Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

through which to us the most great and precious promises have been given, that through these ye may become partakers of a divine nature, having escaped from the corruption in the world in desires.

But for this very reason also, using therewith all diligence, in your faith have also virtue, in virtue knowledge,

For if you have these things in good measure, they will make you fertile and full of fruit in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For this reason, my brothers, take all the more care to make your selection and approval certain; for if you do these things you will never have a fall:

For thus shall you have an abundant entrance given you into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Therefore I intend to remind you continually concerning these [things], although [you] know [them] and are established in the truth that you have.

For I am conscious that in a short time I will have to put off this tent of flesh, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

For he received from God the Father honour and glory, such a voice being uttered to him by the excellent glory: This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight;

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

But, above all, remember that no prophecy in Scripture will be found to have come from the prophet's own prompting;

And in their immoral ways they will have many eager disciples, through whom religion will be brought into disrepute.

And through greedy desires and deceptive words they will exploit you [for evil purposes]. But the judgment that they have had coming for a long time, will not delay, but will eventually awaken [i.e., arrive] to bring destruction upon them.

For if God did not have pity for the angels who did evil, but sent them down into hell, to be kept in chains of eternal night till they were judged;

And did not have mercy on the world which then was, but only kept safe Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he let loose the waters over the world of the evil-doers;

But specially those who go after the unclean desires of the flesh, and make sport of authority. Ready to take chances, uncontrolled, they have no fear of saying evil of those in high places:

But these men, like beasts without reason, whose natural use is to be taken and put to death, crying out against things of which they have no knowledge, will undergo that same destruction which they are designing for others;

suffering themselves, as the penalty for the suffering that they have inflicted. They think that pleasure consists in the self-indulgence of the moment. They are a stain and a disgrace, indulging, as they do, in their wanton revelry, even while joining you at your feasts.

Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

These men are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm, for whom the utter depths of darkness have been reserved.

For while speaking great highflown words of vanity, they allure with the lusts of the flesh, by dissoluteness, those who have just fled those who walk in error,

For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

Beloved, I am now writing you this second letter. In this [as in the first one], I am stirring up your untainted mind to remind you,

to remember the words which have been spoken hitherto by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour by your apostles:

and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming [what has become of it]? For ever since the fathers fell asleep [in death], all things have continued [exactly] as they did from the beginning of creation.”

but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

The Lord is not slack to fulfill his promise as some men count slackness: but is patient to us ward and would have no man lost, but would receive all men to repentance.

but we look for 'new heavens and a new earth,' where righteousness shall have its home, in fulfillment of the promise of God.

Therefore, dear friends, since you have these expectations, earnestly seek to be found in His presence, free from blemish or reproach, in peace.

Therefore, dear friends, [because you] know [this] beforehand, guard yourselves so that you do not lose your own safe position [because you] have been led away by the error of lawless persons.

But be increased in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May he have glory now and for ever. So be it.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose].

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

and in this we know that we have known him, if his commands we may keep;

he who is saying, 'I have known him,' and his command is not keeping, a liar he is, and in him the truth is not;

Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.

I write to you, little children, because the sins have been forgiven you through his name;

I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.

I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

Have no love for the world or for the things which are in the world. If any man has love for the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father [either]; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

If you have knowledge that he is upright, it is clear to you that everyone who does righteousness is his offspring.

beloved, now, children of God are we, and it was not yet manifested what we shall be, and we have known that if he may be manifested, like him we shall be, because we shall see him as he is;

and ye have known that he was manifested that our sins he may take away, and sin is not in him;

For this is the message which ye have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another:

We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

Every one who is hating his brother -- a man-killer he is, and ye have known that no man-killer hath life age-during in him remaining,

Hereby we have known love, because he has laid down his life for us; and we ought for the brethren to lay down our lives.

But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

And this is how we will know that we are following [God's] truth, and will have assurance [of it] in our hearts and before God [as well].

When our heart says that we have done wrong; because God is greater than our heart, and has knowledge of all things.

Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

And this is his law, that we have faith in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love for one another, even as he said to us.

The one who habitually keeps His commandments [obeying His word and following His precepts, abides and] remains in Him, and He in him. By this we know and have the proof that He [really] abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us [as a gift].

Beloved, every spirit believe not, but prove the spirits, if of God they are, because many false prophets have gone forth to the world;

By this you may have knowledge of the Spirit of God: every spirit which says that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God:

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

My loved ones, let us have love for one another: because love is of God, and everyone who has love is a child of God and has knowledge of God.

God's love for us has been manifested in that He has sent His only Son into the world so that we may have Life through Him.

In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son [to be the] propitiation for our sins.

My loved ones, if God had such love for us, it is right for us to have love for one another.

No man has ever seen God: if we have love for one another, God is in us and his love is made complete in us:

And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

There is no [reason for] fear if one [really] loves, but a complete love removes fear [from us] because fear produces punishment [i.e., mental anxiety], and the person who is [always] afraid does not have a complete love.

We have the power of loving, because he first had love for us.

If a man says, I have love for God, and has hate for his brother, his words are false: for how is the man who has no love for his brother whom he has seen, able to have love for God whom he has not seen?

And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

In this way, we are certain that we have love for the children of God, when we have love for God and keep his laws.

Anything which comes from God is able to overcome the world: and the power by which we have overcome the world is our faith.

He who has the Son [by accepting Him as Lord and Savior] has the life [that is eternal]; he who does not have the Son of God [by personal faith] does not have the life.

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

We have known that every one who hath been begotten of God doth not sin, but he who was begotten of God doth keep himself, and the evil one doth not touch him;

we have known that of God we are, and the whole world in the evil doth lie;

and we have known that the Son of God is come, and hath given us a mind, that we may know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ; this one is the true God and the life age-during!

The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;