Or, “makes its home,” with a suggestion of permanency. Righteousness is depicted as being the permanent resident of the new heavens and new earth (see on Isa. 11:9).
New.
Gr. kainos, “new” in the sense of being different, new in kind, rather than neos, which generally means “recent,” new in point of time. Here Peter is anticipating the renovated heavens and earth that have been cleansed from all defilement (cf. on Rev. 21:1).
No matter what the scoffers may have thought of the Lord’s promise (v. 4), Peter shows (v. 9 and here) that he implicitly trusts it and orders his own life in accordance with it.