Beginning

Precious and Magnificent Promises

1 ^[a]Simeon Peter, a ^(A)slave and ^(B)apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received ^(C)the same ^[b]kind of faith as ours, ^[c]by ^(D)the righteousness of ^(E)our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: ^2 (F)Grace and peace be multiplied to you in ^(G)the full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; ³ seeing that His ^(H)divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the ^(I)full knowledge of Him who ^(J)called us ^[d]by His own glory and ^[e]excellence. ^4 [f]For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent ^(K)promises, so that by them you may become ^(L)partakers of the divine nature, having ^(M)escaped the ^(N)corruption that is in ^(O)the world by lust. ⁵ Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith ^(P)supply ^(Q)moral ^[g]excellence, and in your moral excellence, ^(R)knowledge, ⁶ and in your knowledge, ^(S)self-control, and in your self-control, ^(T)perseverance, and in your perseverance, ^(U)godliness, ⁷ and in your godliness, ^[h](V)brotherly kindness, and in your ^[i]brotherly kindness, ^[j]love. ⁸ For if these things are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor ^(W)unfruitful in the ^(X)full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For in whom these things are not present, that one is ^(Y)blind, being nearsighted, having ^[k]forgotten the ^(Z)purification from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your ^(AA)calling and ^(AB)choosing sure; for in doing these things, you will never ^(AC)stumble; ¹¹ for in this way the entrance into ^(AD)the eternal kingdom of our ^(AE)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be ^(AF)abundantly ^(AG)supplied to you.

¹² Therefore, ^(AH)I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been strengthened in ^(AI)the truth which is present with you. ¹³ I consider it ^(AJ)right, as long as I am in ^(AK)this earthly dwelling, to ^(AL)stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴ knowing that ^(AM)the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, ^(AN)as also our Lord Jesus Christ has indicated to me. ¹⁵ And I will also be diligent that at any time after my ^[l](AO)departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

Eyewitnesses of Jesus

¹⁶ For we did not make known to you the ^(AP)power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, following cleverly devised ^(AQ)myths, but being ^(AR)eyewitnesses of His majesty. ¹⁷ For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an ^[m](AS)utterance as this was ^[n]made to Him by the ^(AT)Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— ¹⁸ and we ourselves heard this ^[o]utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the ^(AU)holy mountain.

^19 [p]And we have as more ^(AV)sure ^(AW)the prophetic word, to which you do well to pay attention as to ^(AX)a lamp shining in a dark place, until the ^(AY)day dawns and the ^(AZ)morning star arises ^(BA)in your hearts. ^20 (BB)Know this first of all, that ^(BC)no prophecy of Scripture comes by one’s own interpretation. ²¹ For ^(BD)no prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but men being ^(BE)moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

The Rise of False Prophets

2 But ^(BF)false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be ^(BG)false teachers ^(BH)among you, who will ^(BI)secretly introduce ^(BJ)destructive heresies, even ^(BK)denying the ^(BL)Master who ^(BM)bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. ² And many will follow their ^(BN)sensuality, and because of them ^(BO)the way of the truth will be ^(BP)maligned. ³ And in their ^(BQ)greed they will ^(BR)exploit you with ^(BS)false words, ^(BT)their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

⁴ For ^(BU)if God did not spare angels who sinned, but cast them into the ^[q]pit and ^(BV)delivered them to chains of darkness, being kept for judgment; ⁵ and did not spare ^(BW)the ancient world, but preserved ^(BX)Noah, a ^[r]preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a ^(BY)flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ and if He ^(BZ)condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an ^(CA)example to those who would ^(CB)live ungodly lives thereafter; ⁷ and if He ^(CC)rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the ^(CD)sensual conduct of ^(CE)unprincipled men ⁸ (for by what he saw and heard that ^(CF)righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), ^9 (CG)then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from ^[s]trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the ^(CH)day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who ^(CI)go after the flesh in its corrupt lust and ^(CJ)despise authority.

