2 Peter 3:6 (WEB)

Passage

by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.

Nearby Context

2 Peter 3:4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”

2 Peter 3:5 For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water, by the word of God;

2 Peter 3:6 by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.

2 Peter 3:7 But the heavens that now exist, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

2 Peter 3:8 But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "means", "overflowed", "water", and "perished". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "means", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "For this they willfully forget that there..." into verse 7's "But the heavens that now exist and...", so "world" and "means" 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 "world" and "means" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.