1 ¹⁶ It was not on tales artfully spun that we relied when we told you of the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming; we saw him with our own eyes in majesty, 1 ¹⁷ when at the hands of God the Father he was invested with honour and glory, and there came to him from the sublime Presence a voice which said: 'This is my Son, my Beloved, Or: This is my only Son. on whom my favour rests.' 1 ¹⁸ This voice from heaven we ourselves heard; when it came, we were with him on the sacred mountain.
1 ¹⁹ All this only confirms for us the message of the prophets, Or: And in the message of the prophets we have something still more certain. to which you will do well to attend, because it is like a lamp shining in a murky place, until the day breaks and the morning star rises to illuminate your minds. 1 ²⁰ BUT FIRST NOTE this: no one can interpret any prophecy of Scripture by himself. 1 ²¹ For it was not through any human whim that men prophesied of old; men they were, but, impelled by the Holy Spirit, they spoke the words of God.