2 Peter 3:5

For this they wilfully forget (lanqanei gar autou touto qelonta). Literally, "for this escapes them being willing." See this use of lanqanw (old verb, to escape notice of, to be hidden from) in Acts 26:26 . The present active participle qelonta (from qelw, to wish) has almost an adverbial sense here. Compacted (sunestwsa). See Paul's sunesthken ( Colossians 1:17 ) "consist." Second perfect active (intransitive) participle of sunisthmi, feminine singular agreeing with gh (nearest to it) rather than with ouranoi (subject of hsan imperfect plural). There is no need to make Peter mean the Jewish mystical "seven heavens" because of the plural which was used interchangeably with the singular ( Matthew 5:9 ). Out of water and amidst water (ex udato kai di udato). Out of the primeval watery chaos ( Genesis 1:2 ), but it is not plain what is meant by di udato, which naturally means "by means of water," though dia with the genitive is used for a condition or state ( Hebrews 12:1 ). The reference may be to Genesis 1:9 , the gathering together of the waters. By the word of God (twi tou qeou logwi). Instrumental case logwi, "by the fiat of God" ( Genesis 1:3 ; Hebrews 11:3 rhmati qeou).