2Pe 3 | NASB1995 | STEP | This is now , beloved , the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder ,

2 Peter 3

Purpose of This Letter

1 This is now, ^abeloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am ^bstirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should ^cremember the words spoken beforehand by ^dthe holy prophets and ^ethe commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

The Coming Day of the Lord

3 ^fKnow this first of all, that ^gin the last days ^hmockers will come with their mocking, ⁱfollowing after their own lusts, 4 and saying, ^j“Where is the promise of His ^kcoming? For ever since the fathers ^lfell asleep, all continues just as it was ^mfrom the beginning of creation.” 5 For ^{▼▼ Or they are willfully ignorant of this fact, that}when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that ^oby the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was ^pformed out of water and by water, 6 through which ^qthe world at that time was ^rdestroyed, being flooded with water. 7 But by His word ^sthe present heavens and earth are being reserved for ^tfire, kept for ^uthe day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, ^vbeloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and ^wa thousand years like one day. 9 ^xThe Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but ^yis patient toward you, ^znot wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

A New Heaven and Earth

10 But ^aathe day of the Lord ^abwill come like a thief, in which ^acthe heavens ^adwill pass away with a roar and the ^aeelements will be destroyed with intense heat, and ^afthe earth and ^{▼▼ Lit the works in it}its works will be ^{▼▼ Two early mss read discovered}burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 ^ailooking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which ^ajthe heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the ^akelements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His ^alpromise we are looking for ^amnew heavens and a new earth, ^anin which righteousness dwells.

14 ^aoTherefore, ^apbeloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be ^aqfound by Him in peace, ^arspotless and blameless, 15 and regard the ^aspatience of our Lord as salvation; just as also ^atour beloved brother Paul, ^auaccording to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of ^avthese things, ^awin which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and ^axunstable distort, as they do also ^aythe rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You therefore, ^azbeloved, knowing this beforehand, ^babe on your guard so that you are not carried away by ^bbthe error of ^bcunprincipled men and ^bdfall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and ^beknowledge of our ^bfLord and Savior Jesus Christ. ^bgTo Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.