2 Peter 1

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 Simeon^[a] Peter, a servant^[b] and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained ^(A)a faith of equal standing with ours ^(B)by the righteousness of our ^(C)God and Savior Jesus Christ:

²^(D)May grace and peace be multiplied to you ^(E)in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Confirm Your Calling and Election

³His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him ^(F)who called us to^[c] his own glory and excellence,^[d] ⁴by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become ^(G)partakers of the divine nature, ^(H)having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith ^(I)with virtue,^[e] and virtue ^(J)with knowledge, ⁶and knowledge with self-control, and self-control ^(K)with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷and godliness ^(L)with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection ^(M)with love. ⁸For if these qualities^[f] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or ^(N)unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he ^(O)is blind, having forgotten that he was ^(P)cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰Therefore, brothers,^[g] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and ^(Q)election, for if you practice these qualities ^(R)you will never fall. ¹¹For in this way there will be richly provided for you ^(S)an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹²Therefore I intend ^(T)always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in ^(U)the truth that you have. ¹³I think it right, as long as I am in this ^(V)body,^[h] ^(W)to stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴^(X)since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, ^(Y)as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. ¹⁵And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

Christ's Glory and the Prophetic Word

¹⁶For we did not follow ^(Z)cleverly devised ^(AA)myths when we made known to you ^(AB)the power and ^(AC)coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but ^(AD)we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ^(AE)“This is my beloved Son,^[i] with whom I am well pleased,” ¹⁸we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on ^(AF)the holy mountain. ¹⁹And ^(AG)we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention ^(AH)as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until ^(AI)the day ^(AJ)dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, ²⁰knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. ²¹For ^(AK)no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God ^(AL)as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Footnotes

2 Peter 1:1 Some manuscripts Simon
2 Peter 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
2 Peter 1:3 Or by
2 Peter 1:3 Or virtue
2 Peter 1:5 Or excellence; twice in this verse
2 Peter 1:8 Greek these things; also verses 9, 10, 12
2 Peter 1:10 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters
2 Peter 1:13 Greek tent; also verse 14
2 Peter 1:17 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved

2 Peter 1

The Message

1 ^1-2I, Simon Peter, am a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. I write this to you whose experience with God is as life-changing as ours, all due to our God’s straight dealing and the intervention of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master.

Don’t Put It Off

^3-4Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.

^5-9So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

^10-11So, friends, confirm God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now. Do this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The One Light in a Dark Time

^12-15Because the stakes are so high, even though you’re up-to-date on all this truth and practice it inside and out, I’m not going to let up for a minute in calling you to attention before it. This is the post to which I’ve been assigned—keeping you alert with frequent reminders—and I’m sticking to it as long as I live. I know that I’m to die soon; the Master has made that quite clear to me. And so I am especially eager that you have all this down in black and white so that after I die, you’ll have it for ready reference.

^16-18We weren’t, you know, just wishing on a star when we laid the facts out before you regarding the powerful return of our Master, Jesus Christ. We were there for the preview! We saw it with our own eyes: Jesus resplendent with light from God the Father as the voice of Majestic Glory spoke: “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of all my delight.” We were there on the holy mountain with him. We heard the voice out of heaven with our very own ears.

^19-21We couldn’t be more sure of what we saw and heard—God’s glory, God’s voice. The prophetic Word was confirmed to us. You’ll do well to keep focusing on it. It’s the one light you have in a dark time as you wait for daybreak and the rising of the Morning Star in your hearts. The main thing to keep in mind here is that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of private opinion. And why? Because it’s not something concocted in the human heart. Prophecy resulted when the Holy Spirit prompted men and women to speak God’s Word.

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Message (MSG)

2 Peter 1 English Standard Version