Greeting

1Simeona Peter,b a •slave and an apostlec of Jesus Christ:

To those who have obtained a faith of equal privilege with oursd through the righteousnesse of our God and Saviorf Jesus Christ.

2May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of Godg and of Jesus our Lord.

Growth in the Faith

3Hish divine poweri has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledgej of Him who calledk us byl His own glory and goodness. 4By these He has given us very great and precious promises,m so that through them you may share in the divine nature,n escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires. 5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6knowledge with self-control,o self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7godliness with brotherly affection,p and brotherly affection with love. 8For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being uselessq or unfruitfulr in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. 10Therefore, •brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election,s because if you do these things you will never stumble. 11For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdomt of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you.

12Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truthu you have. 13I consider it right, as long as I am in this bodily tent,v, w to wake you up with a reminder, 14knowing that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has also shown me.x 15And I will also make every effort that you may be able to recall these things at any time after my departure.y

The Trustworthy Prophetic Word

16For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ;z instead, we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.aa 17For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, a voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory:

This is My beloved Son.ab

I take delight in Him!ac, ad

18And we heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with Him on the holy mountain.ae 19So we have the prophetic word strongly confirmed. You will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dismal place,af until the day dawnsag and the morning starah rises in your hearts. 20First of all, you should know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation, 21because no prophecy ever came by the will of man;ai instead, men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.aj