< 2 Peter 1 >

1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and Apostle of Jesus Christ: To those to whom there has been allotted the same precious faith as that which is ours through the righteousness of our God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
I, Simon Peter, [am writing this letter to you. I] serve Jesus Christ, and am an apostle [appointed by] him. [I am sending this letter to you] whom God has caused to believe [in Christ] just like he [caused us(exc) apostles to believe in Christ]. You and we have (equally been given the/both been given the same) privilege of believing in Jesus Christ. He [is] God, he is righteous, he is the one whom we [worship], and he is our Savior.
2 May more and more grace and peace be granted to you in a full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
[I pray that God] will continue to act very kindly towards you, and give you (a deep/very much) [inner] peace, because you [truly] know God and Jesus, who is our Lord.
3 seeing that His divine power has given us all things that are needful for life and godliness, through our knowledge of Him who has appealed to us by His own glorious perfections.
[God] [PRS] has given us everything [that we need] in order that we might receive [eternal] life and in order that we might [live] (in a godly way/in a way that pleases him). He gives us that by the power that he has because he is God, and he has also given it to us as a result of our knowing him. He is the wonderful and perfect one who chose us [to be his people].
4 It is by means of these that He has granted us His precious and wondrous promises, in order that through them you may, one and all, become sharers in the very nature of God, having completely escaped the corruption which exists in the world through earthly cravings.
Being [glorious and perfect], he has promised us [that he will do] very great and (priceless/very precious) things [for us]. [He has also promised] you that by [believing what he has promised] you will be able to act [righteously], just like God acts [righteously], and that you will be free from being morally depraved/corrupted, and that you will not be [like] those who do not believe in Christ and are morally depraved because of their desire to do things that are evil.
5 But for this very reason--adding, on your part, all earnestness-- along with your faith, manifest also a noble character: along with a noble character, knowledge;
Because God has done all that, by trying very hard, make sure that you not only believe [in Christ], but that you are also living morally good lives. And make sure that you are not only living morally good lives, but that you also know [what God desires] (OR, behave wisely).
6 along with knowledge, self-control; along with self-control, power of endurance;
And make sure that you not only know [what God desires] (OR, behave wisely), but that you also control what you say and do. And make sure that you not only control what you say and do, but that you are also steadfast/patient. And make sure that you are not only (steadfast/patient when you suffer), but that you are also godly.
7 along with power of endurance, godliness; along with godliness, brotherly affection; and along with brotherly affection, love.
And make sure that you not only (are godly/live in a way that pleases God), but that you also have a concern for your fellow believers, as brothers and sisters [ought to have] for each other. And make sure that you not only have a concern for your fellow believers, but that you also love [others].
8 If these things exist in you, and continually increase, they prevent your being either idle or unfruitful in advancing towards a full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you do these [things], and if [you do them] more and more, that demonstrates that knowing our Lord Jesus Christ (is very effective/produces good results) [LIT] in your lives.
9 For the man in whom they are lacking is blind and cannot see distant objects, in that he has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his old sins.
If these [qualities] are not present in people, it means they are not aware [that these things are important, just like a blind person is not aware of what is around him]. They [think only about earthly matters, just like] [MET] a shortsighted person [sees clearly only things that are near]. It seems that they have forgotten that God has forgiven them for their former sinful lives.
10 For this reason, brethren, be all the more in earnest to make sure that God has called you and chosen you; for it is certain that so long as you practise these things, you will never stumble.
Instead of [acting like those people], try to confirm/prove by the way you conduct your lives that you are among those whom [God] has chosen [DOU] to be his people. If you do that, you will certainly never become separated from God,
11 And so a triumphant admission into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be freely granted to you. (aiōnios g166)
and [God] will very wholeheartedly welcome you into the place where our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will rule [his people] forever. (aiōnios g166)
12 For this reason I shall always persist in reminding you of these things, although you know them and are stedfast believers in truth which you already possess.
I intend to keep on reminding you very frequently [HYP] about these [matters], even though you [already] know them and are firmly convinced that they are true.
13 But I think it right, so long as I remain in the body, my present dwelling-place, to arouse you by such reminders.
I consider it right that I should help you [to continually think about these matters] by reminding you [about them] as long as I am alive [EUP],
14 For I know that the time for me to lay aside my body is now rapidly drawing near, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to me.
because I know that I shall die [EUP] soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ clearly has revealed to me.
15 So on every possible occasion I will also do my best to enable you to recall these things after my departure.
Moreover, I will (make every effort/try hard) [by writing these things down] to enable you to remember them at all times after I have died [EUP].
16 For when we made known to you the power and Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not eagerly following cleverly devised legends, but we had been eye-witnesses of His majesty.
We [apostles] told you that our Lord Jesus Christ [acts] powerfully and that he is coming back [some day]. We were not basing [what we told you] on stories that we had cleverly (invented/made up). Instead, we told you what we ourselves saw with our own eyes, that [the] Lord Jesus is supremely great.
17 He received honour and glory from God the Father, and out of the wondrous glory words such as these were spoken to Him, "This is My dearly-loved Son, in whom I take delight."
God, our Father, greatly honored him when God’s great glory/brightness surrounded him, and God [MTY] said, “This is my Son, whom I love very much; I am very pleased with him.”
18 And we ourselves heard these words come from Heaven, when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
We [(exc)] ourselves heard [God] [MTY] [say] that from heaven, when we were with [Christ] on that holy/sacred mountain.
19 And in the written word of prophecy we have something more permanent; to which you do well to pay attention--as to a lamp shining in a dimly-lighted place--until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
We also have [the Scriptures] that the prophets [wrote about Christ long ago], which are completely reliable/trustworthy. You should (pay attention to/think carefully about) [what they wrote], because [what they wrote enables you to know whether what is taught to you is true or whether it is false] [SIM], like a lamp that is shining in a dark place [enables people to see where they are going] [SIM]. [You should] ([pay attention to/think carefully about]) [what they wrote] until [our Lord Jesus Christ comes back and enables] you [SYN] [to know God fully, which will be like when] [MET] (a day dawns/daylight comes) and the morning star rises [and we can see it clearly].
20 But, above all, remember that no prophecy in Scripture will be found to have come from the prophet's own prompting;
It is important that you realize that no one can interpret/explain by himself [the meaning of] what the prophets wrote [in the Scriptures] without [the help of God’s Spirit] (OR, no [part of the] Scriptures originated with the prophet himself),
21 for never did any prophecy come by human will, but men sent by God spoke as they were impelled by the Holy Spirit.
because no human beings decided [to make those prophecies]. On the contrary, those who spoke [messages from God] did that because it was the Holy Spirit who caused them to do [it, and therefore the Spirit must help us to interpret/understand their meaning].

< 2 Peter 1 >