1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received the same precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the thorough knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord,
3 since his divine power has given to us everything [needful] for life and godliness through the thorough knowledge of him who has called us to glory and moral excellence.
4 Through this he has given very great and precious promises, so that by them we may be partakers of the divine nature, [since] we have escaped the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
5 And beside this, be diligent to add to your faith moral excellence; to moral excellence add knowledge.
6 To knowledge add self-control; to self-control add patience; to patience add godliness.
7 To godliness add brotherly love; to brotherly love add unselfish, unconditional love.
8 For if these qualities are in you and are plentiful, they will make you not to be barren or unfruitful in the thorough knowledge concerning our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he who lacks these qualities is blind, short sighted and become forgetful that he was totally cleansed from his past sins.
10 So now be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, because if you do these things, you will never fall.
11 For in this way an entry will be supplied to you into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12 Therefore I will not be negligent to remind you about these things, though you know [about them], and are firmly established in the present truth.
13 Yes, I think it proper that as long as I am in this tent of flesh, to stir up your memory.
14 I know that I must shortly lay aside this tent of flesh, just as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me.
The Experience of the Transfiguration
15 I'm going to put forth some effort, so that after I die you will have these things always with you.
16 For we have not followed craftily made up stories when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but were eyewitnesses of his splendor.
17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when so great a voice came from the majestic glory, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
18 We heard this voice, which came from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain,
19 yet we have [something] more substantiated--the prophetic word. You would do well to pay close attention to it as [you would] to a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Daystar arises in you hearts.
20 This is what is most important that no prophecy of the Scripture is of one's own interpretation.
21 For prophecy never was prompted by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke while being prompted by the Holy Spirit.