2 Peter 1:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,”

NIV: He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'

NASB: For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such a declaration as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory: 'This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased'—

CSB: For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased! "

NLT: when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, 'This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Peter's comments here are the beginning of a single sentence which runs through verse 18.

The specific event Peter uses as proof, here, is one of the most unique and profound moments in all of the Bible. We commonly call it the "transfiguration" because Peter, James, and John were allowed to see Jesus "transfigured" from His appearance as a normal man into His true and eternal appearance as the Son of God. This is described in more detail in Matthew 17:1–13, Mark 9:2–13, and Luke 9:28–36.

Peter saw Jesus' face shining as the sun. His clothes became as white as light. But the part Peter emphasizes here is hearing the voice of God—the Majestic Glory—speaking, declaring that Jesus is His beloved Son and that He, the Father, is very pleased with Jesus. Peter's argument is that God the Father Himself gave honor and glory to Jesus. And, Peter knew Jesus was the Son of God because he heard God say so.

2 Peter 1:16–21 focuses on fulfilled prophecies about Christ. Peter points to his eyewitness experience of the transfiguration as confirmation those prophecies are true. As a result, Peter knows that those prophecies yet to be fulfilled will happen one day. This includes predictions of the return of Christ as judge and king, a point Peter will support in the coming two chapters.

Peter begins this brief letter to Christians by reminding them they are not missing anything they need to lead the good and godly lives they are called to. They must work, then, to add to their faith the goodness and qualities of Jesus. This requires effort, unlike eternal salvation which is not based on our work. Those who lack these positive attributes will live as unproductive and ineffective servants of God, nearly as blind as unbelievers and forgetting that their sins are forgiven. Peter, near death, insists that his eyewitness testimony about the transfiguration confirms that the prophecies about the Messiah are true. Jesus is coming back.

Peter begins his letter by urging his Christian readers not to be unproductive in their knowledge of Jesus. Rather, they should work to add all of Christ’s qualities to their lives. Then Peter begins to lay a foundation to support his attack on the false teachers in the church. He also introduces ideas supporting his declaration that the Day of the Lord is coming. Later chapters will use the background of this first chapter to support those arguments.

Apparently written shortly before his death in the AD 60s, 2 Peter may have been written to the same audience as 1 Peter, which was Christians scattered by persecution. Peter writes this letter to encourage Christians to live out the purpose of their lives in Christ. He warns readers to beware of teachers who claim to be believers, but present a false version of Christianity. And, Peter calls on all Christians to eagerly watch and wait for the return of the Lord.