2nd Peter Chapter 3 verse 6 Holy Bible
by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
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And that the world which then was came to an end through the overflowing of the waters.
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through which [waters] the then world, deluged with water, perished.
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Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
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read chapter 3 in WBT
by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.
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through which the then world, by water having been deluged, was destroyed;
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Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 6. - Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. The Greek for" whereby" is δἰ ῶν, literally, "through which things." The plural here presents some difficulty. The most obvious antecedents are "the heavens and the earth" of the last verse; but many commentators refer the relative to the twice-repeated "water." The meaning will be the same whichever view we take. "The fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened;" that is, the Deluge was brought to pass by means of the heavens, i.e., the waters that were above the firmament, and the earth, i.e., the waters that were below the firmament, which came from the earth as the waters first mentioned came from the heavens. Another possible view is that of Huther, who refers δἱ ῶν to the water and the Word of God. By the world here must be meant the world of living creatures. This is St. Peter's answer to the mockers: there had been one great catastrophe; there will be another.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(6) Whereby.--The meaning of this is much disputed. The original literally signifies, by means of which things. But what things? The context allows various alternatives: (1) These facts about the Creation; (2) the heavens and the earth; (3) the water out of which, and the water by means of which, the world was made; (4) any or all of these together with the word of God. There is good reason for preferring the second of these. Both the heavens and the earth contributed to the deluge; for then "all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened" (Genesis 7:11). The English "whereby" is as vague as the original.The world that then was, . . . perished.--So that it is absurd to say that all things continue unchanged since the Creation. The world was so transformed by the deluge that the world previous to that catastrophe perished, chaos for the moment returned, and a new world issued from the crisis. "The world that then was, perished" is equivalent to "He spared not the old world" in 2Peter 2:5.
