Greeting

1 Simeon a Peter, b a * slave and an apostle c of Jesus Christ:

To those who have obtained a faith of equal privilege with ours d through the righteousness e of our God and Savior f Jesus Christ.

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

Growth in the Faith

3 His h divine power i has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge j of Him who called k us by l His own glory and goodness. 4 By 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. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6 knowledge with self-control, o self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7 godliness with brotherly affection, p and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless q or unfruitful r in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. 10 Therefore, * brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, s because if you do these things you will never stumble. 11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom t of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you.

12 Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth u you have. 13 I consider it right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, v w to wake you up with a reminder, 14 knowing that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has also shown me. x 15 And 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

16 For 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. a 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, a voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory:

This is My beloved Son. b

I take delight in Him! c d

18 And we heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with Him on the holy mountain. e 19 So 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, f until the day dawns g and the morning star h rises in your hearts. 20 First of all, you should know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; i instead, men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. j