2 Peter 3

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 My dear friends, this is the second letter I have written to you, trying to awaken in you by my remindersan unclouded understanding.	1 Consider, most beloved, this second epistle which I am writing to you, in which I stir up, by admonition, your sincere mind,
2 Remember what was said in the past by the holy prophets and the command of the Lord and Saviourgiven by your apostles.	2 so that you may be mindful of those words that I preached to you from the holy prophets, and of the precepts of the Apostles of your Lord and Savior.
3 First of al , do not forget that in the final days there wil come sarcastic scoffers whose life is ruled bytheir passions.	3 Know this first: that in the last days there will arrive deceitful mockers, walking according to their own desires,
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!'	4 saying: “Where is his promise or his advent? For from the time that the fathers have slept, all things have continued just as they were from the beginning of creation.”
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,	5 But they willfully ignore this: that the heavens existed first, and that the earth, from water and through water, was established by the Word of God.
6 and that it was through these same factors that the world of those days was destroyed by thefloodwaters.	6 By water, the former world then, having been inundated with water, perished.
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.	7 But the heavens and the earth that exist now were restored by the same Word, being reserved unto fire on the day of judgment, and unto the perdition of impious men.
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.	8 Yet truly, let this one thing not escape notice, most beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day.
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.	9 The Lord is not delaying his promise, as some imagine, but he does act patiently for your sake, not wanting anyone to perish, but wanting all to be turned back to penance.
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.	10 Then the day of the Lord shall arrive like a thief. On that day, the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and truly the elements shall be dissolved with heat; then the earth, and the works that are within it, shall be completely burned up.
11 Since everything is coming to an end like this, what holy and saintly lives you should be living	11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what kind of people ought you to be? In behavior and in piety, be holy,
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.	12 waiting for, and hurrying toward, the advent of the day of the Lord, by which the burning heavens shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt from the heat of the fire.
13 What we are waiting for, relying on his promises, is the new heavens and new earth, whereuprightness will be at home.	13 Yet truly, in accord with his promises, we are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth, in which justice lives.
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.	14 Therefore, most beloved, while awaiting these things, be diligent, so that you may be found to be immaculate and unassailable before him, in peace.
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.	15 And let the longsuffering of our Lord be considered salvation, as also our most beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
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.	16 just as he also spoke in all of his epistles about these things. In these, there are certain things which are difficult to understand, which the unlearned and the unsteady distort, as they also do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
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.	17 But since you, brothers, know these things beforehand, be cautious, lest by being drawn into the error of the foolish, you may fall away from your own steadfastness.
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.	18 Yet truly, increase in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory, both now and in the day of eternity. Amen.