William Tyndale (Pentateuch, Jonah &NT)

The seconde epistle of S. Peter.
A Prologe to the seconde epistle of S. Peter.

This pistle was writt agaynst th which thought that Christ fayth might be ydle & with oute workes / when yet the promes of Christ is made vs vpon that condicion / that we henceforth worke the wyll of God & not of the flesshe. Therfore he exhorteth them to exercise them selues diligentlye in vertue & all good workes / therby to be sure that they haue the true fayth / as a man knoweth the goodnes of a tree by his frute. Then he cobar.gifmendeth and magnifieth the gospell / and willeth that men herk to that onlye / and to mnes doctryne not at all. For as he sayeth / ther came no propheticall scripture by the wyll of man / but by the wyll of the holye goost which onlye knoweth the wyll of God / nether is anye scripture of priuate interpretacion: that is to saye / maye be otherwyse expounded then agreinge to the open places and generall articles and to the couenauntes of God and all the rest of the scripture.

And therfore in the seconde he warneth them of false teachers that shuld come / and thorow preachinge confidence in false workes to satisfye their courtousnes with all / shuld denye Christ. Which he threateneth with thre terrible exsamples / with the fall of the angelles / the floude of Noe and ouerthrowinge of Sodome and Gomor / and so describeth them with their insaciable couetousnes / pryde / stouborne and dysobedience to all temporall rule and auctoryte / with their abominable whordome and ypocresie that a blinde man maye se that he prophisied it of the popes holye spiritualtie which deuoured the whole worlde with their coueteousnes


/ lyuinge in all lust and pleasure & rayninge as temporall tyrantes.

In the thyrde he sheweth that in the latter dayes / the people thorow vnbeleffe & lacke of feare of the iudgement of the last daye / shalbe euen as Epicures / wholy geuen to the flesshe. Which last daye shall yet surelye & shortlye come sayth he: for a thousande yeres & one daye is with God all one. And he sheweth also how terrible that daye shalbe / & how sodenlye it shall come & therfore exhorteth all men to loke ernestlie for it / and to prepare them selues agaynst it with holye conuersacion & godly liuinge.

Finallie. The fyrst Chapter sheweth how it shuld goo in the tyme of the pure & true Gospell. The seconde how it shuld goo in the tyme of the pope and mennes doctrine. The thyrde how at the last men shuld beleue nothinge nor feare God at all.

The seconde epistle of S. Peter.
The fyrst Chapter.

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Simon Peter a seruaunt & an Apostle of Iesus Christ / to them which have obtayned lyke precious fayth with vs in the rightewesnes that commeth of oure God and savioure Iesus Christ.

Grace with you / & peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God & of Iesus oure Lorde. Accordinge as his godly power hath geven vnto vs all thinges that pertayne vnto lyfe and godlynes / thorow the knowledge of him that hath called vs by vertue and glory /


by the meanes whereof / are geven vnto vs excellent and moste greate promises / that by the helpe of them ye shuld be partakers of the godly nature / in that ye flye the corrupcion of worldy lust.

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1.B And hervnto geve all diligence: in youre fayth minister vertve / and in vertue knowledge / and in knowledge temperancy / and in temrancy pacience / in pacience godlynes / in godlynes brotherly kyndnes / in brotherly kyndnes love. For yf these thinges be amonge you and are plenteous / they wyll make you that ye nether shalbe ydle nor vnfrutefull in the knowledge of oure lorde Iesus Christ. But he þt lacketh these thyng[es] is blynde & gropeth for þe waye with his honde /
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and hath forgotten þt he was pourged from his olde synnes.

2.CWherfore brethren / geve the moare diligence forto make youre callynge & eleccion sure. For yf ye do soche thynges / ye shall never erre. Ye & by this meanes an entrynge in shall be ministred vnto you aboundantly in to the everlastynge kyngdome of oure lorde and saveoure Iesus Christ.

Wherfore I will not be necgligent to put you allwayes in remembraunce of soche thinges / though that ye knowe them youre selves & be also stablisshed in the present trueth. Notwithstobar.gifdinge I thynke yt mete (as longe as I am in this tabernacle) to stere you vp by puttynge you in rembraunce / for as moch as I am sure howe that the tyme is at honde þt I must put of my tabernacle / 3.C even as oure lorde


Iesus Christ hath shewed me. I will enfource therfore / that on every syde ye myght have wherwith to stere vp the remembraunce of these thynges after my departynge.

cross.gif For we folowed not decevable fables wh we openned vnto you the power and commynge of oure lorde Iesus Christ / but with oure eyes we sawe his maieste: even then verely when he receaved of god the father honour & glory /

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4.D and when ther came soche a voyce to him from excellent glorie. This is my dere beloved sonne / in whom I have delite. This voyce we hearde when it came from heven / beynge with him in the holy mounte.

We have also a right sure worde of prophesye wher vnto yf ye take hede / as vnto a lyght þt shyneth in a darke place / ye do wel / vntill the daye dawne and the daye starre aryse in youre hertes. cross.gif So that ye fyrst knowe this. that no prophesye in the scripture hath eny private interpretaciobar.gif. 5.DFor the scripture came never by the will of man: but holy men of god spake as they were moved by the holy goost.

The ii. Chapter.

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Ther were falce prophetes amonge the people / even as ther shalbe falce teachers amonge you: wich prevely shall brynge in damnable sectes / even denyinge the Lorde that hath bought them / and brynge vpon them selves swyft damnacion / and many shall folowe their damnable wayes / by which the waye of trueth shalbe evyll spoken of / and thorow 6.A coveteousnes shall they
with fayned wordes make marchandyse of you / whose iudgement is not farre of / and their dampnacion slepeth not.

