2 May undeserved kindness and peace be increased to you by an accurate knowledge+ of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 for his divine power has granted* us all the things that contribute to life and godly devotion through the accurate knowledge of the One who called us+ by his own glory and virtue. 4 Through these things he has granted* us the precious and very grand promises,+ so that through these you may become sharers in divine nature,+ having escaped from the world’s corruption produced by wrong desire.*
5 For this very reason, put forth all earnest effort+ to supply to your faith virtue,+ to your virtue knowledge,+ 6 to your knowledge self-control, to your self-control+ endurance, to your endurance godly devotion,+ 7 to your godly devotion brotherly affection, to your brotherly affection love.+ 8 For if these things exist in you and overflow, they will prevent you from being either inactive or unfruitful*+ regarding the accurate knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For anyone lacking these things is blind, shutting his eyes to the light,*+ and has become forgetful of his cleansing from his sins+ of long ago. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling+ and choosing sure for yourselves, for if you keep on doing these things, you will by no means ever fail.+ 11 In fact, in this way you will be richly granted* entrance into the everlasting Kingdom+ of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.+
12 For this reason I intend always to remind you of these things, although you know them and are well-established in the truth that is present in you. 13 But I consider it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle,*+ to stir you with reminders,+ 14 knowing as I do that my tabernacle is soon to be removed, just as also our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.+ 15 I will always do my utmost so that after my departure, you may be able to recall* these things for yourselves.
16 No, it was not by following artfully contrived false stories that we made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but rather, we were eyewitnesses of his magnificence.+ 17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory when words such as these* were conveyed to him by the magnificent glory: “This is my Son, my beloved, whom I myself have approved.”+ 18 Yes, these words we heard coming from heaven while we were with him in the holy mountain.
19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, and you are doing well in paying attention to it as to a lamp+ shining in a dark place (until day dawns and a daystar+ rises) in your hearts. 20 For you know this first, that no prophecy of Scripture springs from any private interpretation. 21 For prophecy was at no time brought by man’s will,+ but men spoke from God as they were moved* by holy spirit.+
2 However, there also came to be false prophets among the people, as there will also be false teachers among you.+ These will quietly bring in destructive sects, and they will even disown the owner who bought them,+ bringing speedy destruction upon themselves. 2 Furthermore, many will follow their brazen conduct,*+ and because of them the way of the truth will be spoken of abusively.+ 3 Also, they will greedily exploit you with counterfeit words. But their judgment, decided long ago,+ is not moving slowly, and their destruction is not sleeping.+
4 Certainly God did not refrain from punishing the angels who sinned,+ but threw them into Tar′ta·rus,*+ putting them in chains* of dense darkness to be reserved for judgment.+ 5 And he did not refrain from punishing an ancient world,+ but kept Noah, a preacher of righteousness,+ safe with seven others+ when he brought a flood upon a world of ungodly people.+ 6 And by reducing the cities of Sod′om and Go·mor′rah to ashes, he condemned them,+ setting a pattern for ungodly people of things to come.+ 7 And he rescued righteous Lot,+ who was greatly distressed by the brazen conduct* of the lawless people— 8 for day after day that righteous man was tormenting his righteous soul* over the lawless deeds that he saw and heard while dwelling among them. 9 So, then, Jehovah* knows how to rescue people of godly devotion out of trial,+ but to reserve unrighteous people to be destroyed* on the day of judgment,+ 10 especially those who seek to defile the flesh of others+ and who despise authority.*+
Daring and self-willed, they are not afraid to speak abusively of glorious ones, 11 whereas angels, although they are greater in strength and power, do not bring against them an accusation in abusive terms, out of respect for* Jehovah.*+ 12 But these men, like unreasoning animals that act on instinct and are born* to be caught and destroyed, speak abusively about things of which they are ignorant.+ They will suffer destruction brought on by their own destructive course, 13 suffering harm as their reward for their own harmful course.
They consider it pleasurable to indulge in luxurious living,+ even in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes who revel* in their deceptive teachings while feasting together with you.+ 14 Their eyes are full of adultery+ and are unable to desist from sin, and they entice unstable ones.* They have a heart trained in greed. They are accursed children. 15 Abandoning the straight path, they have been led astray. They have followed the path of Ba′laam+ the son of Be′or, who loved the reward of wrongdoing,+ 16 but was reproved for his own violation of what was right.+ A voiceless beast of burden speaking with a human voice hindered the prophet’s mad course.+
17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a violent storm, and the blackest darkness has been reserved for them.+ 18 They make high-sounding statements that are empty. By appealing to the desires of the flesh+ and with acts of brazen conduct,* they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error.+ 19 While they are promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves of corruption;+ for if anyone is overcome by someone, he is his slave.*+ 20 Certainly if after escaping from the defilements of the world+ by an accurate knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they get involved again with these very things and are overcome, their final state has become worse for them than the first.+ 21 It would have been better for them not to have accurately known the path of righteousness than after knowing it to turn away from the holy commandment they had received.+ 22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog has returned to its own vomit, and the sow that was bathed to rolling in the mire.”+
3 Beloved ones, this is now the second letter I am writing you in which, as in my first one, I am stirring up your clear thinking faculties by way of a reminder,+ 2 that you should remember the sayings previously spoken* by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles. 3 First of all know this, that in the last days ridiculers will come with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires+ 4 and saying: “Where is this promised presence of his?+ Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as they were from creation’s beginning.”+
5 For they deliberately ignore this fact, that long ago there were heavens and an earth standing firmly out of water and in the midst of water by the word of God;+ 6 and that by those means the world of that time suffered destruction when it was flooded with water.+ 7 But by the same word the heavens and the earth that now exist are reserved for fire and are being kept until the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly people.+
8 However, do not let this escape your notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah* as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.+ 9 Jehovah* is not slow concerning his promise,+ as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.+ 10 But Jehovah’s* day+ will come as a thief,+ in which the heavens will pass away+ with a roar,* but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be exposed.+
11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, consider what sort of people you ought to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, 12 as you await and keep close in mind* the presence of the day of Jehovah,*+ through which the heavens will be destroyed+ in flames and the elements will melt in the intense heat! 13 But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise,+ and in these righteousness is to dwell.+
14 Therefore, beloved ones, since you are awaiting these things, do your utmost to be found finally by him spotless and unblemished and in peace.+ 15 Furthermore, consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you according to the wisdom given him,+ 16 speaking about these things as he does in all his letters. However, some things in them are hard to understand, and these things the ignorant* and unstable are twisting, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17 You, therefore, beloved ones, having this advance knowledge, be on your guard so that you may not be led astray with them by the error of the lawless people and fall from your own steadfastness.*+ 18 No, but go on growing in the undeserved kindness and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
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