1 D ear friends, this is the second letter I have written to you. In both of them I have tried to get you to remember some things.

هَذِهِ هِيَ رِسالَتِي الثّانِيَةُ إلَيْكُمْ أيُّها الأحِبّاءُ. وَقَدْ حاوَلْتُ فِيْها أنْ أُنَبِّهَ عُقُولِكُمُ النَّقِيَّةَ بِتَذكِيْرِكُمْ بِهَذِهِ الأُمُورِ.

2 Y ou should remember the words that were spoken before by the holy early preachers. Do not forget the teaching of the Lord, the One Who saves. This was given to you by your missionaries.

أُرِيْدُكُمْ أنْ تَتَذَكَّرُوا كَلامَ أنبِياءِ اللهِ قَدِيْماً، وَوَصِيَّةَ رَبِّنا وَمُخَلِّصِنا الَّتِي وَصَلَتْكُمْ بِواسِطَةِ رُسُلِكُمْ.

3 F irst of all, I want you to know that in the last days men will laugh at the truth. They will follow their own sinful desires.

أوَّلاً يَنْبَغي أنْ تَفهَمُوا أنَّهُ سَيَأْتِي فِي الأيّامِ الأخِيْرَةِ أُناسٌ مُستَهزِئُونَ تَقُودُهُمْ شَهَواتُهُمْ،

4 T hey will say, “He promised to come again. Where is He? Since our early fathers died, everything is the same from the beginning of the world.”

وَسَيَقُولُونَ: «ما الَّذِي حَدَثَ لِوَعْدِ مَجِيْءِ المَسِيْحِ ثانِيَةً؟ لِأنَّهُ مُنذُ أنْ ماتَ آباؤُنا وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ مُستَمِرٌّ عَلَى حالِهِ، كَما كانَ مُنْذُ بَدْءِ الخَلِيْقَةِ.»

5 B ut they want to forget that God spoke and the heavens were made long ago. The earth was made out of water and water was all around it.

وَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ يَتَناسُونَ أنَّ السَّماواتِ وَالأرْضَ وُجِدَتْ مُنذُ القَدِيْمِ، وَأنَّ الأرْضَ تَشَكَّلَتْ بِكَلِمَةِ اللهِ مِنَ الماءِ وَبِالماءِ.

6 L ong ago the earth was covered with water and it was destroyed.

ثُمَّ غُمِرَ العالَمُ عِندَئِذٍ وَدُمِّرَ بِالماءِ.

7 B ut the heaven we see now and the earth we live on now have been kept by His word. They will be kept until they are to be destroyed by fire. They will be kept until the day men stand before God and sinners will be destroyed.

لَكِنَّ السَّماواتِ وَالأرْضَ مَحفُوظَةٌ الآنَ أيضاً بِكَلِمَةِ اللهِ، إلَىْ أنْ يَحينَ وَقْتُ تَدْميرِها بِالنّارِ فِيْ يَوْمِ الدَّيْنُونَةِ، يَومِ هَلاكِ الأشرارِ.

8 D ear friends, remember this one thing, with the Lord one day is as 1, 000 years, and 1, 000 years are as one day.

لَكِنْ لا يَغِبْ عَنْ بالِكُمْ هَذا الأمْرُ أيُّها الأحِبّاءُ: أنَّ يَوماً واحِداً عِندَ الرَّبِّ كَألفِ سَنَةٍ، وَأنَّ ألفَ سَنَةٍ كَيَوْمٍ.

9 T he Lord is not slow about keeping His promise as some people think. He is waiting for you. The Lord does not want any person to be punished forever. He wants all people to be sorry for their sins and turn from them.

فَالرَّبٌّ لا يُؤَخِّرُ تَنفِيْذَ وَعدِهِ، كَما يَظُنُّ بَعضُهُمْ، لَكِنَّهُ يَتَأنَّى عَلَيْنا وَلا يُرِيْدُ لِأحَدٍ أنْ يَهلِكَ، بَلْ يُريدُ لِجَمِيعِ النّاسِ أنْ يَتوبوا.

10 T he day of the Lord will come as a robber comes. The heavens will pass away with a loud noise. The sun and moon and stars will burn up. The earth and all that is in it will be burned up.

