Petri Ii 3
1 Hanc ecce vobis, charissimi, secundam scribo epistolam, in quibus vestram excito in commonitione sinceram mentem:
This, dear friends, is my second letter to you. In both of them I have tried, by appealing to your remembrance, to arouse your better feelings.
2 ut memores sitis eorum, quæ prædixi verborum a sanctis Prophetis, et Apostolorum vestrorum præceptorum Domini et Salvatoris.
I want you to recall what was foretold by the holy prophets, as well as the command of our Lord and Saviour given to you through your apostles.
3 Hoc primum scientes, quod venient in novissimis diebus in deceptione illusores, iuxta proprias concupiscentias ambulantes,
First be assured of this, that, as the age draws to an end, scoffers, led by their own passions,
4 dicentes: Ubi est promissio, aut adventus eius? ex quo enim patres dormierunt, omnia sic perseverant ab initio creaturæ.
will come and ask scoffingly – “Where is his promised coming? Ever since our ancestors passed to their rest, everything remains just as it was when the world was first created!”
5 Latet enim eos hoc volentes, quod cæli erant prius, et terra, de aqua, et per aquam consistens Dei Verbo:
For they wilfully shut their eyes to the fact that long ago the heavens existed; and the earth, also – formed out of water and by the action of water, by the fiat of God;
6 per quæ, ille tunc mundus aqua inundatus periit.
and that by the same means the world which then existed was destroyed in a deluge of water.
7 Cæli autem, qui nunc sunt, et terra eodem Verbo repositi sunt, igni reservati in diem iudicii, et perditionis impiorum hominum.
But the present heavens and earth, by the same fiat, have been reserved for fire, and are being kept for the day of the judgment and destruction of the godless.
8 Unum vero hoc non lateat vos, charissimi, quia unus dies apud Dominum sicut mille anni, et mille anni sicut dies unus.
But you, dear friends, must never shut your eyes to the fact that, to the Lord, one day is the same as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 Non tardat Dominus promissionem suam, sicut quidam existimant: sed patienter agit propter vos, nolens aliquos perire, sed omnes ad pœnitentiam reverti.
The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise, as some count slowness; but he is forbearing with you, as it is not his will that any of you should perish, but that all should be brought to repentance.
10 Adveniet autem dies Domini ut fur: in quo cæli magno impetu transient, elementa vero calore solventur, terra autem et quæ in ipsa sunt opera, exurentur.
The day of the Lord will come like a thief; and on that day the heavens will pass away with a crash, the elements will be burnt up and dissolved, and the earth and all that is in it will be disclosed.
11 Cum igitur hæc omnia dissolvenda sunt, quales oportet vos esse in sanctis conversationibus, et pietatibus,
Now, since all these things are in the process of dissolution, think what you yourselves ought to be – what holy and pious lives you ought to lead,
12 expectantes, et properantes in adventum diei Domini, per quem cæli ardentes solventur, et elementa ignis ardore tabescent?
while you wait for the coming of the day of God and strive to make it come soon. At its coming the heavens will be dissolved in fire, and the elements melted by heat,
13 Novos vero cælos, et novam terram secundum promissa ipsius expectamus, in quibus iustitia habitat.
but we look for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will have its home, in fulfilment of the promise of God.
14 Propter quod charissimi hæc expectantes, satagite immaculati, et inviolati ei inveniri in pace.
Therefore, dear friends, in expectation of these things, make every effort to be found by him spotless, blameless, and at peace.
15 Et Domini nostri longanimitatem, salutem arbitremini: sicut et charissimus frater noster Paulus secundum datam sibi sapientiam scripsit vobis,
Regard our Lord’s forbearance as your one hope of salvation. This is what our dear friend Paul wrote to you, with the wisdom that God gave him.
16 sicut et omnibus epistolis, loquens in eis de his, in quibus sunt quædam difficilia intellectu, quæ indocti, et instabiles depravant, sicut et ceteras Scripturas, ad suam ipsorum perditionem.
It is the same in all his letters, when he speaks in them about these subjects. There are some things in them difficult to understand, which untaught and weak people distort, just as they do all other writings, to their own ruin.
17 Vos igitur fratres præscientes custodite, ne insipientium errore traducti excidatis a propria firmitate.
You must, therefore, dear friends, now that you know this beforehand, be on your guard against being led away by the errors of reckless people, and so lapsing from your present steadfastness;
The World is Destroyed by Water
