through which the world of that time perished in the flood.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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:
- NKJV by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
- NASB through which the world at that time was destroyed by being flooded with water.
- NLT Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
By that same word the ancient world was deluged with water and perished. It matters because the flood proves that God has already once interrupted the world's apparent uniformity with judgment.
Overview
Peter cites the flood as decisive evidence against the scoffers' claim that 'all things continue as they were.' God's word, which formed the world, also destroyed it through water. This historical judgment refutes the assumption that no divine intervention occurs and foreshadows a future judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Matt 24:38–39For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.
- 2 Pet 2:5if 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;
- Luke 17:27People 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.
- Gen 7:10–23And after seven days the floodwaters came upon the earth.
- Job 12:15If He holds back the waters, they dry up, and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land.
- Gen 9:15I will remember My covenant between Me and you and every living creature of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The sure word of the prophets and the promise of the coming day of the Lord anchor the believer in the knowledge of 'our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.'
How 2 Peter 3:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.