2 Peter 3:12
What does 2 Peter 3:12 mean?
A plain-English look at 2 Peter 3:12 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 2 Peter 3:12 means
Believers are to look for and earnestly desire the coming of the day of God. Hope is active, not apathetic. Their longing aligns them with God’s purposes and keeps them from being entangled in what will soon melt away. Peter repeats the imagery of cosmic dissolution by fire to emphasize the finality of the change. The faithful do not dread that day; they anticipate it, because it brings the end of evil and the arrival of God’s reign openly. This expectancy nurtures perseverance and purity. While Peter does not explain how our desire relates to timing, he clearly teaches that our posture should be forward-looking and wholehearted toward the Lord’s appearing.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
KJV
King James Version · 1611Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Looking for and truly desiring the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will come to an end through fire, and the substance of the earth will be changed by the great heat?
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862waiting for and hasting to the presence of the day of God, by which the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements with burning heat shall melt;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of the Lord, by which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with the burning heat?
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890waiting for and hastening the coming of the day ofGod, by reason of which [the] heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and [the] elements, burning with heat, shall melt?
Context
After urging holy living (v11), Peter adds an attitude of eager expectation (v12). He reiterates the fiery dissolution to keep the gravity of the day before his readers. This leads naturally to the positive counterpart in verse 13: the promise of new heavens and a new earth. Verses 14–16 will then move from hope to practical diligence, peace, and purity, and will connect this teaching with Paul’s writings, warning against Scripture-twisting.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Psalms 50:3
Our God cometh, and doth not keep silence: A fire devoureth before him, And it is very tempestuous round about him.
- 2 Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
- Isaiah 34:4
And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fade away, as the leaf fadeth from off the vine, and as a fading leaf from the fig-tree.
- Micah 1:4
And the mountains shall be melted under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as waters that are poured down a steep place.
- Isaiah 2:1
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
- 2 Peter 3:7
but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
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