2 Peter 3:9 (DRB)

Passage

The Lord delayeth not his promise, as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance,

Nearby Context

2 Peter 3:7 But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of the ungodly men.

2 Peter 3:8 But of this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord delayeth not his promise, as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance,

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence and the elements shall be melted with heat and the earth and the works which are in it shall be burnt up.

2 Peter 3:11 Seeing then that all these things are to be dissolved, what manner of people ought you to be in holy conversation and godliness?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lord", "delayeth", "promise", "some", "imagine", "dealeth", "patiently", and "sake". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lord" and "delayeth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "But of this one thing be not..." into verse 10's "But the day of the Lord shall...", so "lord" and "delayeth" 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 "lord" and "delayeth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.