2 Peter 3:16

2 Peter 3:16, in plain English

Paul does address these themes throughout his letters, but some of what he writes is difficult to understand, and unstable people twist his words (and other Scriptures) to justify whatever they want, which leads to their own ruin.

Why it's here

Even in Peter's lifetime, false teachers are misquoting Paul to support their own agendas. Peter is warning you: be careful what you believe, check it against the whole testimony of Scripture, and don't follow people who seem to understand it all too easily.

Who's speaking

Peter, warning against misinterpretation and spiritual abuse

Where it sits in the story

From the very beginning, the church has struggled with people who distort Scripture. Peter's warning is still timely—lazy thinking and selective reading are dangerous.

The scholarly reading

Paul addresses these eschatological and ethical matters in all his letters, but some of his teachings are genuinely difficult to grasp; ignorant and unstable people distort his writings (like they do Scripture generally) to their destruction.

Language and setting

This verse acknowledges Pauline difficulty—an honest assessment that predates most commentary tradition. Medieval scholars called Paul's obscurity his 'depths' (profunditas); even Jerome struggled with certain Pauline passages. The Greek dusnoētos (hard to understand) is precise technical language for interpretive difficulty. But Peter sharply distinguishes between legitimate difficulty and culpable distortion: the problem is not Paul's clarity but the hearers' instability (Greek: asteriktoi—unfixed, not established in truth). The reference to distorting 'the rest of the Scriptures' is crucial: it treats Paul's letters as Scripture alongside Torah and the prophets, a remarkable canonical claim in early second-century literature.

Voice

Peter, defending Paul against misreading while acknowledging authentic interpretive challenges.

Significance

The narrative turns to the dangers of hermeneutical abuse—truth can be twisted by those lacking stability. This becomes a cautionary note about how apostolic teaching becomes prey to distortion in the hands of the ungrounded.

14Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace—spotless and blameless in His sight.

15Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him.

16He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

17Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing.

18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

Read all of 2 Peter 3 — Scoffers will say: where is the promise of his coming? But God isn't slow — he's patient, not wanting anyone to perish. The day will come like a thief.