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:

For when He received such honor and glory from God the Father, when from the majestic glory there was borne to Him a voice like this, "This is my Son, my Beloved, in whom I take delight,"

and thus we have gained fresh confirmation of the prophetic word. Pray attend to that word; it shines like a lamp within a darksome spot, till the Day dawns and the daystar rises within your hearts ??20 understanding this, at the outset, that no prophetic scripture allows a man to interpret it by himself;

And in their desire for profit they will come to you with words of deceit, like traders doing business in souls: whose punishment has been ready for a long time and their destruction is watching for them.

But these [false teachers], like unreasoning animals, [mere] creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed, reviling things they do not understand, will also perish in their own corruption [in their destroying they will be destroyed],

For the evil which overtakes them is the reward of their evil-doing: such men take their pleasure in the delights of the flesh even in the daytime; they are like the marks of a disease, like poisoned wounds among you, feasting together with you in joy;

They strayed away [from God] by taking the wrong road like Balaam, the son of Bosor did, who loved the reward for doing wrong.

Such people are like springs that give no water and clouds driven by the winds. [Only] the blackest darkness awaits them.

It has happened to them like the true proverb [says], "The dog [throws up, and then] goes back and eats its own vomit," and "The hog that was all cleaned up [goes back] to wallowing in the mud."

Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your [notice], that one day with the Lord [is] like a thousand years, and a thousand years [is] like one day.

The Lord is not slow about keeping His promise, like some people are, but is [simply] being patient with you, since He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but He wants everyone to repent [i.e., change their hearts and lives].

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will vanish with a [mighty and thunderous] roar, and the [material] elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and the works that are on it will be burned up.

Therefore since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness,

And as he said in all his letters, which had to do with these things; in which are some hard sayings, so that, like the rest of the holy Writings, they are twisted by those who are uncertain and without knowledge, to the destruction of their souls.