Seconda lettera di Pietro 3

NOVA VULGATA	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Hanc vobis, carissimi, iam se cundam scribo epistulam, in quibus excito vestram in commonitione sinceram mentem,	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 ut memores sitis eorum, quae praedicta sunt verborum a sanctis prophetis, et ab apostolis traditi vobis praecepti Domini et Salvatoris;	2 Remember what was said in the past by the holy prophets and the command of the Lord and Saviourgiven by your apostles.
3 hoc primum scientes, quod venient in novissimis diebus in illusione illudentes, iuxta proprias concupiscentias suas ambulantes,	3 First of al , do not forget that in the final days there wil come sarcastic scoffers whose life is ruled bytheir passions.
4 dicentes: “ Ubi est promissio adventus eius? Ex quo enim patres dormierunt, omnia sic perseverant ab initio creaturae ”.	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 Latet enim eos hoc volentes, quod caeli erant prius, et terra de aqua et per aquam consistens Dei verbo,	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 per quae ille tunc mundus aqua inundatus periit;	6 and that it was through these same factors that the world of those days was destroyed by thefloodwaters.
7 caeli autem, qui nunc sunt, et terra eodem verbo repositi sunt igni, servati in diem iudicii et perditionis impiorum hominum.	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 Unum vero hoc non lateat vos, carissimi, quia unus dies apud Dominum sicut mille anni, et mille anni sicut dies unus.	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 Non tardat Dominus promissionem, sicut quidam tarditatem existimant, sed patienter agit in vos nolens aliquos perire, sed omnes ad paenitentiam reverti.	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 Adveniet autem dies Domini ut fur, in qua caeli magno impetu transient, elementa vero calore solventur, et terra et opera, quae in ea invenientur.	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 Cum haec omnia ita dissolvenda sint, quales oportet esse vos in sanctis conversationibus et pietatibus,	11 Since everything is coming to an end like this, what holy and saintly lives you should be living
12 exspectantes et properantes adventum diei Dei, propter quam caeli ardentes solventur, et elementa ignis ardore tabescent!	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 Novos vero caelos et terram novam secundum promissum ipsius exspectamus, in quibus iustitia habitat.	13 What we are waiting for, relying on his promises, is the new heavens and new earth, whereuprightness will be at home.
14 Propter quod, carissimi, haec exspectantes satagite immaculati et inviolati ei inveniri in pace;	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 et Domini nostri longanimitatem, salutem arbitramini, sicut et carissimus frater noster Paulus secundum datam sibi sapientiam scripsit vobis,	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 sicut et in omnibus epistulis loquens in eis de his; in quibus sunt quaedam difficilia intellectu, quae indocti et instabiles depravant, sicut et ceteras Scripturas, ad suam ipsorum perditionem.	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 Vos igitur, dilecti, praescientes custodite, ne iniquorum errore simul abducti excidatis a propria firmitate;	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 crescite vero in gratia et in cognitione Domini nostri et Salvatoris Iesu Christi. Ipsi gloria et nunc et in diem aeternitatis. 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.