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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 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18
OET (OET-LV) and saying:
Where is the promise of_the coming of_him?
From for that time the fathers were_fallen_asleep, all things is_continuing thus from the_beginning of_creation.
OET (OET-RV) and saying, “What about his promised return? Everything has just continued as usual from the beginning of creation right past the time when the ancestors died.
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.
In this paragraph and the next one (3:8–10), Peter wrote about the people who would mock Christians for believing that Christ would return and would say that he would not return. Peter said that although Christ had not yet returned, he most certainly would return one day and that at that time God would destroy the earth.
Peter said that the people who were scoffing would say that Christ still had not returned, even though he had promised to. They would say that, although he had said that there would be various signs and wonders immediately before he returned (see Mark 13:24–26), these had not happened. There had been no change, and the world was the same as it had always been since God created it. The scoffers would claim that this proved that Christ would not return at all.
“Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask.
and they will say, “Didn’t he promise to return? So where is he?
and they will say, “He promised to come back, didn’t he? But he has not come, and he will not come.
and they will say, “He promised to return, but he has not. He was lying when he said that.
Where is the promise of His coming?: This is a rhetorical question which means: “He promised to come back, but he has not come.” Many languages use rhetorical questions like this to emphasize something negative that someone is saying, but even if you can use a rhetorical question in this way, you may need to change the form of the question. GNT may be a helpful model: “He promised to come, didn’t he? Where is he?” If you translate it as a statement, and not as a question, you must use a vivid expression. Some suggestions are:
“He promised to return, but those were merely empty words!”
“When he promised to return, he was lying!”
The source of this promise is both in Old Testament prophecies (see 1:19) and in the words of Christ himself (see Matthew 24).
“Ever since our fathers fell asleep,
We(excl) say that he will not come because those who were our leaders at first have all died,
everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”
but still nothing has changed. Things remain the same as they have been since God created the world.”
but still nothing has changed. Things continue to happen in the same way as they have happened since God created the world.”
This part of the verse tells the reason that the people who are scoffing will give when they say that Christ will not return. The Greek text shows the relationship by using the word gar, “for.” BSB and other versions leave the link implicit. In the Display line for 3:4b, there is an example of how to show the relationship between 3:4b and the previous sentence.
our fathers: Literally “the fathers.” In Greek, as in many other languages, the word “father” means not only a biological father, but can mean “an ancestor,” “respected leader who lived in the past,” “the originator of something,” and “a person older than the speaker.” Because Peter spoke here of “the fathers,” he was probably referring to a specific and respected group of people who lived before the scoffers and to whom they were referring. There are different opinions about which group Peter meant:
the first generation of Christians,
the generation that preceded the generation of which the scoffers were a part,
the patriarchs and prophets,
the ancestors of the human race.
Although elsewhere in the NT the word usually refers to the important leaders in the OT, in the present context Peter probably meant interpretation (1), the first generation of Christians.
Jesus himself seemed to have said that he would return in the lifetime of the first disciples (see Matthew 10:23; Mark 9:1; John 21:21–22); angels from God promised Jesus’ disciples that he would return (see Acts 1:11); and his disciples expected him to return while they were still alive. So when the first Christians began to die and Christ had still not returned, some people, like the people in this verse, started to doubt that he would come back at all.
fell asleep: This is a euphemism for “dying.” If you have a euphemism for “dying” in your language, you could use it here.
Note 1 topic: writing-quotations
καὶ λέγοντες
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί λέγοντες Ποῦ ἐστίν ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ Ἀφʼ ἧς γάρ οἱ πατέρες ἐκοιμήθησαν παντᾶ οὕτως διαμένει ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως)
Consider natural ways of introducing direct quotations in your language. Alternate translation: [and they will say]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
ποῦ ἐστιν ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί λέγοντες Ποῦ ἐστίν ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ Ἀφʼ ἧς γάρ οἱ πατέρες ἐκοιμήθησαν παντᾶ οὕτως διαμένει ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως)
The mockers ask this rhetorical question to emphasize that they do not believe that Jesus will return. Alternate translation: [There is no promise of his coming!] or [The promise of his coming is not true!]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ποῦ ἐστιν ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί λέγοντες Ποῦ ἐστίν ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ Ἀφʼ ἧς γάρ οἱ πατέρες ἐκοιμήθησαν παντᾶ οὕτως διαμένει ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως)
Here, Where is used to ask what has happened to the promise. The mockers are not asking for the location of something. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this idiom by translating this plainly. Alternate translation: [What happened to the promise of his coming?] or [What has come about regarding the promise of his coming?]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ποῦ ἐστιν ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί λέγοντες Ποῦ ἐστίν ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ Ἀφʼ ἧς γάρ οἱ πατέρες ἐκοιμήθησαν παντᾶ οὕτως διαμένει ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως)
Here, promise refers to the fulfillment of the promise that Jesus will return. Alternate translation: [Where is the fulfillment of the promise of his coming?]
Note 5 topic: writing-pronouns
ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ
the promise ˱of˲_the coming ˱of˲_him
Here, the pronoun his refers to Jesus. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this explicitly. Alternate translation: [the promise of Jesus’ coming]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ
˱of˲_the coming ˱of˲_him
Here, his coming refers to the return of the Lord Jesus to earth. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could express this explicitly. Alternate translation: [the return of Jesus to earth]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἀφ’ ἧς γὰρ οἱ πατέρες ἐκοιμήθησαν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί λέγοντες Ποῦ ἐστίν ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ Ἀφʼ ἧς γάρ οἱ πατέρες ἐκοιμήθησαν παντᾶ οὕτως διαμένει ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως)
Here, the fathers is used. It could refer to: (1) the Old Testament ancestors of the Israelites, often called “the patriarchs.” Alternate translation: [For since Israel’s patriarchs fell asleep] (2) those leaders of the first generation of Christians who had died by the time Peter wrote this letter. Alternate translation: [For since the first Christian leaders fell asleep]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / euphemism
οἱ πατέρες ἐκοιμήθησαν
the fathers ˓were˒_fallen_asleep
Here, fell asleep is a euphemism meaning they died. You could either use a similar euphemism for death in your language or say this plainly. Alternate translation: [the fathers died]
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole
πάντα οὕτως διαμένει ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί λέγοντες Ποῦ ἐστίν ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ Ἀφʼ ἧς γάρ οἱ πατέρες ἐκοιμήθησαν παντᾶ οὕτως διαμένει ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως)
Here, all things is an exaggeration the mockers use to argue that nothing in the world has ever changed, so it cannot be true that Jesus will return.
Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως
from ˓the˒_beginning ˱of˲_creation
If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract noun creation with a verbal phrase. Alternate translation: [since God created the world]
OET (OET-LV) and saying:
Where is the promise of_the coming of_him?
From for that time the fathers were_fallen_asleep, all things is_continuing thus from the_beginning of_creation.
OET (OET-RV) and saying, “What about his promised return? Everything has just continued as usual from the beginning of creation right past the time when the ancestors died.
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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