Study Desk

Simon Peter, a servant^(a) and apostle of Jesus Christ,^(b) To those who through the righteousness^(c) of our God and Savior Jesus Christ^(d) have received a faith as precious as ours:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance^(e) through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.^(f)

His divine power^(g) has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him^(h) who called us⁽ⁱ⁾ by his own glory and goodness.

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises,^(j) so that through them you may participate in the divine nature,^(k) having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.^(l)

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;^(m)

and to knowledge, self-control;⁽ⁿ⁾ and to self-control, perseverance;^(o) and to perseverance, godliness;^(p)

and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.^(q)

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive^(r) in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.^(s)

But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind,^(t) forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.^(u)

Therefore, my brothers and sisters,^[a] make every effort to confirm your calling^(v) and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,^(w)

and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom^(x) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.^(y)

So I will always remind you of these things,^(z) even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth^(aa) you now have.

I think it is right to refresh your memory^(ab) as long as I live in the tent of this body,^(ac)

because I know that I will soon put it aside,^(ad) as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.^(ae)

And I will make every effort to see that after my departure^(af) you will always be able to remember these things.

For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power,^(ag) but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.^(ah)

He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."^[b](ai)

We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.^(aj)

We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable,^(ak) and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light^(al) shining in a dark place, until the day dawns^(am) and the morning star^(an) rises in your hearts.^(ao)

Above all, you must understand^(ap) that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things.

For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God^(aq) as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.^(ar)

False Teachers and Their Destruction

But there were also false prophets^(a) among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.^(b) They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord^(c) who bought them^(d)—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

Many will follow their depraved conduct^(e) and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

In their greed^(f) these teachers will exploit you^(g) with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned,^(h) but sent them to hell,^[a] putting them in chains of darkness^[b] to be held for judgment;⁽ⁱ⁾

if he did not spare the ancient world^(j) when he brought the flood on its ungodly people,^(k) but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;^(l)

if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes,^(m) and made them an example⁽ⁿ⁾ of what is going to happen to the ungodly;^(o)

and if he rescued Lot,^(p) a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless^(q)

(for that righteous man,^(r) living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—

if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials^(s) and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.^(t)

This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire^(u) of the flesh^[c] and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;^(v)

yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from^[d] the Lord.^(w)

But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.^(x)

They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight.^(y) They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.^[e](z)

With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce^(aa) the unstable;^(ab) they are experts in greed^(ac)—an accursed brood!^(ad)

They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam^(ae) son of Bezer,^[f] who loved the wages of wickedness.

But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.^(af)

These people are springs without water^(ag) and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.^(ah)

For they mouth empty, boastful words^(ai) and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping^(aj) from those who live in error.

They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for "people are slaves to whatever has mastered them."^(ak)

If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing^(al) our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ^(am) and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.^(an)

It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.^(ao)

Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit,"^[g](ap) and, "A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud."