2 Peter 1:21

2 Peter 1:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
• New International Version (NIV)For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
• New King James Version (NKJV)for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Context of 2 Peter 1:21

19As well as that, we have the prophets' messages from long ago. They also show us very clearly that these things are true. The prophets' words are like a light that shines in a dark place. That light continues to shine in the dark until the dawn comes. So you need to think about those messages carefully. Then the morning star will rise and it will bring light deep inside you. 20It is very important that you should understand this: The prophets' messages in the Bible did not come from their own ideas. That never happens. None of the prophets' messages came because any person wanted to say something. Instead, God's Holy Spirit caused people to speak words that came from God.

2 Peter 1:21 word by word

οὐ γὰρ θελήματι ἀνθρώπου ἠνέχθη προφητεία ποτέ, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὸ πνεύματος ἁγίου φερόμενοι ἐλάλησαν ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἄνθρωποι.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• the prophecyπροφητείαprophēteia · prophecyG4394
• cameφέρωpherō̄ · to bear/leadG5342
• notοὐou · noG3756
• in old timeποτέpote · once/whenG4218
• by the willθέλημαthelēma · will/desireG2307
• of manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
• menὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• spakeλαλέωlaleō · to speakG2980
• byὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
• theπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
• Holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40

Cross-references for 2 Peter 1:21

• Luke 1:70Long ago, God promised that he would do this. He gave his own prophets this message to speak.
• 2 Timothy 3:16Everything that is written in the Bible comes from God's Spirit. It helps us in many ways. The Bible teaches us what is true. It warns us when we are doing wrong things. It shows us what is right. It teaches us how to live good lives.
• 1 Peter 1:11They wanted to know when God's special Messiah would come and who he would be. Christ's Spirit showed those prophets that the Messiah would receive much trouble and pain. After that, God would show how great the Messiah is.
• Deuteronomy 33:1Before his death, God's servant Moses spoke this blessing to all the Israelites.
• Joshua 14:6Some of the men of Judah's tribe came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb spoke to Joshua. He was the son of Jephunneh, a Kenizzite man. Caleb said, ‘You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me, at Kadesh-Barnea.
• 1 Kings 13:1King Jeroboam was standing in front of the altar at Bethel. He was ready to make an offering. At that time, the Lord told one of his servants to go from Judah to Bethel.
• 1 Kings 17:18The woman said to Elijah, ‘Servant of God, why have you come to hurt me like this? Did you come to kill my son so that I would remember all my sins?’
• 2 Kings 4:7Then the widow went back to Elisha, the man of God. She told him what had happened. He said, ‘Go and sell the oil. Use some of the money to pay the debt to the man. Use the money that remains to buy food for you and your sons. Then you will live.’
• 2 Kings 6:10So the king of Israel warned the people in that place to be careful. Several times Elisha told the king where the Syrian army would attack so that the king would be careful.
• 1 Chronicles 23:14The tribe of Levi included the sons of Moses, God's servant.
• 2 Chronicles 8:14Solomon gave jobs to each group of priests as his father David had commanded. He also gave the Levites their jobs to do each day. They led the music to worship God and they helped the priests with their work. He gave each group of guards a job to watch the gates of the temple. He told them all to do this in the way that God's servant David had commanded.
• Numbers 16:28Then Moses said to the people, ‘Now you will know that the Lord has chosen me to lead you. He has told me to do this. It was not my own idea. This is how you will know.
• 2 Samuel 23:2‘The Spirit of the Lord gives me his message. I speak what he tells me to say.
• Micah 3:7Then you prophets will be ashamed. You who tell what will happen in future times will be confused. You will hide your faces in shame because you have no message from me.’
• 2 Timothy 3:15Even when you were a child, you already knew the message of the Bible. The Bible has taught you how you can be truly wise. You understand that God saves you because you believe in Christ Jesus.
• Revelation 19:10Then I bent down low at the angel's feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am only a servant of God, the same as you are. I am a servant, like all believers who show clearly that they trust in Jesus. God is the one that you should worship! When God gave a message to his prophets, it was Jesus that they spoke about.’

Commentaries on 2 Peter 1:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21For the prophecy came not in old time - That is, in any former time, by the will of man - by a man's own searching, conjecture, or calculation; but holy men of God - persons separated from the world, and devoted to God's service, spake, moved by the Holy Ghost. So far were they from inventing these prophetic declarations concerning Christ, or any future event, that they were , carried away, out of themselves and out of the whole region, as it were, of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21For the prophecy came not in old time - Margin, or, “at any.” The Greek word ( ̀ pote) will bear either construction. It would be true in either sense, but the reference is particularly to the recorded prophecies in the Old Testament. What was true of them, however, is true of all prophecy, that it is not by the will of man. The word “prophecy” here is without the article, meaning prophecy in general - all that is prophetic in the Old Testament; or, in a…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-21Verses 16-21 The gospel is no weak thing, but comes in power, Ro 1:16. The law sets before us our wretched state by sin, but there it leaves us. It discovers our disease, but does not make known the cure. It is the sight of Jesus crucified, in the gospel, that heals the soul. Try to dissuade the covetous worlding from his greediness, one ounce of gold weighs down all reasons. Offer to stay a furious man from anger by arguments, he has not patience to hear…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-21comes from one’s own interpretation: This probably means that the prophets did not have to interpret God’s visions by themselves. God made the meaning clear to them so they could speak his message clearly and reliably.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. came not in old time--rather, "was never at any time borne" (to us). by the will of man--alone. Jr 23:26, "prophets of the deceit of their own heart." Compare 2Pe 3:5, "willingly." holy--One oldest manuscript has, "men FROM God": the emissaries from God. "Holy," if read, will mean because they had the Holy Spirit. moved--Greek, "borne" (along) as by a mighty wind: Ac 2:2, "rushing (the same Greek) wind": rapt out of themselves: still not in fanatical…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Peter 1:21

• Holy Spirit
• Prophecy
• Prophets
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Holy Ghost
• Calling
• Corruption
• Cunningly
• Diligence
• Escape
• Glory
• Prophecy

Commentaries on 2 Peter 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings