1Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
2Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Confirming one’s calling and election
3His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But whoever does not have them is short-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
10Therefore, my brothers and sisters,1:10 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family. make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Prophecy of Scripture
12So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
16For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’1:17 Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
1I, Simon Peter, am writing this letter. I serve Jesus Christ. I am his apostle.
I am sending this letter to you. You are those who have received a faith as valuable as ours. You received it because our God and Savior Jesus Christ does what is right.
2May more and more grace and peace be given to you. May they come to you as you learn more about God and about Jesus our Lord.
Showing That God Has Chosen You
3God’s power has given us everything we need to lead a godly life. All of this has come to us because we know the God who chose us. He chose us because of his own glory and goodness. 4He has also given us his very great and valuable promises. He did it so you could share in his nature. You can share in it because you’ve escaped from the evil in the world. This evil is caused by sinful desires.
5So you should try very hard to add goodness to your faith. To goodness, add knowledge. 6To knowledge, add the ability to control yourselves. To the ability to control yourselves, add the strength to keep going. To the strength to keep going, add godliness. 7To godliness, add kindness for one another. And to kindness for one another, add love. 8All these things should describe you more and more. They will make you useful and fruitful as you know our Lord Jesus Christ better. 9But what if these things don’t describe someone at all? Then that person can’t see very well. In fact, they are blind. They have forgotten that their past sins have been washed away.
10My brothers and sisters, try very hard to show that God has appointed you to be saved. Try hard to show that he has chosen you. If you do everything I have just said, you will never trip and fall. 11You will receive a rich welcome into the kingdom that lasts forever. It is the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Prophecy of Scripture Comes From God
12So I will always remind you of these things. I’ll do it even though you know them. I’ll do it even though you now have deep roots in the truth. 13I think it is right for me to remind you. It is right as long as I live in this tent. I’m talking about my body. 14I know my tent will soon be removed. Our Lord Jesus Christ has made that clear to me. 15I hope that you will always be able to remember these things after I’m gone. I will try very hard to see that you do.
16We told you about the time our Lord Jesus Christ came with power. But we didn’t make up clever stories when we told you about it. With our own eyes we saw him in all his majesty. 17God the Father gave him honor and glory. The voice of the Majestic Glory came to him. It said, “This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him.” (Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35) 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven. We were with him on the sacred mountain.
19We also have the message of the prophets. This message can be trusted completely. You must pay attention to it. The message is like a light shining in a dark place. It will shine until the day Jesus comes. Then the Morning Star will rise in your hearts. 20Above all, here is what you must understand. No prophecy in Scripture ever came from a prophet’s own understanding of things. 21Prophecy never came simply because a prophet wanted it to. Instead, the Holy Spirit guided the prophets as they spoke. So, although prophets are human, prophecy comes from God.
