| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Dear friends, this is already the second letter I have written you, in which I am trying to stir up your pure mind by way of reminder: | 1This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. |
| 2I want you to recall both the predictions foretold by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles. | 2I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles. |
| 3Above all, understand this: In the last days blatant scoffers will come, being propelled by their own evil urges | 3Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. |
| 4and saying, "Where is his promised return? For ever since our ancestors died, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation." | 4They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” |
| 5For they deliberately suppress this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water. | 5They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. |
| 6Through these things the world existing at that time was destroyed when it was deluged with water. | 6Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. |
| 7But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, by being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. | 7And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed. |
| 8Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day. | 8But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. |
| 9The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. | 9The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. |
| 10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare. | 10But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. |
| 11Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of people must we be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness, | 11Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, |
| 12while waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God? Because of this day, the heavens will be burned up and dissolve, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze! | 12looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. |
| 13But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides. | 13But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. |
| 14Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for these things, strive to be found at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. | 14And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight. |
| 15And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, | 15And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him— |
| 16speaking of these things in all his letters. Some things in these letters are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. | 16speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction. Peter’s Final Words |
| 17Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. | 17You already know these things, dear friends. So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. |
| 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on that eternal day. | 18Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen. |
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