II Peter 3

¹This second letter, beloved, I now write to you, in both which I stir up your pure minds by putting you in remembrance;

²that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of the Lord and Saviour by your apostles;

³knowing this first, that there will come in the last days open scoffers following their own lusts,

⁴and saying, Where is his promised coming? for, from the time when the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as then, and as they have continued from the beginning of the creation.

⁵For of this they are willingly ignorant, that of old by the word of God there were heavens, and an earth formed out of the water and by the water,

⁶by means of which the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished;

⁷but the present heavens and the present earth are by his word kept in store, reserved for fire against the day of judgment and the perdition of ungodly men.

⁸But forget not, beloved, this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

⁹The Lord is not tardy concerning his promise, as some men count tardiness; but is long-suffering toward you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein will be burned up.

¹¹Seeing that all these things are thus to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in holy conduct and godliness,

¹²looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire will be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat!

¹³But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

¹⁴Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things, be diligent that ye may be found without spot and blameless before him in peace,

¹⁵and account the long-suffering of our Lord salvation; as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you,

¹⁶as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things; in which things are some that are hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as also the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷Do ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things beforehand, beware lest, being led away with the error of the lawless, ye fall from your own steadfastness.

¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, both now and for ever.

II Peter 3

¹This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

²That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

³Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after 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 the creation.

⁵For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

⁶Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

⁷But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

⁸But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

⁹The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

¹¹Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

¹²Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

¹³Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

¹⁴Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

¹⁵And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

¹⁶As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

¹⁷Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

¹⁸But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.