Skip to content
mannafest.faith

2 Peter 3:6

in 2 Peter 3

through which the world of that time perished in the flood.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

KJV

Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

This verse in 2 Peter 3

Commentary

10 notes on this verse
Whereby - Δι ̓ ὧν Di' hōn. Through which, or by means of which. The pronoun here is in the plural number, and there has been much difference of opinion as to what it refers.

This site's exposition

But they deliberately overlook the fact

on 2 Peter 3:5-7

They deliberately overlook the fact that the word which formed the earth out of water and by water also flooded the world of that time. By that same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, tethesaurismenoi, stored up.

This site's exposition

perished in the flood

The world of Noah's day shows that creation has changed before. John Wesley names the flood's sources, the windows of heaven opened and the fountains of the deep broken up. Albert Barnes notes that the word through which is plural, and readers differ on what it refers to.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on 2 Peter · Written before 550.

proposed

For they willingly do not know that the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water by the word of God: by which the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. But the heavens and …

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles · Written before 735.

proposed

At that time the world perished, being flooded by water. At that time, referring to the heavens and the earth which he had previously mentioned. For through these things the world that had existed was destroyed. For the higher parts of the world were in …

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on 2 Peter · Written before 1107.

proposed

The world perished through heaven and earth. The earth released water from its depths, and the floodgates of heaven poured water down upon the earth. "Perished" should be understood not of the entire world, but only of the living creatures, which constitute, as it were, …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

Through which - Heaven and earth, the windows of heaven being opened, and the fountains of the great deep broken up. The world that then was - The whole antediluvian race.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

He breaks up the fountain of the great deep, and throws open the windows (that is, the clouds) of heaven ( Gen. vii. 11 ), till the whole earth is overflowed with water, and not a spot can be found upon the highest mountains but what is fifteen cubits under water, Gen. vii.
2 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Whereby the world that then was,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Is not here a change and a most awful change! And then it is to be observed that all this was done by the word of God; it was by his powerful word that the world was made at first, and made in so commodious and beautiful a frame and order, Heb. xi.

The words behind it

8 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    2 Peter 2:5

    if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 11:7

      By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes…

    • Jude 1:14–15

      Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones

    • Luke 17:26–27

      Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:

    • Matthew 24:37–39

      As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.

    • 1 Peter 3:19–20

      in whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison

  • Through

    Job 12:15

    If He holds back the waters, they dry up, and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land.

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 17:1

      Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in…

  • Through

    Luke 17:27

    People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

    it leads to

    • Luke 12:19–20

      Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

    • 1 Thessalonians 5:1–3

      Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Peter

The Transfiguration, Giovanni Bellini, about 1478 to 1479, Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte. Public domain.
The Transfiguration, Giovanni Bellini, about 1478 to 1479, Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte. Public domain.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on 2 Peter and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 Peter.