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Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained 1a faith of equal standing with ours 2by the righteousness of our 3God and Savior Jesus Christ:
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4May grace and peace be multiplied to you 5in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
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His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him 6who called us to his own glory and excellence,
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by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become 7partakers of the divine nature, 8having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
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For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith 9with virtue, and virtue 10with knowledge,
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and knowledge with self-control, and self-control 11with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,
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and godliness 12with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection 13with love.
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For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or 14unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he 15is blind, having forgotten that he was 16cleansed from his former sins.
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Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and 17election sure, for if you practice these qualities 18you will never fall.
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For in this way there will be richly provided for you 19an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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Therefore I intend 20always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in 21the truth that you have.
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I think it right, as long as I am in this 22body,23to stir you up by way of reminder,
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24since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, 25as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.
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And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
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For we did not follow 26cleverly devised 27myths when we made known to you 28the power and 29coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but 30we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
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For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, 31"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,"
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we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on 32the holy mountain.
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And 33we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention 34as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until 35the day 36dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,
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knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.
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For 37no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God 38as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.