Hebrew Names Version HNV
The Message Bible MSG
1 Shim`on Kefa, a servant and apostle of Yeshua the Messiah, to those who have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Yeshua the Messiah:
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I, Simon Peter, am a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. I write this to you whose experience with God is as life-changing as ours, all due to our God's straight dealing and the intervention of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
2 Grace to you and shalom be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Yeshua our Lord,
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Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master.
3 seeing that his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue;
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Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received!
4 whereby he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.
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We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you - your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.
5 Yes, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence; and in moral excellence, knowledge;
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So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding,
6 and in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control patience; and in patience godliness;
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alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder,
7 and in godliness brotherly affection; and in brotherly affection, love.
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warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.
8 For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful to the knowledge of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
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With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus.
9 For he who lacks these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins.
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Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.
10 Therefore, brothers, be more diligent to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble.
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So, friends, confirm God's invitation to you, his choice of you. Don't put it off; do it now. Do this, and you'll have your life on a firm footing,
11 For thus will be richly supplied to you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Yeshua the Messiah.
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the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.
12 Therefore I will not be negligent to remind you of these things, though you know them, and are established in the present truth.
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Because the stakes are so high, even though you're up-to-date on all this truth and practice it inside and out, I'm not going to let up for a minute in calling you to attention before it.
13 I think it right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you;
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This is the post to which I've been assigned - keeping you alert with frequent reminders - and I'm sticking to it as long as I live.
14 knowing that the putting off of my tent comes swiftly, even as our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, made clear to me.
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I know that I'm to die soon; the Master has made that quite clear to me.
15 Yes, I will make every effort that you may always be able to remember these things even after my departure.
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And so I am especially eager that you have all this down in black and white so that after I die, you'll have it for ready reference.
16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
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We weren't, you know, just wishing on a star when we laid the facts out before you regarding the powerful return of our Master, Jesus Christ. We were there for the preview! We saw it with our own eyes:
17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
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Jesus resplendent with light from God the Father as the voice of Majestic Glory spoke: "This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of all my delight."
18 This voice we heard come out of heaven, when we were with him in the holy mountain.
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We were there on the holy mountain with him. We heard the voice out of heaven with our very own ears.
19 We have the more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the day star arises in your hearts:
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We couldn't be more sure of what we saw and heard - God's glory, God's voice. The prophetic Word was confirmed to us. You'll do well to keep focusing on it. It's the one light you have in a dark time as you wait for daybreak and the rising of the Morning Star in your hearts.
20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation.
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The main thing to keep in mind here is that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of private opinion.
21 For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Ruach HaKodesh.
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And why? Because it's not something concocted in the human heart. Prophecy resulted when the Holy Spirit prompted men and women to speak God's Word.
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.