3:16 wrest. It is dangerous to “wrest,” or distort, the Scriptures, but this is commonly done even today by professing Christians who seek to justify their own compromises with the evolutionary philosophy and humanistic life style of their ungodly associates.

3:16 other scriptures. It is significant that here Peter recognizes Paul’s epistles as comparable to “the other Scriptures.” When he notes that Paul had “written unto you” (II Peter 3:15), it seems possible at least that he was referring to the book of Hebrews—in particular to Hebrews 10:36-38. Peter’s epistles, also, had been especially addressed to Jewish Christians (I Peter 1:1; II Peter 3:1). This reference may be an incidental confirmation of the Pauline authorship of Hebrews.

3:17 wicked. The term “wicked” here means “unsettled” or “lawless.” These men were “unlearned and unstable” (II Peter 3:16) in the Scriptures, and so were leading others astray with their twisting of God’s Word to fit their own opinions. There are many such teachers today as well, so “beware.”