Bible Strands
2 Peter 1:16
For we did not follow cleverly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Peter writes near the end of his life to believers he has already taught, asserting the reliability of what they received.
The words — μῦθοις (muthois, "fables, myths") is the same word 1 Timothy 1:4 uses for speculative fabrications; the pairing with σεσοφισμένοις (sesophismenois, "cleverly contrived") frames the alternative as deliberate human invention.
The thread — The "we have seen" claim echoes John 1:14 and 1 John 4:14, grounding apostolic authority in direct observation rather than secondhand tradition.
Why it lands — The reader is told the gospel is eyewitness reportage, not a story; that shifts the burden from "is this plausible?" to "did these men actually see this?"
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Cross-references
- 1 John 4:14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.
- John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- 1 Timothy 1:4 or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.
- 1 Corinthians 2:4 My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
- 1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.
- Luke 9:28 About eight days after Jesus had said these things, He took with Him Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray.
- Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.
- 1 Timothy 4:7 But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness.
- Mark 9:1 Then Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God arrive with power.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.