2 Peter 3

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
1 This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; through them by way of reminder I am trying to stir up your sincere disposition,	1 My dear friends, this is the second letter I have written to you, trying to awaken in you by my remindersan unclouded understanding.
2 to recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and savior through your apostles.	2 Remember what was said in the past by the holy prophets and the command of the Lord and Saviourgiven by your apostles.
3 Know this first of all, that in the last days scoffers will come (to) scoff, living according to their own desires	3 First of al , do not forget that in the final days there wil come sarcastic scoffers whose life is ruled bytheir passions.
4 and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? From the time when our ancestors fell asleep, everything has remained as it was from the beginning of creation."	4 'What has happened to the promise of his coming?' they wil say, 'Since our Fathers died everythinghas gone on just as it has since the beginning of creation!'
5 They deliberately ignore the fact that the heavens existed of old and earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God;	5 They deliberately ignore the fact that long ago there were the heavens and the earth, formed out ofwater and through water by the Word of God,
6 through these the world that then existed was destroyed, deluged with water.	6 and that it was through these same factors that the world of those days was destroyed by thefloodwaters.
7 The present heavens and earth have been reserved by the same word for fire, kept for the day of judgment and of destruction of the godless.	7 It is the same Word which is reserving the present heavens and earth for fire, keeping them til the Dayof Judgement and of the destruction of sinners.
8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.	8 But there is one thing, my dear friends, that you must never forget: that with the Lord, a day is like athousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard "delay," but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.	9 The Lord is not being slow in carrying out his promises, as some people think he is; rather is he beingpatient with you, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.	10 The Day of the Lord wil come like a thief, and then with a roar the sky wil vanish, the elements wilcatch fire and melt away, the earth and al that it contains wil be burned up.
11 Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought (you) to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,	11 Since everything is coming to an end like this, what holy and saintly lives you should be living
12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire.	12 while you wait for the Day of God to come, and try to hasten its coming: on that Day the sky wildissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat.
13 But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.	13 What we are waiting for, relying on his promises, is the new heavens and new earth, whereuprightness will be at home.
14 Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.	14 So then, my dear friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live blameless and unsul ied lives sothat he wil find you at peace.
15 And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, also wrote to you,	15 Think of our Lord's patience as your opportunity to be saved; our brother Paul, who is so dear to us,told you this when he wrote to you with the wisdom that he was given.
16 speaking of these things as he does in all his letters. In them there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, just as they do the other scriptures.	16 He makes this point too in his letters as a whole wherever he touches on these things. In al his lettersthere are of course some passages which are hard to understand, and these are the ones that uneducated andunbalanced people distort, in the same way as they distort the rest of scripture -to their own destruction.
17 Therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, be on your guard not to be led into the error of the unprincipled and to fall from your own stability.	17 Since you have been forewarned about this, my dear friends, be careful that you do not come to thepoint of losing the firm ground that you are standing on, carried away by the errors of unprincipled people.
18 But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory now and to the day of eternity. (Amen.)	18 Instead, continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Tohim be glory, in time and eternity. Amen.