2 Peter 1

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The Greek Symeōn is the Semitic form of the name (cf. Acts 15:14), lending an archaic, Hebraic flavor to the greeting. The phrase isotomon hēmin lachousin pistin ('having obtained a faith of equal value with ours') uses isotimos ('of equal honor/value') — the faith of these recipients is not second-class compared to apostolic faith.
2. The phrase tou theou hēmōn kai sōtēros Iēsou Christou ('of our God and Savior Jesus Christ') is grammatically most naturally read as applying both titles — 'God' and 'Savior' — to Jesus Christ (the Granville Sharp rule in Greek). This would be one of the clearest New Testament identifications of Jesus as God.

Translator Notes

1. The greeting echoes 1 Peter 1:2 but adds the distinctive phrase en epignōsei ('in the knowledge'). The word epignōsis ('full knowledge, deep knowledge') is a key term in 2 Peter, appearing four times (1:2, 3, 8; 2:20). It is more than intellectual awareness — it is relational, experiential knowledge of God. Grace and peace grow as knowledge of God deepens.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The Greek theias dynameōs ('divine power') uses theios ('divine'), a word common in Hellenistic religious philosophy but rare in the New Testament (only here, v. 4, and Acts 17:29). Peter bridges Jewish-Christian theology and Greco-Roman vocabulary — communicating to a Hellenistic audience in their own conceptual language.
2. The phrase ta pros zōēn kai eusebeian ('the things pertaining to life and godliness') is comprehensive — 'life' (zōē) covers all of existence, and 'godliness' (eusebeia) covers all of religious practice. Together they leave nothing out.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The phrase theias koinōnoi physeōs ('sharers/partakers of the divine nature') is unique in the New Testament and has generated enormous theological discussion. In its Hellenistic context, 'divine nature' (theia physis) was philosophical language for the essence of deity. Peter claims that believers participate in this — not becoming divine in essence (as in pagan apotheosis) but sharing in God's moral character and eternal life.
2. The Eastern Orthodox tradition built its theology of theosis (deification) significantly on this verse. The Western tradition has generally interpreted it as moral transformation. The text itself supports both emphases without collapsing into either exclusively.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek epichorēgēsate ('supply, furnish, provide generously') is from the theater — a chorēgos was a wealthy patron who funded a chorus. The word implies lavish, generous investment, not minimal addition. The sorites (chain-link) argument that follows (vv. 5-7) builds each virtue upon the previous one, creating an ascending staircase of character development.
2. The word aretē ('virtue, moral excellence') was the central concept in Greek ethics. Peter integrates it into the Christian framework, beginning with faith (pistis) and culminating in love (agapē).

Translator Notes

1. The chain continues: gnōsis ('knowledge') leads to egkrateia ('self-control' — mastery over desires and impulses, a key virtue in Stoic ethics), which produces hypomonē ('endurance, steadfast perseverance under pressure'), which deepens into eusebeia ('godliness, piety, reverent devotion to God'). Each virtue both builds on and produces the next.

Translator Notes

1. The chain culminates in agapē ('love') — the highest Christian virtue (1 Corinthians 13). Before agapē comes philadelphia ('mutual affection, brotherly/sisterly love'), which is love within the community. Agapē transcends philadelphia — it is the self-giving love that extends even beyond the boundaries of the Christian family. The progression from faith to love mirrors Paul's triad in 1 Corinthians 13:13, with the intervening virtues filling out the developmental path.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek argous ('idle, useless, ineffective') literally means 'not-working' (a-ergos). Combined with akarpous ('unfruitful'), Peter warns against a faith that produces nothing. The knowledge (epignōsis) of Christ is not static information but a living relationship that bears fruit through the cultivation of these virtues.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek myōpazōn ('being shortsighted, squinting') is found only here in the New Testament. The irony is deliberate: the person is not actually blind but has such narrow vision that they might as well be. They can see only what is immediately before them and have lost sight of the larger picture — specifically, the cleansing (katharismos) from sin that launched their Christian life. Forgetting their own salvation leads to moral stagnation.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek bebaian ('firm, certain, reliable') applied to 'calling and election' (klēsin kai eklogēn) does not mean that God's choice is uncertain and needs human help — rather, the cultivation of virtues provides subjective assurance and objective evidence that one's calling is genuine. The strong negation ou mē ptaisēte pote ('you will never, ever stumble') guarantees stability to those who pursue these virtues.

Translator Notes

1. The verb epichorēgēthēsetai ('will be richly supplied, lavishly furnished') echoes the same root from verse 5 — believers who generously supply the virtues (epichorēgēsate) will receive a generous entry (epichorēgēthēsetai) into the eternal kingdom. The word plousiōs ('richly, abundantly') pictures not a bare-minimum entry but a triumphal welcome.

