The Greek adverb ekpalai means "for a long time" or "long ago," an intensified form of palai (of old, long since). It appears only twice in the NT, both in 2 Peter (2:3; 3:5), emphasizing that God's judgment on the ungodly and His patience have deep historical roots.
Both occurrences in 2 Peter are theologically significant. In 2 Peter 2:3, false teachers' "condemnation has long been hanging over them" — judgment is not new or improvised but has been determined from antiquity. In 2 Peter 3:5, Peter confronts scoffers who deny the coming judgment: the same word and power that created the world and brought the flood is still operative. God's patience is not indifference — it is purposeful delay for repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Ekpalai reminds us that divine purposes span ages; what God has declared from long ago will certainly come to pass.