2 Peter 3:8–13
For the Lord a thousand years are like a day; he is not slow, he is patient with you
Study it word by word8But do not let this one thing escape you, beloved, that one day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
9The Lord is not slow about the promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to a change of mind.
10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements, burning, will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will be laid bare.
11Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
12waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens, set on fire, will be dissolved, and the elements, burning, will melt?
13But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
In its context
6through which the world of that time, flooded with water, perished.
7But the present heavens and earth by the same word have been stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people.
…
14Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these things, be eager to be found by him unstained and without defect, in peace.
15And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,
Its words in the original
- ἛνHen· one
One.
- λανθανέτωlanthanetō· escape notice
Go unnoticed, remain hidden.
- ἀγαπητοίagapētoi· beloved
Beloved, dear.
- ἡμέραhēmera· day
Day. "In the days of" someone: in their time.
- κυρίῳkyriōi· Lord, lord
Lord, master, owner. Said of God, the Lord; in Old Testament quotations it stands for the name YHWH.
- χίλιαchilia· thousand
A thousand.
- ἔτηetē· year
Year.
- βραδύνειbradynei· delay
Be slow, delay.
- ἐπαγγελίαςepangelias· promise
Promise.
- βραδύτηταbradytēta· slowness
Slowness, delay.
- ἡγοῦνταιhēgountai· lead, consider
Lead, go in front, rule; "leader", "ruler". Also think, consider, regard.
- μακροθυμεῖmakrothymei· be patient
Be patient, put up with something without getting angry, wait patiently.
- βουλόμενόςboulomenos· want, intend
Want firmly, resolve, intend.
- ἀπολέσθαιapolesthai· destroy, perish
Destroy, cause to perish; in the middle voice, perish, be lost.
- μετάνοιανmetanoian· change of mind
Change of mind: turning around one's way of thinking and of living to return to God. It is usually translated "repentance".
- χωρῆσαιchōrēsai· make room, go
Go, make one's way; also have room for, hold.
- ἥξειhēxei· have come
Come, arrive, be here.
- κλέπτηςkleptēs· thief
Thief.
- οὐρανοὶouranoi· heaven, sky
Heaven: the sky and, above all, the place of God. "The heavens" is sometimes a respectful way of saying "God".
- ῥοιζηδὸνrhoizēdon· with a roar
With a roar, with the rushing sound of something passing fast.
- παρελεύσονταιpareleusontai· pass by, pass away
Pass, pass by; come to an end, pass away.
- στοιχεῖαstoicheia· elements, basic principles
Elements: the first and basic things of something; also the powers that people believed ruled the world.
- καυσούμεναkausoumena· burn up
Burn, be consumed with great heat.
- λυθήσεταιlythēsetai· loose, untie
Untie, loose, set free; break, make void.
- γῆgē· earth, land
Earth: the ground, a country, or the whole world.
- ἔργαerga· work
Work, deed, what someone does.
- εὑρεθήσεταιheurethēsetai· find
Find; in the passive, turn out to be, be found to be so.
- ποταποὺςpotapous· what kind of
What kind of, of what sort.
- δεῖdei· bind, tie
Bind, tie.
- ὑπάρχεινhyparchein· be, exist
Be, exist, be present; "what one has", one's possessions.
- ἁγίαιςhagiais· holy
Holy: set apart for God, pure, belonging to him.
- ἀναστροφαῖςanastrophais· conduct, way of life
Conduct, the way one lives day by day.
- εὐσεβείαιςeusebeiais· godliness
Godliness: the reverence and love for God that show in one's life.
- προσδοκῶνταςprosdokōntas· wait for, expect
Wait for, look for, expect someone or something.
- σπεύδονταςspeudontas· hurry
Hurry, hasten; also eagerly desire, hasten something on.
- παρουσίανparousian· coming, presence
Coming, arrival and presence; it was said of a king's visit.
- θεοῦtheou· God, god
God. In the plural or in another sense, "gods".
- πυρούμενοιpyroumenoi· burn
Burn, be on fire; also burn with desire, or burn with distress.
- τήκεταιtēketai· melt
Melt.
- καινοὺςkainous· new
New, different from what was before.
- ἐπάγγελμαepangelma· promise
Promise.
- δικαιοσύνηdikaiosynē· righteousness
Righteousness: what is right before God, and living by it.
- κατοικεῖkatoikei· dwell, live
Dwell, live in a place, inhabit.