New King James Version
2 Peter 3:4
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 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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)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."
- 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 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 Savior, 3knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 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.” 5For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
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 spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
- Ecclesiastes 1:9That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 8:11Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
- Isaiah 5:18Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;
- Jeremiah 5:12They have lied about the Lord, And said, “It is not He. Neither will evil come upon us, Nor shall we see sword or famine.
- Jeremiah 17:15Indeed they say to me, “Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now!”
- Ezekiel 12:22“Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails’?
- Malachi 2:17You have wearied the Lord with your words; Yet you say, “In what way have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil Is good in the sight of the Lord, And He delights in them,” Or, “Where is the God of justice?”
- Matthew 24:28For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
- Luke 12:45But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk,
- Mark 13:19For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.
- Revelation 3:14“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries