2 Peter 3:11

11 All these things then being to be dissolved, what ought ye to be in holy conversation and godliness,

2 Peter 3:11 Meaning and Commentary

2 Peter 3:11

[Seeing] then [that] all these things shall be dissolved,
&c.] By fire; the heaven with all its host, sun, moon, and stars, clouds, meteors, and fowls of the air; the earth, and all that is upon it, whether of nature, or art; and, since nothing is more certain than such a dissolution of all things,

what manner [of persons] ought ye to be in [all] holy conversation
and godliness?
not as the scoffers and profane sinners, who put away this evil day far from them, but as men, who have their loins girt, and their lights burning, waiting for their Lord's coming; being continually in the exercise of grace, and in the discharge of their religious duties, watching, praying, hearing, reading; living soberly, righteously, and godly; guarding against intemperance and worldly mindedness, and every worldly and hurtful lust.

2 Peter 3:11 In-Context

9 [The] Lord does not delay his promise, as some account of delay, but is longsuffering towards you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of [the] Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and [the] elements, burning with heat, shall be dissolved, and [the] earth and the works in it shall be burnt up.
11 All these things then being to be dissolved, what ought ye to be in holy conversation and godliness,
12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, by reason of which [the] heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and [the] elements, burning with heat, shall melt?
13 But, according to his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Conversation (manner of life) and godliness are both plural in Greek.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.