The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
What does 2 Peter 3:9 mean?
Had these scoffers considered the dreadful vengeance with which God swept away a whole world of ungodly men at once, surely they would not have scoffed at his threatening an equally terrible judgment.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside 2 Peter 3:9-10 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise - That is, it should not be inferred because His promise seems to be long delayed that therefore it will fail. When people, after a considerable lapse of time, fail to fulfil their engagements, we infer that it is because they have changed their plans, or because they have forgotten their promises, or because they have no ability to perform them, or because there is a lack of principle which makes them fail, regardless of their obligations. But no such inference can be drawn from the apparent delay of the fulfillment of the divine purposes.
Key words
- his promises
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his promises.
- his promises
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his promises.
Context in 2 Peter 3
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2 Peter 3 belongs to the closing movement of the book, especially the section often described as the day of the Lord and final exhortation. Second Peter warns against false teachers, exhorts believers to growth in virtue, and reasserts the certainty of the Lord’s coming. Read this chapter with the wider themes of false teaching, growth, and memory in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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