Limitless Word
Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2 Peter 3:6 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.
  • BSB through which the world of that time perished in the flood.
  • 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 as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
  • 2 Pet 2:5And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
  • Luke 17:27They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
  • Gen 7:10–23And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
  • Job 12:15Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
  • Gen 9:15And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Peter videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Peter 3:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 PeterMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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.