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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
2 Pet 3 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18
OET (OET-LV) But the_day of_the_master will_be_coming like a_thief, in which the heavens will_be_passing_away vociferously, and elements being_burned will_be_being_destroyed, and the_earth and the works in it will_be_being_found.
OET (OET-RV) But the day of the master will come like a thief, when the universe will suddenly pass away, its components will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth and what happened on it will be examined.
Although some people were mocking the Christian teaching that Christ would return, Peter insisted that Christ would indeed come back to judge people. He wrote that at that time, God would destroy this present world and there would be a new earth where only righteous people would live. So Peter urged his readers to live in a pure and holy manner, so that they would be ready when Christ returned.
Christ will return when no one is expecting him. At that time the universe will burn up and in that way God will completely destroy it.
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief.
But although Christ may seem to be delaying his return, he will certainly return. He will come at a time that nobody expects him, like a thief comes when nobody expects him.
But Christ will return. On the day when he returns, he will surprise people like a thief surprises people when he comes.
the Day of the Lord: In the OT this expression meant the day when God would defeat his enemies and punish them. But the people who wrote the NT used the expression to refer to the day when Christ would return to judge all people.
come like a thief: Christ will come suddenly, at a time when people do not expect him to come. It may be necessary to clearly state this in your translation, otherwise the people who read it might think that Peter was saying that Christ is like a thief. If many people who read your translation think that it is not good to compare Christ to a thief, even when someone explains the similarity to them, then you should omit the reference to a thief and just say what the verse means. You could say something like “he will come unexpectedly.” Peter put the verb “will come” at the beginning of the sentence in the Greek in order to emphasize that Christ will certainly come.
The heavens will disappear with a roar,
At that time there will be a roaring noise in the sky, and the sky will disappear.
with a roar: The Greek word that BSB translates roar means “a rushing or hissing sound,” for example, the sound that a bird makes when it flaps its wings, or the sound that water makes when it flows in a river. Here it describes the crackling and roaring sound of a big fire burning.
the elements will be destroyed by fire,
Everything in the sky, the sun, moon and stars will burn up completely,
God will burn everything in the sky and destroy them.
the elements: Most commentators think this means the heavenly bodies, such as the sun, the moon, and the stars. But people in Peter’s time who spoke Greek also used this word to refer to the basic ingredients of the physical world such as earth, air, and water.
and the earth and its works will be laid bare.
On that day, he will reveal everything that people have done on earth in order to judge them.
the earth and its works: The majority of scholars understand this to refer to the contents of the earth, whether made by man or by God. Most English versions follow this interpretation. It is recommended that you do so too.
will be laid bare: There is a problem with the Greek text here. The English versions treat the problem in different ways:
heurethēsetai “will be found.” Some Greek manuscripts say this. The difficulty with this word is to decide what it means in this context. Some scholars say it means that people’s deeds will be laid bare. At the time that God will judge people, he will expose the things that they have done. Others think that this is a rhetorical question: “Will the earth and everything in it be found?” With the implied answer: “No, certainly not.” Then it means “the earth and everything in it will not be found,” that is, they will have vanished. (BSB, NIV, NRSV, NEB)
katakaēsetai “will be burned up.” Some Greek manuscripts say this. (RSV, JB)
Some translations have “will disappear,” “vanish” which is equivalent to translating the first interpretation above as a rhetorical question. (GNT, JBP)
Scholars are not certain what Peter wrote. It could be any of the three possibilities above. So it may be best to follow the choice of the major translation used in your area. If you are using footnotes, you should add a note mentioning what the other manuscripts say.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast
δὲ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἥξει Δέ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν ᾗ οἱ οὐρανοί ῥοιζηδόν παρελεύσονται στοιχεῖα δέ καυσούμενα λυθήσεται καί γῆ καί τά ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα εὑρεθήσεται)
Here, But indicates a contrast between what the mockers believed about God and what God will really do. Although the Lord is being patient and wants people to repent, he will indeed return and bring judgment.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / simile
ἥξει & ἡμέρα Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης
˓will_be˒_coming & ˓the˒_day ˱of˲_˓the˒_Lord like ˓a˒_thief
Peter speaks of the day when God will judge everyone as if it were a thief who will come unexpectedly and take people by surprise. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this simile plainly. Alternate translation: [the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly]
Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns
κλέπτης, ἐν ᾗ
˓a˒_thief in which
Here, which refers to “the day of the Lord”. If it would be helpful for your readers, you could express this explicitly and begin a new sentence. Alternate translation: [a thief. In the day of the Lord]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
στοιχεῖα & λυθήσεται
elements & ˓will_be_being˒_destroyed
If your language does not use this passive form, you can state this in an active form and you can indicate who will do the action. Alternate translation: [God will destroy the elements]
στοιχεῖα & λυθήσεται
elements & ˓will_be_being˒_destroyed
Here, elements could refer to: (1) the basic elements that make up the natural universe. Alternate translation: [the components of nature will be destroyed] (2) the heavenly bodies, such as the sun, moon, and stars. Alternate translation: [the heavenly bodies will be destroyed]
στοιχεῖα δὲ καυσούμενα λυθήσεται
elements (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἥξει Δέ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν ᾗ οἱ οὐρανοί ῥοιζηδόν παρελεύσονται στοιχεῖα δέ καυσούμενα λυθήσεται καί γῆ καί τά ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα εὑρεθήσεται)
Here, being burned up refers to the means by which the elements will be destroyed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this explicitly. Alternate translation: [and the elements will be destroyed by means of burning] or [and the elements will be destroyed by means of fire]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
γῆ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα εὑρεθήσεται
˓the˒_earth (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἥξει Δέ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν ᾗ οἱ οὐρανοί ῥοιζηδόν παρελεύσονται στοιχεῖα δέ καυσούμενα λυθήσεται καί γῆ καί τά ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα εὑρεθήσεται)
God will see all the earth and all the deeds of everyone, and he will then judge everything. If your language does not use this passive form, you can state this in active terms. Alternate translation: [God will find the earth and the deeds in it]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
γῆ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα εὑρεθήσεται
˓the˒_earth (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἥξει Δέ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν ᾗ οἱ οὐρανοί ῥοιζηδόν παρελεύσονται στοιχεῖα δέ καυσούμενα λυθήσεται καί γῆ καί τά ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα εὑρεθήσεται)
Here, deeds refers to the actions of people on the earth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this explicitly. Alternate translation: [the earth and what people have done in it will be found]
γῆ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα εὑρεθήσεται
˓the˒_earth (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἥξει Δέ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν ᾗ οἱ οὐρανοί ῥοιζηδόν παρελεύσονται στοιχεῖα δέ καυσούμενα λυθήσεται καί γῆ καί τά ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα εὑρεθήσεται)
Here, found indicates that the removal of the heavens and elements will leave the earth and what has been done on it exposed for God to see and judge. Alternate translation: [the earth and the deeds in it will be exposed] or [the earth and the deeds in it will be revealed]
3:10 The very elements themselves might refer to the basic components of the physical universe or to the sun, moon, and stars.
• will be found to deserve judgment: The Greek text here is difficult; the reading followed by the NLT probably means that creation will appear before God at the time of judgment, and he will find it to deserve his judgment.
OET (OET-LV) But the_day of_the_master will_be_coming like a_thief, in which the heavens will_be_passing_away vociferously, and elements being_burned will_be_being_destroyed, and the_earth and the works in it will_be_being_found.
OET (OET-RV) But the day of the master will come like a thief, when the universe will suddenly pass away, its components will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth and what happened on it will be examined.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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