SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Peter 2000 – Page 4

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:13

3:13

In Isaiah 65:17, God says, “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth,” (see also Isaiah 66:22). It is very possible that Peter was thinking here about what Isaiah had recorded in those passages.

where righteousness dwells: The meaning is that in that place everything will be good, and people will do only what is right and just.

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:14

Paragraph 3:14–16

In this paragraph and the following one, Peter told the people to whom he wrote this letter that while they waited for the day when Christ would return, they should try very hard in every way to behave in a manner which pleases God and to carefully guard themselves against those people who would cause them to doubt what they believed.

3:14a

beloved: See note on 3:1a.

these things: The Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek pronoun as these things because the form in Greek is plural. Most scholars think it refers to the new heavens and the new earth, but it could also refer to all the events that Peter, in the verses immediately preceding this one, had said would happen on the Day of the Lord. These events will include God’s creation of new heavens and a new earth after he has destroyed the old ones.

3:14b

to be found at peace—spotless and blameless: The verb to be found applies to at peace and spotless and blameless. Peter was telling his readers that they were to do their best so that when Christ returned, God would find them pure, blameless, and at “peace” with him.

to be found…spotless: This means “that God may see that you are pure,” or “that you may be pure in God’s sight.” Most scholars think that this refers to being in this pure condition when Christ returns. But some people think it means being pure now and always. Whatever it means, in order to be sure that God will consider a person pure when Christ returns, that person needs to try hard to remain spotless at all times.

spotless and blameless: These two words are very similar in meaning. People often used them to describe a perfect animal which was fit to sacrifice to God. When people used these words about an animal they were going to sacrifice, they were referring to the physical condition of the animal, but here Peter was referring to the spiritual condition of the people to whom he was writing. He wanted them to guard themselves so that they would not do wrong in any way.

If it is difficult in your language to find two words with this meaning, you could use only one and strengthen it by using “very” or “completely.” For example:

completely pure

in His sight: The Greek word that Berean Standard Bible translates as in His sight could also mean “to him” or “by him.” Because the order of the words in Greek is ambiguous, it is not certain which other part of the sentence this phrase belongs to. Some scholars think that it goes with “at peace,” while others think that it goes with “to be found” or with “spotless and blameless.” So there are the following interpretations:

(1) “at peace with him,” or, in other words, at peace with God.

(New International Version (2011 Revision) and New Living Translation (2004 Revision) translate it in this way.)

(2) “to be found by him,” or, in other words, he sees them in this condition.

(New Revised Standard Version and The Jerusalem Bible translate it in this way.)

(3) “spotless and blameless to him,” or, in other words, in his sight.

(Berean Standard Bible translates it in this way.)

According to the second and third interpretations, Peter did not say with whom the readers should be at peace. He was probably talking about peace with God, but he may have been talking about peace with their neighbors and fellow Christians, too.

Some versions seem to combine (1) and (3). For example:

to be pure and blameless in God’s sight and to be at peace with him. (Good News Translation)

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:15

3:15a

This verse expresses the same idea as in verse 9: The Lord was being patient and had delayed his return to give people the opportunity to repent so that he could save them instead of punishing them.

Lord: is ambiguous, and could refer to God or Christ. You should probably make the same decision here as you made for verses 9–10.

3:15b

Peter said that Paul wrote the same things about the Lord’s return in his letter to them. He called Paul “our beloved brother.” Some scholars think it means “our beloved fellow believer.” The NT often refers to fellow believers as “brothers.” If that is the correct interpretation, then “our” is inclusive. Other scholars think that Peter meant “our beloved fellow apostle.” If that is the correct interpretation, then “our” is exclusive.

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:16

3:16a

such matters: This could refer to:

(1) General teaching about the Lord’s return, as in verses 9–15a.

(2) Exhortation about how people should live in a pure manner because they remember that the Lord will return. In verses 14–15a, Peter exhorted the people to whom he was writing to live in this way.

If it is possible for you to use a general expression here like most English versions, you should do so.

3:16b–c

Peter said that “some parts” of Paul’s letters were difficult to understand and so those who did not understand clearly what they believed changed the meaning of them, and also of other parts of Scripture. Peter was also saying that doing this would cause God to destroy them. Maybe Peter was thinking of the false teachers he wrote about in chapter two, and saying that they were among those who did this.

Peter referred to Paul’s letters at the same time as he was referring to other Scripture. This shows that already the Christians recognized that God had authorized Paul to write letters to groups of Christians in order to teach them what God wanted them to know.

ignorant: This means “unlearned, uneducated.” In this context, the word is not referring to ordinary education. It refers to people who have not learned what Christians should believe.

unstable: This means “not firm in their faith.” Peter also used this word in 2:14c. Read again the note on that verse.

distort: This means “twist, change, explain in a wrong way.” Peter meant that some people were saying that what Paul wrote meant something different from what it really meant.

the rest of the Scriptures: Peter was probably referring to the OT and also to some other Christian writings.

destruction: See note on 2:1e.

