2 Peter 3:17 (DRB)

Passage

You therefore, brethren, knowing these things before, take heed, lest being led aside by the error of the unwise, you fall from your own steadfastness.

Nearby Context

2 Peter 3:15 And account the longsuffering of our Lord, salvation: as also our most dear brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, hath written to you:

2 Peter 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are certain things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction.

2 Peter 3:17 You therefore, brethren, knowing these things before, take heed, lest being led aside by the error of the unwise, you fall from your own steadfastness.

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and unto the day of eternity, Amen.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "brethren", "knowing", "things", "before", "take", "heed", and "lest". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "brethren", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "As also in all his epistles speaking..." into verse 18's "But grow in grace and in the...", so "therefore" and "brethren" belong inside that flow. In 2 Peter context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "therefore" and "brethren" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.