1 1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence. 4 By these he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and become partakers of the divine nature. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge, 6 and to knowledge, self-control, and to self-control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness, 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall; 11 so there will be an entrance richly provided for you into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 12 Therefore I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting aside of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will see to it that after my departure you will be able at any time to call these things to mind. 16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice coming from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word made more sure, and you will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by the act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 2 1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.