2 Peter 1
New Catholic Bible
Salutation
Chapter 1
Address.[a] 1 Simon Peter,[b] a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 may grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge[c] of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Exhortation to Growth in Christian Virtues
Strengthen Your Vocation.[d] 3 His divine power has bestowed on us everything that is necessary for life and for devotion through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue. 4 By these he has given us his precious promises, great beyond all price, so that through them you may escape from the corruption with which evil desires have infected the world and thereby may come to share in the divine nature.[e]
5 [f]In view of all this, you should make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with piety, 7 and piety with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.
8 If you possess these qualities and they increase in abundance, they will prevent your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ from being ineffective and unfruitful. 9 For anyone who lacks them is near-sighted or blind, since he has forgotten how his past sins were washed away.[g]
10 Therefore, brethren, be diligent in providing a firm foundation for your call and election. If you do this, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a glorious welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.[h]
12 The Witness of an Apostle.[i] Therefore, I will continue to emphasize these things repeatedly, even though you already know them and are well grounded in the truth you possess. 13 For I think it is right, to refresh your memory as long as I remain in this body,[j] 14 since I know that my death[k] will come soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I shall also make every effort to ensure that you will always recall these things after my departure.
16 We did not rely upon cleverly concocted myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Rather, we had beheld his majesty with our own eyes. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice came to him from the transcendent Majesty, saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came down from heaven, when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19 Pay Close Attention to the Message of the Prophets.[l] This confirms the message of the Prophets more fully for us. You would do well to pay close attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
20 First of all, however, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of private interpretation. 21 No prophecy ever came from human initiative. Rather, when people spoke as messengers of God, they did so under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.[m]
Footnotes
- 2 Peter 1:1 From the very first words, the author addresses believers, those who have received salvation or righteousness. He insists on faith and on knowledge of the Lord, the Christ.
- 2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter: see notes on Mt 16:18; 16:19; Jn 1:42. Servant: see note on Rom 1:1. Apostle: see notes on Mk 6:30; Rom 1:1; Heb 3:1-6. To those: probably the same addressees as in 1 Pet 1:1.
- 2 Peter 1:2 Knowledge: a key theme of the Letter (see 2 Pet 1:3, 5, 8; 2:20; 3:18), probably to combat the claims of the Gnostics.
- 2 Peter 1:3 Christianity is not just another religious theory among those that are actually in vogue. To believe is to place oneself personally under the very action of God and to know that the destiny of human beings is accomplished in his eternal Kingdom. Christians live in communion with God; the earthly dimension does not suffice for them. And these great realities are not mere words; they demand a radical change in the manner of conceiving one’s destiny and conducting one’s existence. Thus, regardless of the historical distance from the time of its foundation, the Christian life constitutes a new state of existence.
- 2 Peter 1:4 Share in the divine nature: an expression found only here in the Bible. The author uses it to express the fullness of divine life in Christ (see Jn 1:12; 14:20; 15:4f; Rom 6:5; 1 Cor 1:9f; 1 Jn 1:3b).
- 2 Peter 1:5 The author lists the virtues that are needed for a genuine Christian life.
- 2 Peter 1:9 This is similar to the warning in the Johannine Letters against the Gnostics (see 1 Jn 1:8f), who claimed to know God without keeping the commandments.
- 2 Peter 1:11 Kingdom of . . . Christ: it is also the Kingdom of the Father (see Eph 5:5; 2 Tim 4:1; Rev 11:15).
- 2 Peter 1:12 The testimony of an Apostle has a greater value than any arbitrary Gnostic speculation.
To emphasize this point, the author presents his work as a testament of Peter, who reminds the readers that the Lord had told him of his proximate death (see Jn 21:18-19) and insists above all on the fact that he had been a witness of the Transfiguration (see Mt 17:1-13; Mk 9:2-13; Lk 9:28-36), an event that bore witness to the glory of Christ and thereby guaranteed his glorious Return, which was being challenged at this time. - 2 Peter 1:13 Body: literally, “tent.”
- 2 Peter 1:14 My death: literally, “the time for laying aside this tent.”
- 2 Peter 1:19 While awaiting the great Day of fulfillment, Scripture constitutes the light on the human journey. It cannot be handed over to the arbitrary interpretations of teachers of fortune who construe it in their own peculiar way; the inspiration of the Spirit must be respected.
- 2 Peter 1:21 Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: see note on 2 Tim 3:16. Both God and the authors were active in producing Scripture: God was the source of the content, but the writers used all their talents to set that message down.
2 Peter 1
Lexham English Bible
Greeting
1 Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith equal in value to ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 because his divine power has bestowed on us all things that are necessary for life and godliness, through the knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence of character, 4 through which things he has bestowed on us his precious and very great promises, so that through these you may become sharers of the divine nature after[a] escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire, 5 and for this same reason, and by[b] applying all diligence, supply with your faith excellence of character, and with excellence of character, knowledge, 6 and with knowledge, self-control, and with self-control, patient endurance, and with patient endurance, godliness, 7 and with godliness, brotherly love, and with brotherly love, love.
Make Your Calling and Election Secure
8 For if[c] these things are yours and are increasing, this does not make you useless or unproductive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For the one for whom these things are not present is blind, being nearsighted, having forgotten the cleansing[d] of his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be zealous even more to make your calling and election secure, because if you[e] do these things, you will never ever stumble. 11 For in this way entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied for you.
12 Therefore I intend to remind you continually concerning these things, although you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 But I consider it right, for as long as I am in this habitation, to stir you up by a reminder, 14 because I[f] know that the removal of my habitation is imminent, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will also make every effort that you are able at any time, after my departure, to recall these things to mind[g].
The Reliable Prophetic Word of Testimony
16 For we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by[h] following ingeniously concocted myths, but by[i] being eyewitnesses of that one’s majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when[j] a voice such as this was brought to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we ourselves heard this voice brought from heaven when we[k] were with him on the holy mountain, 19 and we possess as more reliable the prophetic word, to which you do well if you[l] pay attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 recognizing this above all, that every prophecy of scripture does not come about from one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Footnotes
- 2 Peter 1:4 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“escaping from”) which is understood as temporal
- 2 Peter 1:5 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“applying”) which is understood as means
- 2 Peter 1:8 Here “if” is supplied as a component of the participle (“are”) which is understood as conditional
- 2 Peter 1:9 Literally “receiving forgetfulness of the cleansing”
- 2 Peter 1:10 Here “if” is supplied as a component of the participle (“do”) which is understood as conditional
- 2 Peter 1:14 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“know”) which is understood as causal
- 2 Peter 1:15 Literally “to make recollection of these”
- 2 Peter 1:16 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“following”) which is understood as means
- 2 Peter 1:16 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“being”) which is understood as means
- 2 Peter 1:17 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was brought”)
- 2 Peter 1:18 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“were”) which is understood as temporal
- 2 Peter 1:19 Here “if” is supplied as a component of the participle (“pay attention to”) which is understood as conditional
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