< 2 Peter 1 >
1 Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained an equally precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you by the God and Father of Jesus our Lord.
3 For his power divine has granted to us everything needful for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue.
4 By these he has granted his promises to us, precious and splendid; so that through them you may become partners of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 For this very reason do your best to add to your faith manliness, and to manliness knowledge,
6 and to knowledge self-control, and to self-control stedfastness, and to stedfastness piety,
7 and to piety brotherly love, and to brotherly love, love itself.
8 For if these virtues are yours in abounding measure, they render you not idle nor unfruitful, until you come into the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For the man who lacks these virtues is blind, short-sighted, forgetful of his cleansing from his old sins.
10 So, brothers, take diligent care to make your calling and election sure; for if you do this, you will never stumble.
11 For so the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you. (aiōnios )
12 I shall therefore be always ready to remind you of all this, even though you know it, and are firmly founded in the truth which is with you.
13 So I think it right, as long as I am in this "tent," to rouse you by way of reminding you,
14 since I know that the time for me to strike tent comes swiftly on, even as our Lord Jesus Christ pointed out to me.
15 So I will do my best to enable you, even after my departure, continually to call these things to mind.
16 For we were not following cunningly devised fables, when we told you of the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eye-witnesses of his Majesty.
17 For he did receive honor and glory from God the Father, when there was borne such a voice to him from the Majestic Glory, This is my Son, my Beloved, in whom I delight;
18 and this voice we ourselves heard, borne to us out of heaven, when we were with him on the holy hill.
19 And so we possess the word of prophecy made yet more sure. Unto this you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, till the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
20 But first be assured of this - that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation.
21 For no prophecy was ever brought by the will of man; but moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke for God.
