This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance;
that ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles:
knowing this first, that {Greek: in the last of the days.}in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts,
and saying, Where is the promise of his {Greek: presence.}coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
For this they wilfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and {Or, through}amidst water, by the word of God;
by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been {Or, stored with fire}stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the {Or, heavenly bodies}elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be {The most ancient manuscripts read discovered.}burned up.
Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness,
looking for and {Or, hastening}earnestly desiring the {Greek: presence.}coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the {Or, heavenly bodies}elements shall melt with fervent heat?
But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things, give diligence that ye may be found in peace, without spot and blameless in his sight.
And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote unto you;
as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; wherein are some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and unstedfast wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Ye therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware lest, being carried away with the error of the wicked, ye fall from your own stedfastness.
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and {Greek: unto the day of eternity. Ecclus. 18:10}for ever. Amen.
Querverweise zu 2. Petrus 3,10 2Pet 3,10
For {Or, Jehovah of hosts hath a day}there shall be a day of Jehovah of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low;
Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh.
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure;Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment;As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
looking for and {Or, hastening}earnestly desiring the {Greek: presence.}coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the {Or, heavenly bodies}elements shall melt with fervent heat?
The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved:He uttered his voice, the earth melted.
but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been {Or, stored with fire}stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
Alas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from {Hebrew: Shaddai.}the Almighty shall it come.
{Or, But this ye know}But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be {Greek: digged through.}broken through.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die {Or, perhaps, like gnats}in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
The mountains melted like wax at the presence of Jehovah,At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of Jehovah cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
{Or, But this ye know}But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and not have left his house to be {Greek: digged through.}broken through.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
For the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, is he that toucheth the land and it melteth, and all that dwell therein shall mourn; and it shall rise up wholly like the River, and shall sink again, like the River of Egypt;
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision.
Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear; and keep it, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, {Or, in hope: because the creation & c.}in hope
The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come.
(Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.)
They shall perish; but thou continuest:And they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord {Some ancient authorities omit Jesus.}Jesus.
And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up,As a garment, and they shall be changed:But thou art the same,And thy years shall not fail.
as also ye did acknowledge us in part, that we are your glorying, even as ye also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And angels that kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more.