The Importance of Context (An Example):
Interpreting “Interpretation” in 2 Peter 1:20

(Copyright © 2024 by Daniel B. Sedory)

    Introduction: Some passages in the NT are difficult to understand due to mistranslating idioms, mistranslation of the Hebrew or Greek in general, archaic language in the translation, Tradition, a failure to examine the context or some combination of these. 2 Peter 1:20, in which most English translations use the word interpretation, has been clouded by both Tradition and a failure to understand the context.

2 Peter 1:20:
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” (KJV)
“knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation.” (ASV)
“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation,” (NASB)

    Have you ever heard someone, possibly even a preacher, quote or refer to 2 Peter 1:20 then tell others they can’t interpret the Bible themselves, but must ask a priest or read many approved commentaries to be sure they’re understanding a passage correctly? Well, although it is a good idea to consult the words of Believers who spent a great deal of time studying the original Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek laguages and pondering the meaning of difficult passages for decades, that is not what this verse is saying! Those who believe it is, have failed to interpret it correctly in light of its context.
    Many in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic or Anglican Churches during the Reformation used this verse to support their condemnation of Martin Luther (in Germany) and other translators of the Bible such as Tyndale (in England).^[1]

    The Context: The passage actually begins in verses 16-18 with Peter talking about the truth of their testimony using the time he, James and John witnessed Jesus being transfigured right in front of them (see Matthew 17:1-8 and Mark 9:2-8) as an example:

“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. [17]For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased" — [18]and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.” (NASB)

    But then Peter moves on to what he calls the steadfast, firm, secure, sure or more reliable Prophetic Word (bebaioteron ton prophētikon logon, βεβαιότερον τὸν προφητικὸν λόγον) which the NASB translates as: “the prophetic word made more sure” and the NET translates this as: “Moreover, we possess the prophetic word as an altogether reliable thing.” Continuing on with the translation of verse 19:

“...to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star^[2] arises in your hearts.” (NASB)

    Before concluding with some more recent translations of the verse in question, simply adding verse 21 to it provides the best context for understanding the passage:

“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.” (KJV)
“For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.” (ASV)
“for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (NASB) “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.” (ESV)
“for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (NET)

    From verse 21, we clearly see that the subject or main point of the whole passage (beginning all the way back at verse 16) is about how Scripture (“prophecy” referring not only to future predictions, but all that the Prophets spoke for and about God) came to be and how sure those words are! Therefore, verse 20 has nothing to do with how we should or should not interpret Scripture, but rather the inspiration (or more accurately, the ex-spiration by God and the Holy Spirit) of Scripture! “All Scripture is breathed out [theopneustos, θεόπνευστος] by God.” (2 Timothy 3:16; ESV)

    So, more recent translations in an attempt to avoid a misunderstanding of the meaning of verse 20, have translated it as follows:

2 Peter 1:20:
“knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.” (ESV)
“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things.” (NIV)
“Above all, you do well if you recognize this: No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet's own imagination,” (NET)

Some Notes on Inspiration and Revelation: Inspiration and Revelation Notes.

Recommended for Further Study:

You can 'borrow' and read the book, The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture (©1969, Moody Bible Institute; translated by Helen I. Needham) by René Pache.

I can also recommend listening to or viewing the following sermons and talks on 2 Peter 1:16-21 and the inspiration of Scripture:

The Sure Word, Part 2 (61-15, 2 Peter 1:19-21; Nov 4, 1990), or begin with:
The Sure Word, Part 1 (61-14, 2 Peter 1:16-18; Oct 14, 1990). A quote from the first sermon above:
So, Peter says, look, the writers of Scripture are not like those prophets. The writers of Scripture speak for God. So he says in verse 20, "But know this." Here is a truth of primary importance linked with that phrase in verse 19, "You do well to pay attention." "But know this." What do you mean this? What he's about to say. Know this fact, "First of all" this is bottom line, point number one, basic lesson, if you're going to be confident about Scripture, if you're going to be certain about Scripture, the first thing you have to know is this, basic lesson, "that no prophecy of Scripture," now that's designating all Scripture, Old Testament and by implication all New Testament, all the holy writings, the graphō, all of it, "is," notice that word, "no prophecy of Scripture is" ginetai (γίνεται) and the word means "comes into being." No prophecy of Scripture comes into being, or originates, or arises, or comes into existence "from one's own interpretation." That was true not of a true prophet but of what? A false prophet. The false prophet spoke of his own things, spoke out of himself. But no prophecy of the writing of God's truth arises from someone's own epiluseōs (ἐπιλύσεως). Now this word epiluseōos is translated "interpretation." In some ways that's an unfortunate translation because I think it tends to make people think that it's talking about how you interpret Scripture when it's really talking about the very source of it. The word means a releasing. It can mean a solving or an explaining. Some feel it actually has the idea of inspiration. The genitive case in the Greek indicates source. He's not talking about how you interpret Scripture, he's talking about where it came from, how it originated, what its source was. And so he says the first thing you need to know if you're going to trust the lamp that lights the dark place is that no prophecy of Scripture ever came from some human source. It isn't like the teaching of the false prophets. No prophecy of Scripture has originated in the prophet's own understanding.

