1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who, through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ, have obtained the same precious faith as ours:
1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
1:3 Whose divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who has called us by his own glory and virtue:
1:4 By which he has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
1:5 For this very reason, give all diligence to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
1:6 And to knowledge self-control; and to self-control perseverance; and to perseverance godliness;
1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness love.
1:8 For if these things are in you, and are increasing, they keep you from being either ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1:9 But he who lacks these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
1:10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall:
1:11 For in this way an entrance shall be abundantly provided for you into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
1:12 Therefore, I will always remind you of these things, though you know them, and are established in the truth you now have.
1:13 Yea, I think it right, as long as I am in this tent of my body, to stir you up way of reminder;
1:14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me.
1:15 Moreover, I will endeavour to see to it that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
1:16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came a voice to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him on the holy mountain.
1:19 And so we have the word of prophecy made more certain; to which you would do well to take heed, as to a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the morning star arises in your hearts:
1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is a matter of one's private interpretation.
1:21 For prophecy did not come in times of old by the will of man: but holy men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who secretly shall bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2:2 And many shall follow their licentious ways; and because of them the way of truth shall be maligned.
2:3 And in greed they shall exploit you with false words: the judgment against them from of old does not linger, and their condemnation does not slumber.
2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into pits of gloom, to be reserved for judgment;
2:5 And did not spare the old world, but saved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2:6 If he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, overthrowing them and turning them into ashes, and made them an example to those who would be ungodly;
2:7 And delivered righteous Lot, who was vexed by the licentious lives of the wicked:
2:8 (For that righteous man dwelt among them, seeing and hearing, and his righteous soul was vexed from day to day by their unlawful deeds;)
2:9 Then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust under punishment until the day of judgment:
2:10 And particularly those who walk after the flesh in its unclean lusts, and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of the glorious ones.
2:11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, do not bring slanderous accusation against them before the Lord.
2:12 But these, like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of things they do not understand; and shall utterly perish with them in the same destruction;
2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness. They count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, revelling in their own deceptions while they feast with you;
2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, who cannot cease from sin; enticing unstable souls: they have a heart trained in greed; cursed children:
2:15 Who have forsaken the right way, and have gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2:16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet.
2:17 These are wells without water, mists driven before a tempest; for whom the blackest darkness is reserved [forever].
2:18 For they speak great swelling words of vanity, and allure through the lusts of the flesh, through sensuality, those who are just escaping from the ones who live in error.
2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the slaves of depravity: for by that which a man is overcome, to that he is enslaved.
2:20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled by them, and overcome, they are worse off in the end than at the beginning.
2:21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
2:22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, The dog returns to its own vomit; and the sow that is washed returns to wallowing in the mire.
3:1 This is now the second letter, beloved, that I have written to you, in which I stir up your sincere minds by way of remembrance:
3:2 That you may recall the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour given through your apostles:
3:3 Knowing this first, that in the last days scoffers shall come, scoffing and walking after their own lusts,
3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
3:5 For they willingly ignore this, that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
3:6 And by water the world that then was, being deluged, perished:
3:7 But by the same word, the heavens and the earth which are now, are reserved for fire on the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
3:8 But, beloved, do not be ignorant of this one thing, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
3:9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some men count slowness; but is patient toward you, not wanting that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in which the heavens shall pass away with a roar, and the elements shall be destroyed with fervent heat, the earth and the works that are upon it shall be burned up.
3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be destroyed, what kind of people ought you to be? You should live holy and godly lives,
3:12 Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, in which the heavens shall be dissolved in fire, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
3:13 But we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
3:14 Therefore, beloved, seeing that you look for these things, be diligent that you may be found at peace with him, without spot, and blameless.
3:15 And consider the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as our beloved brother Paul has written to you, according to the wisdom given to him,
3:16 Speaking of these things, as he does in all his letters. In them are some things that are hard to understand, which those who are unlearned and unstable distort, as they do the other scriptures, to their own destruction.
3:17 But you, beloved, seeing that you know these things beforehand, beware lest you also, being led away by the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.
3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.