New Living Translation
2 Peter 3:4
4They 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.”
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 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.”
Context of 2 Peter 3:4
2I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles. 3Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 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.” 5They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. 6Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood.
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 rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking.
- Ecclesiastes 1:9History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
- Ecclesiastes 8:11When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.
- Isaiah 5:18What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart!
- Jeremiah 5:12“They have lied about the Lord and said, ‘He won’t bother us! No disasters will come upon us. There will be no war or famine.
- Jeremiah 17:15People scoff at me and say, “What is this ‘message from the Lord’ you talk about? Why don’t your predictions come true?”
- Ezekiel 12:22“Son of man, you’ve heard that proverb they quote in Israel: ‘Time passes, and prophecies come to nothing.’
- Malachi 2:17You have wearied the Lord with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask. You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the Lord’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”
- Matthew 24:28Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.
- Luke 12:45But what if the servant thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk?
- Mark 13:19For there will be greater anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world. And it will never be so great again.
- Revelation 3:14“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new 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
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