Daring, ^(CK)self-willed, they do not tremble when they ^(CL)blaspheme ^[t]glorious ones, ^11 (CM)whereas angels who are greater in strength and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. ¹² But ^(CN)these, like unreasoning animals, ^(CO)born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, blaspheming where they have no knowledge, will in ^[u]the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, ¹³ suffering unrighteousness as ^(CP)the wages of their unrighteousness, considering it a pleasure to ^(CQ)revel in the ^(CR)daytime—they are stains and blemishes, ^(CS)reveling in their ^[v]deceptions, as they ^(CT)feast with you, ¹⁴ having eyes full of adultery and unceasing sin, ^(CU)enticing ^(CV)unstable souls, having a heart trained in ^(CW)greed—they are ^(CX)accursed children. ¹⁵ Forsaking ^(CY)the right way, they have gone astray, having followed ^(CZ)the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved ^(DA)the wages of unrighteousness, ¹⁶ but he received a rebuke for his own lawlessness, ^(DB)for a mute donkey, speaking out with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.

¹⁷ These are ^(DC)springs without water and mists driven by a storm, ^(DD)for whom the ^[w]black darkness has been kept. ¹⁸ For speaking out ^(DE)arrogant words of ^(DF)vanity, they ^(DG)entice by ^(DH)sensual lusts of the flesh, those who barely ^(DI)escape from the ones who conducted themselves in error, ¹⁹ promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for ^(DJ)by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. ²⁰ For if they are overcome, having both ^(DK)escaped the defilements of the world by ^(DL)the knowledge of the ^(DM)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and having again been ^(DN)entangled in them, then ^(DO)the last state has become worse for them than the first. ^21 (DP)For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from ^(DQ)the holy commandment ^(DR)handed on to them. ²² The ^[x]message of the true proverb has happened to them, “^(DS)A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”

The Day of the Lord Will Come

3 This is now, ^(DT)beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am ^(DU)stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should ^(DV)remember the words spoken beforehand by ^(DW)the holy prophets and ^(DX)the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles, ^3 (DY)knowing this first of all, that ^(DZ)in the last days ^(EA)mockers will come with their mocking, ^(EB)following after their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “^(EC)Where is the promise of His ^(ED)coming? For since the fathers ^(EE)fell asleep, all continues just as it was ^(EF)from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For ^[y]when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that ^(EG)by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was ^(EH)formed out of water and by water, ⁶ through which ^(EI)the world at that time was ^(EJ)destroyed, being deluged with water. ⁷ But by His word ^(EK)the present heavens and earth are being reserved for ^(EL)fire, being kept for ^(EM)the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

⁸ But do not let this one fact escape your notice, ^(EN)beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and ^(EO)a thousand years like one day. ^9 (EP)The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some consider slowness, but ^(EQ)is patient toward you, ^(ER)not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. ¹⁰ But ^(ES)the day of the Lord ^(ET)will come like a thief, in which ^(EU)the heavens ^(EV)will pass away with a roar and the ^(EW)elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and ^(EX)the earth and ^[z]its works will be ^[aa]found out.

¹¹ Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ^12 (EY)looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which ^(EZ)the heavens burning will be destroyed, and the ^(FA)elements will melt with intense heat! ¹³ But according to His ^(FB)promise we are looking for ^(FC)new heavens and a new earth, ^(FD)in which righteousness dwells.

Be on Your Guard

^14 (FE)Therefore, ^(FF)beloved, since you are looking for these things, be diligent to be ^(FG)found by Him in peace, ^(FH)spotless and blameless, ¹⁵ and consider the ^(FI)patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also ^(FJ)our beloved brother Paul, ^(FK)according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his letters, speaking in them of ^(FL)these things, ^(FM)in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and ^(FN)unstable distort, as they do also ^(FO)the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. ¹⁷ You therefore, ^(FP)beloved, knowing this beforehand, ^(FQ)be on your guard lest you, having been carried away by ^(FR)the error of ^(FS)unprincipled men, ^(FT)fall from your own steadfastness, ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and ^(FU)knowledge of our ^(FV)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ^(FW)To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.