Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior, 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.

These men, like unreasoning animals, mere creatures of instinct created to be caught and killed, abuse what they do not understand and will be destroyed like animals,

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 have gone wrong by leaving the straight road, by following the road of Balaam son of Bosor, who liked the profits of evil-doing ??16 but he got reproved for his malpractice: a dumb ass spoke with human voice and checked the prophet's infatuation.

Such men are like waterless springs, or mists storm-driven; for them the blackness of darkness has been reserved.

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."

But do not overlook this one fact, dear friends, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are 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].

The Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on it the heavens will pass away with a roar, the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth and all its works will melt away.

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.