He exhorts them to join all other virtues with their faith, in order to secure their salvation.

¹ Simon Peter, servant and Apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have been allotted an equal faith with us in the justice of our God and in our Savior Jesus Christ.¹

1. 1:1This letter is addressed especially to the Gentiles who became Christians.(Conte)

² Grace to you. And may peace be fulfilled according to the plan of God and of Christ Jesus our Lord,

³ in the same manner that all things which are for life and piety have been given to us by his Divine virtue, through the plan of him who has called us to our own glory and virtue.

⁴ Through Christ, he has given us the greatest and most precious promises, so that by these things you may become sharers in the Divine Nature, fleeing from the corruption of that desire which is in the world.

⁵ But as for you, taking up every concern, minister virtue in your faith; and in virtue, knowledge;

⁶ and in knowledge, moderation; and in moderation, patience; and in patience, piety;

⁷ and in piety, love of brotherhood; and in love of brotherhood, charity.

⁸ For if these things are with you, and if they abound, they will cause you to be neither empty, nor without fruit, within the plan of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹ For he who does not have these things at hand is blind and groping, being forgetful of his purification from his former offenses.

¹⁰ Because of this, brothers, be all the more diligent, so that by good works you may make certain your calling and election. For in doing these things, you do not sin at any time.

¹¹ For in this way, you shall be provided abundantly with an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹² For this reason, I will always begin to admonish you about these things, even though, certainly, you know them and are confirmed in the present truth.

¹³ But I consider it just, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up with admonishments.

¹⁴ For it is certain that the laying to rest of this, my tabernacle, is approaching swiftly, just as our Lord Jesus Christ has also indicated to me.

¹⁵ Therefore, I will present a work for you to have, so that, frequently after my passing, you may call to mind these things.

¹⁶ For it was not by following fanciful doctrines that we made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were made eyewitnesses of his greatness.

¹⁷ For he received honor and glory from God the Father, whose voice descended to him from the magnificent glory: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”

¹⁸ We also heard this voice conveyed from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.

¹⁹ And so, we have an even firmer prophetic word, to which you would do well to listen, as to a light shining within a dark place, until the day dawns, and the daystar rises, in your hearts.

²⁰ Understand this first: that every prophecy of Scripture does not result from one’s own interpretation.¹

1. 1:20No prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation: This shows plainly that the scriptures are not to be expounded by any one’s private judgment or private spirit, because every part of the holy scriptures were written by men inspired by the Holy Ghost, and declared as such by the Church; therefore they are not to be interpreted but by the Spirit of God, which he has left, and promised to remain with his Church to guide her in all truth to the end of the world. Some may tell us, that many of our divines interpret the scriptures: they may do so, but they do it always with a submission to the judgment of the Church, and not otherwise.(Challoner)

²¹ For prophecy was not conveyed by human will at any time. Instead, holy men were speaking about God while inspired by the Holy Spirit.