Passage

2 Peter 3.3

Book: 2 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance; 2. that ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandments of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles:

3. knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts,

and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5. For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God; (2 Peter 3:1-5, ASV)

WEB

This is now, beloved, the second letter that I have written to you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by reminding you; 2. that you should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior:

3. knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts,

and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 5. For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water, by the word of God; (2 Peter 3:1-5, WEB)

KJV

This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2. That ye 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 Saviour:

3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after 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 the creation. 5. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: ^{standing: Gr. consisting} (2 Peter 3:1-5, KJV)

YLT

This, now, beloved, a second letter to you I write, in both which I stir up your pure mind in reminding [you], 2. to be mindful of the sayings said before by the holy prophets, and of the command of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour,

3. this first knowing, that there shall come in the latter end of the days scoffers, according to their own desires going on,

and saying, 'Where is the promise of his presence? for since the fathers did fall asleep, all things so remain from the beginning of the creation;' 5. for this is unobserved by them willingly, that the heavens were of old, and the earth out of water and through water standing together by the word of God, (2 Peter 3:1-5, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Simon Peter, writing as an apostle and eyewitness (1:1, 1:16), aware that his death is near (1:14)
Audience: Believers addressed as having received a faith of the same kind as the apostles' (1:1); 3:1 calls this the second letter to them, pointing to the same congregations as 1 Peter in Asia Minor
Location: Traditionally Rome, in the period of Peter's final imprisonment
Time period: c. AD 64-68 on the traditional attribution; the letter is written against teachers who had entered the churches denying the Lord's return and using freedom as cover for licence (2:1-3, 3:3-4)

Theological reading

The appearance of mockers is presented as itself predicted, which turns the objection into a confirmation. They are said to come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, which links the intellectual objection to a prior disposition rather than treating it as a purely dispassionate argument. The verse introduces the letter's final and most developed answer, and its placement matters: the reader is told to know this first, meaning that the phenomenon should be interpreted before the argument is engaged.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

G1097 - ginosko, ginosko, Strong's G1097

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

G5020 - tartaroo, via 2 Peter 3.3-4

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.