“For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:”
King James Version (KJV)
3:5 For this they are willingly ignorant of - They do not care to know or consider. That by the almighty word of God - Which bounds the duration of all things, so that it cannot be either longer or shorter. Of old - Before the flood. The aerial heavens were, and the earth - Not as it is now, but standing out of the water and in the water - Perhaps the interior globe of earth was fixed in the midst of the great deep, the abyss of water; the shell or exterior globe standing out of the water, covering the great deep. This, or some other great and manifest difference between the original and present constitution of the terraqueous globe, seems then to have been so generally known, that St. Peter charges their ignorance of it totally upon their wilfulness.
2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of. Their ignorance which causes them to speak thus is willful. They obstinately forget all the lessons taught by the deluge. There the fixed order was interrupted. That by the word of God. See Ge 1:6,9. The heavens were of old. This alludes to the beginning of creation. See Ge 1:1,2. And the earth standing out of the water. "Compacted out of water" (Revised Version). That is, water is a principal element in its formation, a fact seen in three-fourths of its surface being sea, and water being found in the depths of the earth everywhere, and being found largely in earthly combinations.