Translator Notes

1. Peter acknowledges that his readers already know these truths and are established (estērigmenous, 'firmly planted') in them — yet he considers repeated reminders essential. The phrase tē parousē alētheia ('the truth that is present/that you have') may mean 'the truth now present among you' or 'the truth that has come to you.' Knowledge and stability do not eliminate the need for reinforcement.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek skēnōmati ('tent, tabernacle, temporary dwelling') refers to Peter's body — a metaphor for the temporary nature of physical life. The image echoes Paul's tent metaphor in 2 Corinthians 5:1-4. Peter sees his earthly existence as a temporary encampment, not a permanent home, and uses the remaining time to reinforce essential teaching.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek tachinē ('swift, soon, imminent') indicates Peter expects death in the near future. The phrase kathos kai ho kyrios hēmōn Iēsous Christos edēlōsen moi ('as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me') likely refers to Jesus's prediction of Peter's death in John 21:18-19, where Jesus told Peter that in old age he would be led where he did not wish to go — traditionally understood as a prediction of crucifixion.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek exodon ('departure, exodus') for death is the same word used in Luke 9:31 for Jesus's 'departure' (death) that he discussed with Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration — a connection Peter would have witnessed firsthand. The word carries overtones of the great Exodus from Egypt — death as a liberation journey. Peter's concern is for the church's ongoing memory after he is gone, which may explain the writing of this letter itself.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek sesophismenois mythois ('cleverly devised myths, fabricated stories') uses sophizō ('to make clever, to contrive') — the apostolic message is not a skilled human invention. The word epoptai ('eyewitnesses') is a technical term — in the Greek mystery religions, an epoptēs was one who had seen the sacred rites at the highest level of initiation. Peter co-opts the term: the apostles are the true 'initiates' who witnessed Christ's glory firsthand.
2. The word parousian ('coming, presence, arrival') refers to Christ's second coming — a topic that will dominate chapter 3. Peter grounds the future hope in past eyewitness experience.

Translator Notes

1. Peter recounts the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36). The title megaloprepous doxēs ('the Majestic Glory') is a circumlocution for God — a reverent avoidance of the divine name, referring to God's visible, overwhelming presence. The divine voice repeats the baptismal declaration (Matthew 3:17) with the demonstrative houtos ('this one') — pointing to Jesus as the unique, beloved Son.
2. Peter's version of the heavenly voice matches Matthew's account more closely than Mark's or Luke's, which may reflect Peter's own memory since Matthew's Gospel draws on Petrine tradition.

Translator Notes

1. The emphatic hēmeis ('we ourselves') stresses the eyewitness character of the testimony. The 'holy mountain' (hagiō orei) is not named — tradition identifies it as Mount Tabor or Mount Hermon — but Peter's point is not the geography but the experience. The mountain is 'holy' because God's presence sanctified it, as Sinai was holy when God descended upon it (Exodus 19:23).
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] References Exodus 19:23 — the TCR OT rendering of that text provides the Hebrew source and explains the translation decisions involved.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase bebaioteron ton prophētikon logon ('the prophetic word made more sure') can be read two ways: (1) the Transfiguration experience confirms the reliability of Old Testament prophecy, or (2) prophetic Scripture is even more reliable than eyewitness experience. Either reading elevates the authority of Scripture.
2. The metaphor of a lamp (lychnō) in a dark (auchēmrō, 'murky, squalid, dry') place portrays the present age as dark and Scripture as the light that guides through it. The 'morning star' (phōsphoros, literally 'light-bearer') is Christ himself (cf. Revelation 22:16), whose full appearing will make the lamp of prophecy no longer necessary — the sunrise replaces the lamp.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek idias epilyseōs ('one's own interpretation/explanation') is debated. The KJV takes it as a statement about how prophecy should be interpreted (not privately but communally/ecclesially). However, the context of verse 21 suggests it is about the origin of prophecy — no prophetic Scripture arose from the prophet's own devising or interpretation of events. The prophet did not generate the message; it came from God. We render it in the origination sense, which fits the flow into verse 21.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The Greek pheromenoi ('being carried, being borne along') is a nautical metaphor — like a ship driven by the wind. The prophets were not passive instruments (they spoke, using their own faculties and personalities) but neither were they autonomous authors. The Holy Spirit was the driving force; the prophets were the vessels carried along by that force.
2. The phrase apo theou ('from God') identifies the origin of the prophetic message — it came from God, through the Spirit, and was spoken by human beings. This verse, alongside 2 Timothy 3:16, forms the New Testament's clearest statement about the divine inspiration of Scripture.