A Warning and Things to Do

¹⁷ [^LBut you] ·Dear friends [Beloved], remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ ·said before [predicted; prophesied; foretold; 2 Pet. 3:2]. ¹⁸ [^LFor] They said to you, “In the ·last times [end time] there will be ·people who laugh about God [scoffers; mockers], ·following [pursuing] their own ·evil [ungodly] ·desires [passions; lusts; 2 Pet. 3:3].” ¹⁹ These are the people who ·divide you [cause divisions], people ·whose thoughts are only of this world [who are worldly; or who live by natural instincts/desires], who do not have the Spirit [^Cliving within them and guiding them].

²⁰ But [^Lyou] ·dear friends [beloved], ·use your most holy faith to build yourselves up [or build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith; ^Cthe whole body of true Christian doctrine and practice], praying ·in [in dependence on; or as directed by; or according to the will of] the Holy Spirit. ²¹ Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ ·to give you [that leads to] ·life forever [eternal life].