whereby superlatively great and precious promises are freely given to us: that by these ye might become partakers of a divine nature, having fled far away from the corruption that is in the world through inordinate concupiscence.??5 And for this very purpose employing the greatest diligence, lead up in the train of your faith courage; and with courage intelligence;

For if these things are in your possession, and abounding, they will render you neither inactive nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Wherefore I will not be negligent continually to remind you of these things, though ye know them, and are established in the present truth.

But these men, as the naturally irrational brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil of the things of which they are ignorant, will perish by their own corruption;

who forsaking the strait road are gone out of the way, following the path of Balaam the son of Bosor who loved the wages of iniquity.

These are fountains without water, clouds driven by a hurricane; for whom the blackness of darkness for ever is reserved.

Preaching liberty to them, while they themselves are the slaves of corruption: for by whatever a man is overcome, by that also he is enslaved.

For if having escaped from the defilements of the world by the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again enveloped by them and overcome, their last deeds are worse than the first.

but the present heavens and earth by the same word are treasured up, reserved for fire at the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Wherefore, beloved, seeing ye are expecting these things, be diligent to be found of him in peace, spotless and blameless.

as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, of which some are difficult to be understood, which the uninstructed and the unstable torture, as indeed they do the rest of the scriptures unto their own destruction.