Peter is concerned with the source of Scripture. Prophets didn't invent it. They didn't invent the Word, not at all. The same God who spoke at the transfiguration about the deity and humanity of Christ, the same God who spoke of the perfection of His Son is the same God who authored Scripture. You do well, he says, to give heed to this holy Scripture like a night light in the midst of worldly darkness because what is in it is not the result of human inventions like the myths of false teachers. The NIV, I think, has an excellent translation. It says, "No prophecy of Scripture ever came about by a prophet's own ideas." He couldn't be talking about interpretation, or verse 21 would make no sense. Verse 21 says, "For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." That explains what he means in verse 20. Quite the contrary to Scripture being of human origin, it is of divine origin, for no prophecy, no word of Scripture, no word from God, not any was ever, absolutely never... Notice how emphatic this is... No prophecy was ever at any time made by an act of human will. The Bible is not the product of men.

The Character of Scripture, Part 1 (80-250, Psalm 19:7-9; Dec 9, 2001); a quote from this:
Peter said – in 2 Peter 1:19, he said, "I was on the mountain at the transfiguration and I saw Jesus Christ transfigured and I saw the majestic glory of Christ." And he immediately says, "But we have a more sure word."
Experience is fine, Peter says, and I had the ultimate experience. I was there with James and John to see the transfiguration. I was there to see Moses and Elijah show up. It was an unimaginable experience to see the glory of God in Jesus Christ manifest, so much so that they were knocked immediately into a coma. Some people would think that that’s a greater experience than the Word. Peter says no, just the reverse is true. "We have a more sure Word." A more sure Word than my testimony would be God’s testimony, right? I might misunderstand my experience, I might misinterpret my experience. I might misinterpret a wonder and a miracle. The fact of the matter is I was asleep for most of it."

How Did God Inspire His Word?,
Scripture Is Sufficient (80-420; Psalm 19; Mar 1, 2015). A quote from this:
Do you remember 2 Peter 1:19? Peter said, "Look, I was on the Mount of Transfiguration. I was there when Moses and Elijah showed up. I was there when Jesus was transfigured. What an amazing experience. I had that experience. It was a real experience. We were with Him when He was glorified. But," Peter said, "we have a more sure word." And what is that more sure word? It is that Scripture which was not by any private origination or interpretation. But holy men wrote as they were moved by the Spirit of God. This is that sure word in contrast to the unsure, unreliable opinions of men. And what does this sure word do? It makes simple people wise.

¹[Return to Text] Although Tyndale himself translated this verse as: “So that ye fyrst knowe this. that no prophesye in the scripture hath eny private interpretacion.” (2 Peter 1:20; Tyndale New Testament, 1534), Martin Luther’s 1545 edition translates 2 Peter 1:20 as “Und das sollt ihr für das erste wissen, daß keine Weissagung in der Schrift geschieht aus eigener Auslegung;” where the last half could be translated into English as: “that no prophecy in Scripture comes from [or is based on] one’s own interpretation;”. But I doubt Tyndale would have ever used his translation apart from the context of the passage.

²[Return to Text] The “morning star” (phōsphoros, φωσφόρος) is an obvious reference to Jesus after one reads Revelation 22:16; where Christ Himself says: “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” (NASB). In the Greek, that last phrase is literally "the star (ho astēr, ὁ ἀστὴρ), the bright (ho lampros ὁ λαμπρὸς), the morning (ho prōïnos, ὁ πρωϊνός). And that Greek word in 2 Peter 1:20 (phōsphoros or lucifer in the Latin Vulgate; a good reason to never think of that as being a proper name for the devil; since you see it was also used of Christ here!) for the morning star (or daystar) usually referred to the planet Venus, but in the context of this passage it’s used figuratively of the Lord Jesus and His atoning work for Christians.

First published on: 1 SEP 2024 (2024.09.01).
Updated on: 2 SEP 2024 (2024.09.02); changed title and added link to my notes on Inspiration and Revelation, 14 SEP 2024 (2024.09.14); added link to a book in Reference section.

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