Greeting

1 Simeon^[a] Peter, a servant^[b] and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained ^(A)a faith of equal standing with ours ^(B)by the righteousness of our ^(C)God and Savior Jesus Christ:

^2 (D)May grace and peace be multiplied to you ^(E)in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Confirm Your Calling and Election

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him ^(F)who called us to^[c] his own glory and excellence,^{[d] 4} by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become ^(G)partakers of the divine nature, ^(H)having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith ^(I)with virtue,^[e] and virtue ^(J)with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control ^(K)with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness ^(L)with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection ^(M)with love. ⁸ For if these qualities^[f] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or ^(N)unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he ^(O)is blind, having forgotten that he was ^(P)cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers,^[g] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and ^(Q)election, for if you practice these qualities ^(R)you will never fall. ¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you ^(S)an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹² Therefore I intend ^(T)always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in ^(U)the truth that you have. ¹³ I think it right, as long as I am in this ^(V)body,^{[h] (W)}to stir you up by way of reminder, ^14 (X)since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, ^(Y)as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

Christ's Glory and the Prophetic Word

¹⁶ For we did not follow ^(Z)cleverly devised ^(AA)myths when we made known to you ^(AB)the power and ^(AC)coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but ^(AD)we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ^(AE)“This is my beloved Son,^[i] with whom I am well pleased,” ¹⁸ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on ^(AF)the holy mountain. ¹⁹ And ^(AG)we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention ^(AH)as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until ^(AI)the day ^(AJ)dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, ²⁰ knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. ²¹ For ^(AK)no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God ^(AL)as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

False Prophets and Teachers

2 But ^(AM)false prophets also arose among the people, ^(AN)just as there will be false teachers among you, who will ^(AO)secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master ^(AP)who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth ^(AQ)will be blasphemed. ³ And ^(AR)in their greed they will exploit you ^(AS)with false words. ^(AT)Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

⁴ For if God did not spare ^(AU)angels when they sinned, but ^(AV)cast them into hell^[j] and committed them to chains^[k] of gloomy darkness ^(AW)to be kept until the judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world, but ^(AX)preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought ^(AY)a flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ if by ^(AZ)turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, ^(BA)making them an example of ^(BB)what is going to happen to the ungodly;^{[l] 7} and ^(BC)if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked ⁸ (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, ^(BD)he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); ⁹ then ^(BE)the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,^[m] and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially ^(BF)those who indulge^[n] in the lust of defiling passion and ^(BG)despise authority.

Bold and willful, they do not tremble ^(BH)as they blaspheme the glorious ones, ^11 (BI)whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. ^12 (BJ)But these, like irrational animals, ^(BK)creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, ¹³ suffering wrong as ^(BL)the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure ^(BM)to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions,^[o] while ^(BN)they feast with you. ¹⁴ They have eyes full of adultery,^{[p] (BO)}insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts ^(BP)trained in greed. ^(BQ)Accursed children! ¹⁵ Forsaking the right way, ^(BR)they have gone astray. They have followed ^(BS)the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved ^(BT)gain from wrongdoing, ¹⁶ but was rebuked for his own transgression; ^(BU)a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

^17 (BV)These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. ^(BW)For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. ¹⁸ For, ^(BX)speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely ^(BY)escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them ^(BZ)freedom, ^(CA)but they themselves are slaves^[q] of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. ²⁰ For if, ^(CB)after they have escaped the defilements of the world ^(CC)through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, ^(CD)the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹ For ^(CE)it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from ^(CF)the holy commandment delivered to them. ²² What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The ^(CG)dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of David.