Greeting

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Redemption in Christ

^3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as ^(B)He chose us in Him ^(C)before the foundation of the world, that we should ^(D)be holy and without blame before Him in love, ^5 (E)having predestined us to ^(F)adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, ^(G)according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, ^(H)by which He ^[a]made us accepted in ^(I)the Beloved.

^7 (J)In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to ^(K)the riches of His grace ⁸ which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and ^[b]prudence, ^9 (L)having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure ^(M)which He purposed in Himself, ¹⁰ that in the dispensation of ^(N)the fullness of the times ^(O)He might gather together in one ^(P)all things in Christ, ^[c]both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. ^11 (Q)In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to ^(R)the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, ^12 (S)that we ^(T)who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

¹³ In Him you also trusted, after you heard ^(U)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, ^(V)you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ^14 (W)who^[d] is the ^[e]guarantee of our inheritance ^(X)until the redemption of ^(Y)the purchased possession, ^(Z)to the praise of His glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom

¹⁵ Therefore I also, ^(AA)after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ^16 (AB)do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: ¹⁷ that ^(AC)the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ^(AD)may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ^18 (AE)the eyes of your ^[f]understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is ^(AF)the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, ^(AG)according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when ^(AH)He raised Him from the dead and ^(AI)seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ^21 (AJ)far above all ^(AK)principality^[g] and ^[h]power and ^[i]might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

²² And ^(AL)He put all things under His feet, and gave Him ^(AM)to be head over all things to the church, ^23 (AN)which is His body, ^(AO)the fullness of Him ^(AP)who fills all in all.

Greeting the Faithful

1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and ^(A)apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have ^[a]obtained ^(B)like^[b] precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

^2 (C)Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ as His ^(D)divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him ^(E)who called us by glory and virtue, ^4 (F)by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be ^(G)partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the ^[c]corruption that is in the world through lust.

Fruitful Growth in the Faith

⁵ But also for this very reason, ^(H)giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue ^(I)knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control ^[d]perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷ to godliness brotherly kindness, and ^(J)to brotherly kindness love. ⁸ For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither ^[e]barren ^(K)nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For he who lacks these things is ^(L)shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

¹⁰ Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent ^(M)to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; ¹¹ for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Peter’s Approaching Death

¹² For this reason ^(N)I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, ^(O)though you know and are established in the present truth. ¹³ Yes, I think it is right, ^(P)as long as I am in this ^[f]tent, ^(Q)to stir you up by reminding you, ^14 (R)knowing that shortly I must ^[g]put off my tent, just as ^(S)our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. ¹⁵ Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my ^[h]decease.

The Trustworthy Prophetic Word^(T)

¹⁶ For we did not follow ^(U)cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the ^(V)power and ^(W)coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were ^(X)eyewitnesses of His majesty. ¹⁷ For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ^(Y)“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” ¹⁸ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on ^(Z)the holy mountain.

^19 [i]And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a ^(AA)light that shines in a dark place, ^(AB)until ^(AC)the day dawns and the morning star rises in your ^(AD)hearts; ²⁰ knowing this first, that ^(AE)no prophecy of Scripture is of any private ^[j]interpretation, ²¹ for ^(AF)prophecy never came by the will of man, ^(AG)but ^[k]holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.