greek manuscripts (including two of the 5 oldest-known) reads “therefore/as a result” followed by the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions and the ancient Latin, Syriac, and Coptic versions, as well as the Geneva and King James English versions. The NASB, NIV, and ESV, on the other hand, follow the critical editions of the GNT which follow 11 Greek manuscripts (including 3 of the 5-oldest-known) which instead read ‘ουτως (“thus/in the same way”). The difference in meaning is not significant, whether it is a comparative referring back to the previous verse about everything being burned up or whether it is a conslusatory remark moving into what we should do as a result of knowing that everything will be burned up. It’s also possible that, in the first century, the comparative may have enjoyed more popular use as a conclusion, but that its meaning changed over the centuries towards more of a comparative, necessitating a different word for the conclusion in later editions.
Fausset commented that this is “a happy refutation of the ‘thus’ of the scoffers from v.4.”

AC“[T]he idea is rather, are in process of dissolution” ~M. Vincent
A.T. Robertson suggested it could be a “futuristic present.”
G. Clark commented, “best taken as a vivid anticipation of the future.”

ADOnly here and Sus. 1:54 (“What sort of tree?”); Matt. 8:27 (“What sort of man is this...?”); Mk. 13:1 (“What wonderful stones!”); Lk. 1:29 (“...what sort of greeting this might be.”); 7:39 (“...what sort of woman she is...”); 1 Jn. 3:1 (“Behold what manner of love…”).

AETwo of the five-oldest Greek manuscripts omit this pronoun (so the W-H, N-A26 and USB3 cautiously enclosed “y’all” in brackets, but by the 5th edition the USB had removed the brackets.), and one (Sinaiticus, followed by the NET Bible) threw it into the first plural (“we”). The Tishendorf and Tregelles critical editions followed the Majority and the Textus Receptus in keeping the “y’all.” The accusative case signals that it is the subject of the previous infinitive “to be.”

AFcf. Eph. 4: 22-24, 1 Timothy 4:12, James 3:13, 1 Peter 1:13-16, 1 Peter 2:11-12, 1 Peter 3:15-16

AGcf. 1 Timothy 4:7, Titus 1:1, 2 Peter 1:2-8.
“As to the word godlinesses (
pietatibus,) the plural number is used for the singular, except you take it as meaning the duties of godliness.” ~J. Calvin
“What seems to be meant is, that every part of the conduct should be holy, and that every part of godliness should be attended to...” ~J. Owen
“godliness of all sorts, in all its parts” ~Matthew Henry
“behaviors (towards men), godlinesses (or pieties towards God) in their manifold modes of manifestation.” ~Fausset

AHCalvin interpreted “we ought hastily to wait,” but his editor corrected him, writing, “...σπεύδω ... when followed as here by an accusative case, it has often the secondary meaning of ‘earnestly desiring’ a thing. It is so taken here by Schleusner, Parkhurst, and Macknight...”

AINKJV accurately corrected the locative “in” of the KJV to a causal “because,” which is more appropriate for translating δια when it has an accusative object.

AJThis accusative feminine singular relative pronoun refers back to the accusative feminine singular “coming.” The result of Christ’s parousia is going to be the destruction of the heavens and earth.

AKI translated this participle as describing the means by which the elements would melt away, but KJV, NAS, and NIV translated it substantively “heat” (and added a preposition “with/in,” even though it is not a prepositional phrase or dative case in Greek), ESV translated it as a temporal participle “as they burn” (as though the burning and melting are two different things), and Murdock safely translates as an English participle.

ALOdd that this is present tense whereas its parallel verb “will be destroyed” is future tense. Fausset suggested: “the present tense implying the certainty as though it were actually present.” A.T. Robertson asserted that it is a “futuristic present.” And G. Clark: “the sense is future.” This is the only appearance of this verb in the Greek N.T., but it is common in the Greek O.T. It is also passive, but most English versions translate it active. (The verb is spelled in an active voice in Psalm 147:7, Job, Nahum, and 4 Maccabees.)

AMMost English versions translated this “but” (cf. Lander, who tagged it with Louw & Nida semantic domain #89.124 marker of contrast - 'but, on the other hand.'), but, along with the KJV, I believe this conjunction should express some continuity with the previous verse.

ANThe only other place in the Greek Bible where this form of “promise” occurs is 2 Peter 1:4 “through which things the valuable and greatest promises have been given to us…” (NAW)

AOThe subjunctive/hortatory spelling is the same as the Present Active Indicative spelling of this verb. Perschbacher, BGM morphology, and Robinson Morphology all identify this verb as Indicative, as do all the standard English versions. But Peter does use subjunctives 23 times in his epistles, so why not here?

APPossibly an echo of Psalms 85:7-13 and Psalm 98:9 “For he is come to judge the earth; he shall judge the world in righteousness, and the nations in uprightness.” (Brenton)

8