2 Peter 1

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.

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, 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.

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.’ 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.