Bible Strands
2 Peter 3:8
Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Peter addresses his "beloved" readers to prevent a specific oversight regarding the timing of God's promises. He issues this warning immediately after describing how the current heavens and earth are being kept for fire and the day of judgment.
The words — The passage centers on λανθανέτω (lanthanetō), literally "should be hidden from," and Ἓν (Hen), meaning "one [thing]." These terms establish the direct command that a particular reality must not escape the reader's notice.
The thread — The text explicitly states that with the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day, directly echoing Psalms 90:4. This pattern of warning against spiritual ignorance also appears in Romans 11:25 and 1 Corinthians 10:1.
Why it lands — The verse plainly declares that God's perception of time differs from human measurement, directly addressing complaints that His promised return is delayed. It requires readers to abandon impatience and align their expectations with divine patience rather than human chronology.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Cross-references
- Psalms 90:4 For in Your sight a thousand years are but a day that passes, or a watch of the night.
- Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
- 1 Corinthians 10:1 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and that they all passed through the sea.
- 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.