2 Peter 3:17 (WEB)

Passage

You therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware, lest being carried away with the error of the wicked, you fall from your own steadfastness.

Nearby Context

2 Peter 3:15 Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you;

2 Peter 3:16 as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

2 Peter 3:17 You therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware, lest being carried away with the error of the wicked, you fall from your own steadfastness.

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "beloved", "knowing", "things", "beforehand", "beware", "lest", and "carried". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "beloved", 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 of his letters..." into verse 18's "But grow in the grace and knowledge...", so "therefore" and "beloved" 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 "beloved" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.