2 Peter 1

1From Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who, through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, have received a faith that is worth just as much as our own. 2May you have grace and peace in ever greater measure as you know God and Jesus our Lord.

3By his divine power we have been given every gift that leads to life and godliness, through knowing the one who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his promises, precious and greater than any other, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, now that you have escaped the decay that desire has brought into the world. 5This is why you must put every effort into this: let your faith provide goodness, and goodness knowledge, 6knowledge self-control, self-control endurance, endurance godliness, 7godliness affection for your fellow believers, and that affection love. 8For when these things are yours in growing measure, they will not leave you useless or without fruit in knowing our Lord Jesus Christ. 9Anyone who lacks them cannot see what is ahead and is as good as blind; they have forgotten that they were made clean from the sins of the past. 10So, brothers and sisters, work even harder to make sure that God’s call and choice of you stand firm; for as you do these things you will never trip and fall. 11This is how you will be given a full and generous welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

12So I will keep on reminding you of these things, though you already know them and stand firm in the truth that has come to you. 13While I still live in this tent of a body, I think it right to keep you awake by reminding you, 14because I know that I must soon lay this tent aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me. 15And I will see to it that after I am gone you will be able to recall these things whenever you need them.

16When we told you about the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming, we were not passing on clever stories that people had made up. We had seen his greatness with our own eyes. 17Honor and glory were given to him by God the Father, when these words came to him from the Majestic Glory: “This is my dearly loved Son; I take delight in him.” 18We heard that voice ourselves as it came from heaven, while we were there with him on the holy mountain. 19So the message of the prophets is all the more certain for us. You are right to keep your eyes on it, like a lamp that shines in a murky place, until the day breaks and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Know this first and foremost: no prophecy in Scripture arises from anyone’s own interpretation, 21for no prophecy ever came because a human being willed it; rather, people spoke from God as the Holy Spirit bore them along.