2 Peter 1
Tree of Life Version
Greetings
1 Simon Peter, a slave and emissary of Messiah Yeshua,
To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua:
2 May grace and shalom be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Yeshua our Lord.
Qualities for Living Forever
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and virtue. 4 Through these things He has given us His precious and magnificent promises,[a] so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, since you have escaped the corruption that evil desires have brought into the world. 5 Now for this very reason, making every effort, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, patience; and to patience, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly love; and to brotherly love, love. [b] 8 For if these qualities are in you and increasing, they keep you from becoming idle and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. 9 But anyone who lacks these qualities is blind—nearsighted because he has forgotten his cleansing from past sins. 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, make all the more effort to make your calling and election certain—for if you keep doing these things, you will never stumble. 11 For in this way entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Messiah Yeshua, will be richly provided for you.
12 Therefore I intend to keep reminding you of these things, even though you know them and are well-grounded in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right to stir you up with a reminder, as long as I remain alive in this “tent” of a body[c]— 14 knowing that my death[d] is soon, as our Lord Yeshua the Messiah has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort for you to always remember these things even after my departure.
Distinguishing True Testimony from Tales
16 For we did not follow cleverly concocted tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, a voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory: “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased!” [e] 18 And we ourselves heard this voice come out of heaven, when we were with Him on the holy mountain. [f] 19 Furthermore, we have the reliable prophetic word. You do well by paying attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. [g] 20 Above all understand this: no prophecy of Scripture comes about from a person’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever brought forth by human will; rather, people spoke from God as they were moved by the Ruach ha-Kodesh.[h]
Footnotes
- 2 Peter 1:4 cf. Josh. 21:4; 1 Kings 8:56; Jer. 33:14.
- 2 Peter 1:8 Grk. philadelphia (brotherly love); agape (love).
- 2 Peter 1:13 cf. 2 Cor. 5:1.
- 2 Peter 1:14 Lit. the laying aside of my tent.
- 2 Peter 1:18 Matt. 17:5; (note also Matt. 3:17).
- 2 Peter 1:19 cf. Matt. 17:1, 5; Mk. 9:2-7.
- 2 Peter 1:20 cf. Num. 24:17.
- 2 Peter 1:21 cf. 2 Sam. 23:2; 2 Tim. 3:16.
2 Peter 1
New International Reader's Version
1 I, 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.
2 May 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
3 God’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. 4 He 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.
5 So you should try very hard to add goodness to your faith. To goodness, add knowledge. 6 To 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. 7 To godliness, add kindness for one another. And to kindness for one another, add love. 8 All these things should describe you more and more. They will make you useful and fruitful as you know our Lord Jesus Christ better. 9 But 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.
10 My 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. 11 You 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
12 So 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. 13 I 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. 14 I know my tent will soon be removed. Our Lord Jesus Christ has made that clear to me. 15 I 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.
16 We 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. 17 God 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) 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven. We were with him on the sacred mountain.
19 We 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. 20 Above all, here is what you must understand. No prophecy in Scripture ever came from a prophet’s own understanding of things. 21 Prophecy 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.
2 Peter 1
GOD’S WORD Translation
Greeting
1 From Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.
To those who have obtained a faith that is as valuable as ours, a faith based on the approval that comes from our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
2 May good will [a] and peace fill your lives through your knowledge about Jesus, our God and Lord!
God’s Power Gives Us the Ability to Live Godly Lives
3 God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and for godliness. This power was given to us through knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and integrity. 4 Through his glory and integrity he has given us his promises that are of the highest value. Through these promises you will share in the divine nature because you have escaped the corruption that sinful desires cause in the world.
5 Because of this, make every effort to add integrity to your faith; and to integrity add knowledge; 6 to knowledge add self-control; to self-control add endurance; to endurance add godliness; 7 to godliness add Christian affection; and to Christian affection add love. 8 If you have these qualities and they are increasing, it demonstrates that your knowledge about our Lord Jesus Christ is living and productive. 9 If these qualities aren’t present in your life, you’re shortsighted and have forgotten that you were cleansed from your past sins. 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, use more effort to make God’s calling and choosing of you secure.
If you keep doing this, you will never fall away. 11 Then you will also be given the wealth of entering into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12 Therefore, I will always remind you about these qualities, although you already know about them and are well-grounded in the truth that you now have. 13 As long as I’m still alive, I think it’s right to refresh your memory. 14 I know that I will die soon. Our Lord Jesus Christ has made that clear to me. 15 So I will make every effort to see that you remember these things after I die.
Pay Attention to God’s Words
16 When we apostles told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we didn’t base our message on clever myths that we made up. Rather, we witnessed his majesty with our own eyes. 17 For example, we were eyewitnesses when he received honor and glory from God the Father and when the voice of our majestic God spoke these words to him: “This is my Son, whom I love and in whom I delight.” 18 We heard that voice speak to him from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 So we regard the words of the prophets as confirmed beyond all doubt. You’re doing well by paying attention to their words. Continue to pay attention as you would to a light that shines in a dark place as you wait for day to come and the morning star to rise in your hearts. 20 First, you must understand this: No prophecy in Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation. 21 No prophecy ever originated from humans. Instead, it was given by the Holy Spirit as humans spoke under God’s direction.
Footnotes
- 1:2 Or “grace.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
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