¹From Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained equally precious faith to ours in the righteousness of our God and saviour, Jesus Christ, ²grace to you, and peace be plentiful in the acknowledgment of God and Jesus our Lord, ³since his divine power has bestowed on us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through acknowledgment of him who called us through glory and virtue, ⁴qualities through which precious and very great promises have been given to us, in order that through these you might become partakers of divine nature, having fled from the corruption in the world, which is driven by covetousness. ⁵And for this very reason, while bringing all zeal to bear, supply virtue in your faith, and in your virtue, knowledge, ⁶and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, endurance, and in your endurance, godliness, ⁷and in your godliness, brotherly affection, and in your brotherly affection, love. ⁸For if these things belong to you and abound, they establish you as neither inactive nor unfruitful in the acknowledgment of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹For he who lacks these things is blind, short-sighted, oblivious of the cleansing of his past sins. ¹⁰Therefore, brothers, be eager rather to make your calling and election steadfast. For if you do these things, you will certainly never stumble. ¹¹For this is how the way into the age-abiding kingdom of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you. ¹²This is why I will not be negligent in always reminding you about these things, although you know them and have been confirmed in the present truth. ¹³And I consider it a righteous matter, as long as I am in this tent, to rouse you in reminding you, ¹⁴knowing that I shall imminently be divesting myself of my tent, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me. ¹⁵And I will also be eager to always have you making remembrance of these things after my departure. ¹⁶For we have not made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by following sophisticated fables, but as having been eye-witnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷For he received honour and glory from God the father when an utterance was delivered to him, such as is from magnificent glory, saying, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am very pleased”, ¹⁸and we heard this utterance transmitted from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. ¹⁹Yet we have the more steadfast prophetic word whereby you do well if you heed it, like a lamp shining in a drab place until the day dawns and the light-bearer rises in your hearts, ²⁰knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture comes about as a private deed. ²¹For prophecy was never produced by the will of man, but when holy men of God spoke as they were borne along by holy spirit.