8 Dear friends, I want you to understand well that the Lord God is willing to wait a long time to judge the people in the world! How much time passes before the Lord God judges the people in the world does not matter to him! He considers that one day passes no more quickly than 1,000 years, and he also considers that 1,000 years pass as quickly as one day passes to us! 9 Therefore, you should not think that because Christ has not yet come back to judge people, the Lord God is ◄delaying/slow to do► what he promised. Some people think that this is so, and they say that Christ will never come back. But you should understand that the reason why Christ has not yet come back to judge people is that God is being patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be lost eternally. Instead, he wants everyone to turn away from their sinful behavior. 10 Although God is being patient, at the time [MTY] that he has chosen, the Lord Jesus Christ will certainly come back to judge people. He will come back unexpectedly, like a thief [SIM] comes unexpectedly. At that time there will be a great roaring sound. The heavens will cease to exist. ◄The elements/The parts of which the universe consists► will be destroyed by fire, and the earth that God made and everything on it that people have made will disappear (OR, will be burned up).

11 Because God will certainly destroy all these things like I just said, you certainly know how you should behave. [RHQ] You should behave ◄in a godly manner/in a manner that pleases God► 12 while you eagerly/expectantly wait for Christ to return on the day that God has chosen [MTY], and you should try to make that day come soon. Because of what God [PRS] will do on that day, the heavens will be destroyed. ◄The elements/The parts of which the universe consist► will melt and burn up. 13 Although all those events/things will happen, we rejoice because we are waiting for the new heavens and new earth that God has promised. The only people who will be in the new heavens and on this new earth will be people who are [PRS] righteous.