2 Peter 1

1Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. To those who have received a faith as precious as ours, through the goodness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ:

2May God give you more and more grace and peace, as you come to know God and Jesus our Lord.

3God's own power has given us everything we need to live a life that pleases God. God did this by helping us know the One who called us by God's own glory and goodness.

4Through that glory and goodness, God gave us God's great and precious promises. By these promises you can share in God's own nature and escape the ruin that evil desires bring into the world.

5So do your best to add to your faith. To your faith, add goodness; to goodness, add knowledge;

6To knowledge, add self-control; to self-control, add patience; to patience, add a godly life;

7To a godly life, add kindness to your brothers and sisters; and to that kindness, add love.

8If you have these things, and they keep growing, they will keep you from being useless. They will help you truly know our Lord Jesus Christ.

9But anyone who does not have these things is blind, unable to see clearly, having forgotten that their old sins were washed away.

10So, brothers and sisters, work hard to make your calling and your place with God sure. If you do these things, you will never fall.

11Then you will be given a rich welcome into the kingdom that lasts forever, the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

12So I will always remind you of these things, even though you already know them and stand firm in the truth you have.

13I think it is right to keep reminding you as long as I live in this body.

14I know that soon I must leave this body, as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me.

15So I will do my best to make sure that, after I am gone, you will always remember these things.

16When we told you about the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming, we were not following clever made-up stories. We saw his greatness with our own eyes.

17God the Father gave Jesus honor and glory. A voice came to Jesus from the great glory of God, saying: This is my Son, whom I love. I am very pleased with him.

18We ourselves heard that voice from heaven, because we were with Jesus on the holy mountain.

19So we are even more sure of the message the prophets spoke. You will do well to pay attention to it. It is like a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came from a prophet's own idea.

21For prophecy never came simply because a person wanted it to. Instead, people spoke from God as the Holy Spirit carried them along.