2 Peter 3:10

2 Peter 3:10

2 Peter 3:10
(KJV) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
(1611 KJV) But the day of the Lord wil come as a thiefe in the night, in the which the heauens shall passe away with a great noise, and the Elements shall melt with feruent heate, the earth also and the works that are therin shalbe burnt vp.
(1587 Geneva Bible) But the day of the Lord will come as a thiefe in the night, in the which the heauens shall passe away with a noyse, and the elements shall melt with heate, and the earth with the workes that are therein, shalbe burnt vp.
(1526 Tyndale) Neverthelesse ye daye of the lorde will come as a thefe in ye nyght in the which daye ye hevens shall perisshe with terrible noyes and the elemetes shall melt with heet and the erth with the workes that are therin shall burne.
Counterfeit Versions
(CSB) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.
(1881 RV) 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.
(1901 ASV) 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.
(NIV) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
(NASV) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
(THE MESSAGE) But when the Day of God's Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a huge conflagration, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment.
(AMP) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will vanish (pass away) with a thunderous crash, and the [material] elements [of the universe] will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.
(NLT) But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
(ESV) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
(CEV) The day of the Lord's return will surprise us like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a loud noise, and the heat will melt the whole universe. Then the earth and everything on it will be seen for what they are.
(NCV) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The skies will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in them will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be exposed.
(CEB) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will pass away with a dreadful noise, the elements will be consumed by fire, and the earth and all the works done on it will be exposed.
(HCSB) But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that [day] the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.
(NIRV) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar. Fire will destroy everything in them. God will judge the earth and everything in it.
(RSV) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.
(NAB-Roman Catholic) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.
(NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) Yet Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a hissing noise, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be discovered.
Textus Receptus - Traditional Text
ηξει δε η ημερα κυριου ως κλεπτης εν νυκτι εν η οι ουρανοι ροιζηδον παρελευσονται στοιχεια δε καυσουμενα λυθησονται και γη και τα εν αυτη εργα κατακαησεται
Hort-Westcott - Critical Text
ηξει δε ημερα κυριου ως κλεπτης εν η οι ουρανοι ροιζηδον παρελευσονται στοιχεια δε καυσουμενα λυθησεται και γη και τα εν αυτη εργα ευρεθησεται
Corrupted Manuscripts
Removes “in the night”
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century
B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century
P 025 - Ninth century
33 (Minuscule) - Ninth Century
Changes “Burned up” to “discovered”
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century
K 018 - Ninth century
P 025 - Ninth century
Manuscripts which agree with the Textus Receptus for this verse
Retains “in the night”
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century
K 018 - Ninth century
L 020 - Ninth century
Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
Retains “shall be burnt up”
A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century
L 020 - Ninth century
Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
Published Critical Greek Texts with Corruptions
Omit “in the night” after “thief”
Greisbach, Johann - 1805
Lachmann, Karl - 1842
Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869
Tregelles, Samuel - 1857
Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871
Wordsworth, Christopher - 1856 revised in 1870
Westcott and Hort - 1881
Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941
Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition
United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition
Reads “shall be discovered” instead of “shall be burned up”
Tregelles, Samuel - 1857
Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
Westcott and Hort - 1881
Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition
United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition
Affected Teaching
(1 Th 5:2 KJV) For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. The King James Bible states that the return of the Lord is going to be a very swift event. One moment we will be walking on earth and the next moment we will be in Heaven in the presence of the Lord. 2 Peter 3:10 and 1 Thessalonians 5:2 both speak of the Lord’s return as a thief in the night. The night time speaks of people being in spiritual darkness or in other words, they are unsaved. (1 Th 5:7 KJV) For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. It is for these people that the Lord will return as a thief in the night because they are unprepared. (1 Th 5:4 KJV) But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. The true believer is not in darkness so the Lord will not be coming as a thief in the night for us. We are prepared by means of our salvation.
The second portion which was attacked by the modernist was the fact that not only will the world and universe be burned up, but all the works that are contained in them will also be burned up. Every work that has been sin cursed will be done away with, not discovered as the modern versions put it.. He describes the end as a great conflagration which will signal an end to the present heaven and earth. It will be burned up right down to the smallest particles which will be total destruction. It will be done with great heat which will consume the earth and universe. The words “shall be burned up” is in the future tense and passive voice. This means that the universe and the earth will be burned up from an outside source, which will be God Himself. Some try to take this passage and make it say nuclear war but there is no way an atom bomb on earth could melt the Horse head or Crab nebulae in deep space. All the universe and the earth will be subjected to the final purging by fire on the last day and it will not be anything that man does, but that God does, as He promised to remake the New Heavens and the New Earth.

Back