| 3:1 | THIS is the second letter I have written to you, dear friends of mine, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate you, as men with minds uncontaminated by error, by reminding you of what you really know already. |
| 3:2 | This means recalling the words spoken of old by the holy prophets as well as the commands of our Lord and saviour given to you through his messengers. |
| 3:3 | First of all you must realize that in the last days cynical mockers will undoubtedly comemen whose only guide in life is what they want for themselves |
| 3:4 | and they will say, "Where is his promised coming? Since our fathers fell asleep, everything remains exactly as it was since the beginning of creation!" |
| 3:5 | They are deliberately shutting their eyes to the fact that there were heavens in the old days and an earth formed by God's command out of water and by water. |
| 3:6 | It was by water that the world of those days was deluged and destroyed, |
| 3:7 | but the present heavens and earth are, also by God's command, being carefully kept and maintained for the fire of the day of judgment and the destruction of wicked men. |
| 3:8 | But you should never lose sight of this fact, dear friends, that with the Lord a day may be a thousand years, and a thousand years only a day. |
| 3:9 | It is not that he is dilatory about keeping his own promise as some men seem to think; the fact is that he is very patient with you. He has no wish that any man should be destroyed; he wishes that all men should find the way to repentance. |
| 3:10 | Yet the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. In that day the heavens will vanish a tearing blast, the very elements will disintegrate in heat and the earth and all its works will disappear. |
| 3:11 | In view of the fact that all these things are to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be? Surely men of good and holy character, |
| 3:12 | who live expecting and working for the coming of the day of God. This day will mean that the heavens will disintegrate in fire and the burning elements will melt, |
| 3:13 | but our hopes are set on new heavens and a new earth which he has promised us, in which justice will make its home. |
| 3:14 | Because, my dear friends, you have a hope like this before you, I urge you to make certain that the day will find you at peace with God, flawless and blameless in his sight. |
| 3:15 | Meanwhile, consider our Lord's patience for man's salvation, as our dear brother Paul pointed out in his letter to you, written out of the wisdom God gave him. This is how be writes in all his letters when be refers to these things. |
| 3:16 | There are some points in his letters which are difficult to understand, and which illinformed and unbalanced people distort (as they do the other scriptures), and bring disaster on their own heads. |
| 3:17 | But you, my friends whom I love, are forewarned, and should therefore be very careful not to be carded away by the errors of unprincipled men and so lose your proper foothold. |
| 3:18 | On the contrary, you should grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christto him be glory now and until the day of eternity! |
2 Peter 3 - Philips NT in Modern English