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For yf god spared not the angels that synned / but cast them doune into hell / and delyuered them in chaynes of darknes / to be kept vnto iudgement. Nether spared the olde worlde but saved Noe the ryghte preacher of rightewesnes / and brought in the flud vpon the worlde of the vngodly / and turned the cities of zodom and Gomor into asshes: overthrewe them / damned th / & made on them an ensample vnto all þt after shuld live vngodly. And iust Lot vexed with the vnclenly conversaciobar.gif of the wicked / delivered he. For he beynge ryghteous and dwellynge amonge them / in seynge and hearynge / vexed his righteous soule from daye to daye with their vnlawfull dedes. The lorde knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptacion / and how to reserve the vniuste vnto the daye of iudgement for to be punisshed: namely them that walke after the flesshe in the lust of vnclennes / and despyse the rulars. Presumpteous are they / & stubborne and feare not to speake evyll of them that are in auctorite. When þe angels which are greater bothe in power and myght / receave not of þe lorde raylynge iudgement agaynst them.
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But these as brute beastes / naturally made to betaken and destroyed / speake evyll of that they knowe not / and shall perisshe through their awne destruccion / and receave the rewarde of vnrightewesnes.


They count it pleasure to live deliciously for a season. Spottes they are & filthines / livinge at pleasure & in disceaveable wayes feastynge with you: havinge eyes full of advoutrie & that cnot cease to synne / begylynge vnstable soules. Hertes they have exercised [wt] coveteousnes. They are cursed chyldren / & have forsaken the right waye / & are gone astraye folowinge þe waye of Balam the sonne of Bosor 7.C / which loved the rewarde of vnrightewesnes: but was rebuked of his iniquitie. The tame & dobar.gifme beast / speakinge with mnes voyce / forbade the folisshnes of the Prophete.

These are welles without water / & cloudes caried about of a tpest / to whome the myst of darcknes is reserved for ever. 8.CFor when they have spok the swellinge wordes of vanytie / they begyle [wt] wantnes thorowe þt lustes of the flesshe /

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them that were clene escaped: but now are wrapped in errours. They promys them libertye / & are them selves þe bonde servaunt[es] of corrupcion. For of whom soever a man is over come / vnto þe same is he in bondage. 9.D For yf they / after they have escaped from the filthynes of the worlde thorowe þe knowledge of þe Lorde & of þe saviour Iesus Christ / they are yet tgled agayne therin & overcome: then is þe latter ende worsse with them then the beginninge. For it had bene better for th / not to have 10.D knowne þe waye of righteousnes then after they have know it / to turne frobar.gif the holy cobar.gifmaundmt gev vnto them. It is happened vnto them accordinge to the true proverbe:
The dogge is turned to his vomet agayne 11.D / and the sow that was wesshed / to her wallowynge in the myre.

The .iiii. Chapter.

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This is the seconde pistle that I now wryte vnto you / beloved / wherwith I stere vp and warne youre pure myndes / to call to remembrace the word[es] which were tolde before of the holy prophetes / and also the commaundement of vs the apostles of the lorde and saveour.

This fyrst vnderstobar.gifde / that ther shall come in the last dayes mockers / 12.A which will walke after their awne lustes & saye. Where is the promes of his cobar.gifmynge? 13.AFor sence þe fathers dyed / all thing[es] cobar.giftinue in þe same estate wher in they were at þe begynninge. This they knowe not (and that willyngly) how that the hevens a great whyle ago were /

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& the erth that was in the water / appered vp out of the water by the worde of god: by the which thing[es] / the worlde þt then was / perisshed over flowen [wt] the water. But the hevs verely & erth which are now / are kept by the same worde in store / & reserved vnto fyre / agaynst the daye of iudgement and perdicion of vngodly men.

Derely beloved / be not ignorant of this one thynge / how that one daye is [wt] the lorde / as a thousande yeare / and a thousand yeare as one daye.

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The lorde is not slacke to fulfill his promes / as some men cot slacknes: but is pacient to vs warde & wolde have no man lost / but wolde receave all men to repentace. Neverthelesse
þe daye of the lorde will come as a 14.C thefe in þe nyght / in the which daye / þe hevens shall perisshe with terrible noyes / & the elemtes shall melt with heet / and the erth with the workes that are therin shall burne.

Yf all these thing[es] shall perisshe / what maner persons ought ye to be in holy conversacion and godlynes: lokynge for and hastynge vnto the commynge of the daye of God / in which the hevens shall perisshe with fyre / and the elementes shalbe consumed with heate. 15.C Neverthelesse we loke for a newe heven and a newe erth / accordynge to his promes / where in dwelleth rightewesnes.

Wherfore derly beloved / seynge þt ye loke for soche thyng[es] / be diligt that ye maye be founde of him in peace / [wt] out spotte & vndefiled

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And suppose that þe longe sufferynge of the lorde is saluacion / even as oure derely beloved brother Paul / accordynge to þe wysdome gev vnto him / wrote to you / yee / almost in very pistle speakynge of soche thyng[es]: amobar.gifge which are many thynges harde to be vnderstonde / which they that are vnlearned & vnstable / pervert / as they do other scriptures vnto their awne destrucciobar.gif. Ye therfore beloved / seynge ye knowe it before hande / beware lest ye be also plucked a waye with the erroure of the wicked / and fall from youre awne stedfastnes: but growe in grace / and in the knowledge of oure lorde and saveoure Iesus Christ.

To whom he glory bothe now and for ever. Amen.


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