لَكِنَّ يَوْمَ الرَّبِّ سَيَأْتِي كَلِصٍّ. وَسَتَنصَهِرُ الأجرامُ السَّماوِيَّةُ بِالنّارِ، ثُمَّ سَتَنكَشِفُ الأرْضُ وَكُلُّ ما عَلَيْها.

11 S ince all these things are to be destroyed in this way, you should think about the kind of life you are living. It should be holy and God-like.

فَما دامَتْ هَذِهِ الأشياءُ سَتُدَمَّرُ هَكَذا، أيُّ نَوْعٍ مِنَ النّاسِ يَنبَغي أنْ تَكُونُوا. يَنبَغي أنْ تَعِيْشُوا حَياةَ قَداسَةٍ وَخِدمَةٍ للهِ،

12 Y ou should look for the day of God to come. You should do what you can to make it come soon. At that time the heavens will be destroyed by fire. And the sun and moon and stars will melt away with much heat.

بَينَما تَنتَظِرونَ وَتَطلُبونَ سُرعَةَ مَجِيْءِ يَوْمِ الرَّبِّ الَّذِي تَنحَلُّ فِيْهِ السَّماواتُ، وَتَنصَهِرُ الأجرامُ السَّماوِيَّةُ.

13 W e are looking for what God has promised, which are new heavens and a new earth. Only what is right and good will be there.

لَكِنَّنا حَسَبَ وَعْدِ اللهِ نَنتَظِرُ بِلَهفَةٍ سَماواتٍ جَدِيْدَةً وَأرْضاً جَدِيْدَةً يَسكُنُها البرُّ.

14 D ear friends, since you are waiting for these things to happen, do all you can to be found by Him in peace. Be clean and free from sin.

فَبِما أنَّكُمْ تَتَلَهَّفُونَ عَلَى هَذِهِ الأُمُورِ، ابْذُلُوا كُلَّ جَهْدٍ لِكَي تَكُونُوا طاهِرِيْنَ بِلا عَيْبٍ، وَفِي سَلامٍ أمامَهُ،

15 Y ou can be sure the long waiting of our Lord is part of His plan to save men from the punishment of sin. God gave our dear brother Paul the wisdom to write about this also.

مُتَذَّكِّرينَ أنَّ تَمَهُلَّ اللهِ عَلَينا، هُوَ الَّذي قادَ إلَىْ خَلاصِنا. تَماماً كَما كَتَبَ إلَيْكُمْ أخُونا الحَبِيْبُ بُولُسُ حَسَبَ الحِكْمَةِ المُعطاةِ لَهُ مِنَ اللهِ.

16 H e wrote about these things in all of his writings. Some of these things are hard to understand. People who do not have much understanding and some who are not strong in the faith change the meaning of his letters. They do this to the other parts of the Holy Writings also. They are destroying themselves as they do this.

فَهُوَ يَتَحَدَّثُ عَنْ هَذِهِ الأُمُورِ فِي كُلِّ رَسائِلِهِ الَّتي تَحوِي بَعْضَ التَّعاليمِ الَّتيْ يَصعُبُ فَهْمُها، وَيُشَوِّهُ غَيْرُ المُتَعَلِّمِيْنَ وَغَيْرُ الثّابِتِيْنَ مَعناها. وَهُمْ يَفعَلُونَ ذَلِكَ مَعَ بَقيَّةِ الكُتُبِ أيضاً جالبِينَ الدَّمارَ عَلَى أنفُسِهِمْ.

17 A nd so, dear friends, now that you know this, watch so you will not be led away by the mistakes of these sinful people. Do not be moved by them.

فَبِما أنَّكُمْ تَعرِفُونَ هَذِهِ الأُمُورَ أيُّها الأحِبّاءُ، احْذَروا مِنْ أنْ تَنقادُوا بِضَلالاتِ الفاجِرِيْنَ. وَانتَبِهُوا لِئَلّا تَتَزَحزَحُوا عَنْ مَوقِفِكُمُ الثّابِتِ،

18 G row in the loving-favor that Christ gives you. Learn to know our Lord Jesus Christ better. He is the One Who saves. May He have all the shining-greatness now and forever. Let it be so.

بَلِ انمُوا فِي نِعمَةِ رَبِّنا وَمُخَلِّصِنا يَسُوعَ المَسِيْحِ، وَفِي مَعْرِفَتِهِ. لَهُ المَجدُ الآنَ وَإلَىْ الأبَدِ! آمِيْن.