English Standard Version
2 Peter 3:4
4They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."
2 Peter 3:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And 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.
- New International Version (NIV)They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)They 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.”
Context of 2 Peter 3:4
2that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." 5For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.
Read all of 2 Peter 32 Peter 3:4 word by word
καὶ λέγοντες· ποῦ ἐστιν ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ; ἀφ᾽ ἧς γὰρ οἱ πατέρες ἐκοιμήθησαν, πάντα οὕτως διαμένει ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- sayingλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Whereποῦpou · where?G4226
- isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- the promiseὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the promiseἐπαγγελίαepaggelia · promiseG1860
- ofπαρουσίαparousia · comingG3952
- hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- forγάρgar · forG1063
- sinceἀπόapo · away fromG575
- ·ὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- the fathersπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
- fell asleepκοιμάωkoimaō · to sleepG2837
- all thingsπᾶςpas · allG3956
- continueδιαμένωdiamenō · to remainG1265
- asοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
- the beginningἀρχήarchē · beginningG746
- of the creationκτίσιςktisis · creationG2937
Cross-references for 2 Peter 3:4
- Genesis 19:14So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
- Ecclesiastes 1:9What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 8:11Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.
- Isaiah 5:18Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,
- Jeremiah 5:12They have spoken falsely of the Lord and have said, 'He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine.
- Jeremiah 17:15Behold, they say to me, "Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come!"
- Ezekiel 12:22"Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, 'The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing'?
- Malachi 2:17You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, "How have we wearied him?" By saying, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them." Or by asking, "Where is the God of justice?"
- Matthew 24:28Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
- Luke 12:45But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,
- Mark 13:19For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.
- Revelation 3:14"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.
Commentaries on 2 Peter 3:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Where is the promise of his coming? - Perhaps the false teachers here referred to were such as believed in the eternity of the world: the prophets and the apostles had foretold its destruction, and they took it for granted, if this were true, that the terrestrial machine would have begun long ago to have shown some symptoms of decay; but they found that since the patriarchs died all things remained as they were from the foundation of the world; that is…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? - That is, either, Where is the “fulfillment” of that promise; or, Where are the “indications” or “signs” that he will come? They evidently meant to imply that the promise had utterly failed; that there was not the slightest evidence that it would be accomplished; that they who had believed this were entirely deluded. It is possible that some of the early Christians, even in the time of the apostles, had…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4since our fathers fell asleep: The false teachers were probably claiming that nothing had really changed in history. They argued that, even though God promised to act, God had never intervened and never would.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. (Compare Psa 10:11; 73:11.) Presumptuous skepticism and lawless lust, setting nature and its so-called laws above the God of nature and revelation, and arguing from the past continuity of nature's phenomena that there can be no future interruption to them, was the sin of the antediluvians, and shall be that of the scoffers in the last days. Where--implying that it ought to have taken place before this, if ever it was to take place, but that it never…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Peter 3:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Peter 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
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