Paragraph 3:17–18a

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:17

3:17a

This verse starts with a pronoun which emphasizes that here Peter has stopped talking about the people who were using the Scriptures incorrectly and started talking directly again to the Christians to whom he was writing, urging them not to allow the words of evil men to deceive them. Good News Translation translates this pronoun like this: “But you, my friends.” Berean Standard Bible does not translate the pronoun with any special emphasis.

beloved: See note on 3:1a.

already know these things: Here these things may refer to all that Peter had been saying about Christ’s return. Or it may refer to what he had said immediately before this verse, in verse 16, where he wrote that people would destroy themselves by twisting Scripture.

3:17c

the lawless: See note on 2:7b.

3:17d

secure standing: The literal meaning of the Greek is “stability.” This word is the opposite of “unstable” in the previous verse. If they listened to false teaching, they would doubt what they had believed, and they would no longer firmly trust in Christ. In some languages you can use an idiom like: “you will leave God’s road and get lost.”

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:18

3:18a

Peter ended his letter by appealing to his readers to grow in the way that they trusted Christ. This is similar to the way he began his letter (see paragraph 1:5–9).

grow in the grace…of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: Scholars interpret these words in different ways:

(1) “grace” means “God’s blessing and favor.” According to this interpretation, Peter was telling the people to whom he was writing to continue to trust in Christ and obey him, so that Christ would bless them more and more.

(2) “grace of Christ” means “the good character/qualities of Christ.” According to this interpretation, Peter was telling the people to whom he was writing that they should try to develop in themselves more and more of the good character that Christ showed. This fits in with what Peter said at the beginning of his letter (see 1:5–9).

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1), if you need to be specific in your translation. If, however, you follow the second interpretation, you could say something like:

Try to live/behave more and more in the good way that Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and our Savior, lived.

The tense of the Greek verb (present imperative) shows that the action is continuous. Here is another way to translate this:

Continue to grow (Good News Translation)

grow in the…knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: This could mean:

(1) continually get to know our Lord better and better,

(2) continually increase what you know about our Lord. Learn more and more about how he lived and what he taught,

(3) get more and more of the knowledge which our Lord gives.

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation.

Section 3:18b

Peter said we should all praise Christ

The final words of the letter are often called a “doxology” in English, that is, they are words that Peter wrote to praise Christ.

Paragraph 3:18b

3:18b

Most of the letters in the NT end in a similar way. People understand the form of this sort of statement (literally “to him glory”) in different ways. You can translate it as a prayer (“may people honor him”), as a command (“honor him”), or as a statement (“honor belongs to him”).

glory: In this verse, you can translate this as “honor” or “praise.”

Amen: Not all versions include this final word. This is because it is not in some of the Greek manuscripts.

If there is already a Christian church in your area, they may already be using the word “Amen” in some form when they pray. If so, you should use the same word here. If however you want to translate this word, you can use an expression like, “let it be so.”

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:16

Section 1:16–21

Peter assured those to whom he was writing that what they had learned about Jesus Christ was true

Peter assured the believers who would read his letter that the message which they had heard about Jesus Christ was true. He told them two reasons why they could be sure that this message was true: he himself had seen the majesty of Christ at the time of the Transfiguration, and also the OT prophets had spoken about Christ.

Paragraph 1:16–18

In the Greek text there is the word gar, “for,” which connects this paragraph to what precedes it. In this paragraph, Peter explained the first reason why people to whom he wrote could be sure that he wrote the truth. Another way to show how Peter linked this paragraph with what he had said before would be to say:

These things I have been telling you are true.

1:16a

cleverly devised fables: These are tales which are untrue—myths, fables —but which have been devised or invented to sound as if they are true. Peter said that he and the other apostles had not based their message on such tales which people had fabricated. He may have been thinking of the teaching of the false teachers which they based on human ideas (see 2:3a).

the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: There are two ways to interpret this part of the verse:

(1) The two words power and coming both refer to one thing, the return of Christ with great power. Good News Translation translates this part of the verse like this: “the mighty coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” There are other verses in the NT which speak of Christ returning with great power (see Matthew 24:30).

(2) The two words power and coming refer to two separate things. The word power refers to Christ’s earthly ministry, during which he performed many miracles, and the word coming refers to his second coming. New English Bible translates this part of the verse like this: “the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming.” Some commentators think that coming refers to Christ’s first coming. They think this because in the following verse, Peter referred to the Transfiguration. But in all the other places where the people who wrote the NT used this Greek word, parousia (“arrival, coming”), to refer to Christ, they used it to refer to his second coming and never to his first coming.

The first interpretation is the one recommended.

1:16b

His majesty: This means his splendor, his greatness, how very great he was.

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:2

1:2

Grace and peace: This was a common greeting among Christians at that time (see also 1 Peter 1:2). It may be necessary for you to translate peace differently according to the context. Here peace means “peace in the heart.”

be multiplied to you: Peter was asking God to continue to give them grace and peace in increasing quantities.

knowledge: This is one of the major themes of the letter. Peter may have been thinking of false teachers who insisted that in order for God to save people, those people needed special secret knowledge. However Peter said that what people really need is to know God and Jesus Christ. See also 1:3, 1:5, 1:6, 1:8, 2:20, and 3:18.

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

Source: SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 2000

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:13

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:14

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:15

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:16

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:17

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 3:18

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:16

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:2

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

American Bible Society