By these [blessings] He has given to us the precious and tremendous promises, so that you people may share in His divine nature, [after] having escaped the world's corruption, caused by evil desires.

For if you people have a lot of these [qualities] they will keep you from being unproductive and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But, anyone who lacks these qualities is [spiritually] blind and shortsighted, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed [i.e., forgiven] of his past sins.

Therefore, I intend to constantly remind you people about these things [i.e., those mentioned in verses 5-11], even though you [already] know them, and have been established in the truth you now possess.

But I consider it the right thing to do, as long as I am in this "tent" [Note: This is an allusion to his still being alive], to stir up your memory [of these things],

However, these people are like unreasonable, ignorant creatures of instinct, born as animals which are [to be] caught and destroyed. They speak out against things about which they are ignorant. In [the process of] destroying others, they will certainly be destroyed themselves.

[Although] these people promise "liberty," they themselves are slaves to corrupting influences, for people are slaves to whatever controls them.

For if people who have escaped from the defiling practices of the world by coming to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, become tangled up in them again, and are overcome by them, these people are worse off than before they were converted.

But, these people intentionally forget that the heavens, which existed long ago, and the earth, which was formed out of water and by water, [were created] by the word of God.

Since all these things are [certain] to be destroyed, what kind of persons should you be, [if not like those] living holy lives, and in a godly manner,

So, my dearly loved ones, while you are waiting for these things [to happen], do your best to be found at peace with God, pure and blameless in His sight.

He spoke about these things in all of his letters, which contain some parts that are difficult to understand. [Because of this], ignorant and unstable people twist [his writings], just as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Therefore, dearly loved ones, since you know about these things ahead of time, be on your guard so that you are not led astray by the error of lawless people, and [thus] fall from your own stability [i.e., your safe or secure position in Christ].