2:9

This is what Peter used the examples in 2:4–8 to prove. The three examples show that God will punish wicked people and rescue good people.

2:9a

if all this is so: These words are not in the Greek text, but Berean Standard Bible includes them to show that Peter was now stating what all that he had said from verse 4 to 8 proved. The Display line of 2:9a shows a longer way to express this link. Here is a short way to express this link:

therefore

the Lord knows how to: The meaning here is not just that God knows how to rescue godly people, but that he will certainly do it. It could also mean “he is accustomed to do it.”

the Lord: Here the Lord refers to God, not Jesus, and it may be necessary for you to translate it as “Lord God” to make this clear.

the godly: This is the opposite of the word translated “ungodly” in 2:5, 6. Godly people are those who do fear God and, as a result, behave in the way God wants them to. See also the note on “godliness” in 1:3a.

trials: Peter was thinking here about how Christians suffer when they live in a pagan society.

2:9b

to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment: The literal meaning of this part of the verse is “to keep the wicked, being punished, for the day of judgment.” This part of the verse probably means one of two things:

(1) God is guarding wicked people carefully to prevent them from escaping so that he will be able to judge them on the Day of Judgement, when he will judge everyone. At the same time, he is already punishing them. The participle “being punished” is present tense which normally shows that the action is happening at the same time as the main verb (in this verse the main verb is “kept,” which the Berean Standard Bible translates as hold). For example:

how to keep the wicked under punishment for the Day of Judgement (Good News Translation)
-or-
and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgement (Revised Standard Version)

(New International Version (2011 Revision), Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version)

(2) God will finally condemn and punish wicked people on the Day of Judgement. Until then, he will guard them to prevent them from escaping. The present participle can have a future sense, and the words “judge” and “punish” usually refer to the final judgement, so some scholars believe that it is future punishment which Peter has referred to here.

and how to reserve his punishment for the wicked until their day comes (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
and hold the wicked for their punishment until the day of Judgement (The Jerusalem Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, The Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1), which is in the Meaning Line of the Display.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.