2 Peter 3:1–18

God’s Promise is Not Slack

3Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which ^aI stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), ²that you may be mindful of the words ^bwhich were spoken before by the holy prophets, ^cand of the commandment of ¹us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, ³knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, ^dwalking according to their own lusts, ⁴and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of ^ecreation.” ⁵For this they willfully forget: that ^fby the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth ^gstanding out of water and in the water, ^6hby which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷But ⁱthe heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for ^jfire until the day of judgment and ²perdition of ungodly men.

⁸But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and ^ka thousand years as one day. ^9lThe Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but ^mis longsuffering toward ³us, ⁿnot willing that any should perish but ^othat all should come to repentance.

The Day of the Lord

¹⁰But ^pthe day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which ^qthe heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be ⁴burned up. ¹¹Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be ^rin holy conduct and godliness, ^12slooking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will ^tbe dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will ^umelt with fervent heat? ¹³Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for ^vnew heavens and a ^wnew earth in which righteousness dwells.

Be Steadfast

¹⁴Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent ^xto be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; ¹⁵and consider that ^ythe longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, ¹⁶as also in all his ^zepistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the ^arest of the Scriptures.

¹⁷You therefore, beloved, ^bsince you know this beforehand, ^cbeware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ^18dbut grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

^eTo Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.