1This is my second letter to you, dear friends. In both of them I have tried to stimulate you to wholesome thinking and to refresh your memory, 2So that you may remember the words that were spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and of the commandment given by our Lord and Savior through us, your apostles; 3Knowing above all, that in the last days there shall come scoffers, mocking the truth, led by their evil desires, 4And saying, “Where is His promised return? For ever since our ancestors died, everything continues as it has from the beginning of the creation.”

5For they are willingly ignorant, deliberately forgetting that by the word of God the heavens were created of old, and the earth formed and standing out of (emerging from) the surrounding water. 6The Lord used these waters to destroy the world that then was, by overflowing it with water. 7But by the same word, the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store, reserved for the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men. 8But, beloved, do not forget this one thing: that, with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. 9The Lord is not slack (slow or negligent) concerning His promise, as some people might think; but instead, is patient and merciful toward us, not willing that any should perish, but desiring that all should come to repentance. 10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night: the heavens shall disappear with a loud roar, the very elements themselves shall melt with fervent heat; the earth and all that is done in it will be laid bare, and revealed for judgment.

11Since all these things shall be destroyed, what sort of people should you be? You should live holy and godly lives, 12As you look forward to and hasten the coming of that day of God, in which He will set the heavens on fire, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. 13But we, in keeping with His promise, look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness will prevail. 14Therefore, dear friends, since you look forward to this, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight. 15And remember that the patience (delay) of our Lord affords time for the salvation of others, just as our dear brother, Paul, also wrote to you with the wisdom that God had given to him; 16As Paul has also said in all of his letters, speaking in them of these matters; and some of the things in his letters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which some that are ignorant and unstable misinterpret and distort, just as they do with the other scriptures, to their own destruction. 17Therefore, beloved friends, since you have been forewarned of these things, be on your guard; so that you are not misled by these errors of the wicked, and fall from your steadfast footing. 18But continue to grow in grace, and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.