THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. CHAPTER 1. 6 And to knowledge, tem 1 Confirming them in hope of the in-perance; and to temperance, crease of God's graces, 5 he exhort eth them, by faith, and good works, to make their calling sure: 12 where of he is careful to remember them, knowing that his death is at hand: 16 and warneth them to be constant in the faith of Christ, who is the true Son of God, by the eyewitness of the apostles beholding his majesty, and by the testimony of the Father, and the prophets. S1 IMON Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. patience; and to patience, godliness; 7 And to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and elec tion sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abun dantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. 5 And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your 13 Yea, I think it meet, faith virtue; and to virtue, as long as I am in this knowledge: tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remem- | spake as they were moved by brance; 14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my taberna-1 cle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. 15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. the Holy Ghost. CHAPTER 2. He foretelleth them of false teach ers, shewing the impiety and punish ment both of them and their follow ers: 7 from which the godly shall be delivered, as Lot was out of Sodom: 10 and more fully describeth the manners of those profane and blasphemous seducers, whereby they may be the better known, and avoided. BU UT there were false 16 For we have not follow- prophets also among the ed cunningly devised fables, people, even as there shall when we made known unto be false teachers among you, you the power and coming who privily shall bring in of our Lord Jesus Christ, but damnable heresies, even dewere eyewitnesses of his maj-nying the Lord that bought esty. them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the daystar arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. > 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of riot in the daytime. Spots Sodom and Gomorrah into they are and blemishes, sport ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds:) 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12 But these, as natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to ing themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14 Having eyes full of adul tery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: a heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbade the madness of the prophet. 17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour there shall come in the last Jesus Christ, they are again days scoffers, walking after entangled therein, and over- their own lusts, come, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, that are burned up. the earth also and the works | salvation; even as our belov therein shall be ed brother Paul also accord ing to the wisdom given un to him hath written unto you; 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruc tion. 17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 15 And account that the both longsuffering of our Lord is Amen. Christ. To him be glory now and for ever. THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF CHAPTER 1. JOHN. 1 He describeth the person of Christ, in whom we have eternal life, by a communion with God: 5 to which we must adjoin holiness of life, to testify the truth of that our communion and profession of faith, as also to assure us of the forgiveness of our sins by Christ's death. NHAT which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For the life was manifest. ed, and we have seen it, and Tthe beginning, which to you that was from bear witness, and shew un eternal life, |