The Nevv Testament of Iesus Christ, translated faithfully into English, out of the authentical Latin, according to the best corrected copies of the same, diligently conferred vvith the Greeke and other editions in diuers languages; vvith arguments of bookes and chapters, annotations, and other necessarie helpes, for the better vnderstanding of the text, and specially for the discouerie of the corruptions of diuers late translations, and for cleering the controversies in religion, of these daies: in the English College of Rhemes

CHAP. III.

Th••se 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Epistles ••e vvriteth to confirme them in the Apostles doctrine, and vvarnet•• them of scorners that shal come, and denie Domesday. 5 Whose vaine argument he ansvvereth, and giueth the reason of Gods so long patience, 10 exhorting to al holines of life in respect of that terrible day. 16 Finally giuing vvarning of such as misinterprete S. Paules Epistles & the other Scriptures, and that vve must not for any thing fall from the true faith.

[verse 1] THIS loe the second epistle I vvrite to you my deerest,c 1.1 in vvhich I stirre vp by admonition your sincere minde: ✝ [leftJustify 2] that you may be mindeful of those vvordes vvhich I told you before from the holy Prophetes, and of your Apostles, of the preceptes of our Lord and Sauiour. ✝ [leftJustify 3] Knovving this first, that * in the last daies shal come moc∣kers in deceit,* 1.2 vvalking according to their ovvne concupis∣cences, ✝ [leftJustify 4] saying, Vvhere is his promise or his cōming? For [leftJustify 5] since the time that the fathers slept, al things do so perseuêre from the beginning of creature. for they are vvilfully igno∣rant of this, that the heauens vvere before, & the earth, out of vvater, and through vvater, consisting by the vvord of God: ✝ [leftJustify 6] by the vvhich, that vvorld then, being ouerflovved vvith vvater perished. ✝ [leftJustify 7] But the heauens vvhich novv are, & the earth, are by the same word kept in store, reserued to fire vnto the day of iudgemēt & of the perdition of the impious men. ✝ [leftJustify 8] But this one thing be not ignorāt of,* 1.3 my deerest, that * one day with our Lord is as a thousand yeres, & a thousand yeres as one day. ✝ [leftJustify 9] Our Lord slacketh not his promis, as some do esteeme it:* 1.4 but he doth patiently for you,* 1.5 * not vvilling that any perish,* 1.6 but that al returne to penance. ✝ [leftJustify 10] And * the day of our Lord shal come as a theefe in the vvhich the heauens shal passe vvith great violence,* 1.7 but the elementes shal be re∣solued, vvith heate,* 1.8 and the earth and the vvorkes vvhich are in it, shal be burnt.

✝ [leftJustify 11] Therfore vvhereas al these thinges are to be dissolued: vvhat maner of men ought you to be in holy conuersations and godlinesses, ✝ [leftJustify 12] expecting and hasting vnto the cōming of the day of our Lord, by vvhich the heauens burning shal be resolued,* 1.9 and the elementes shal melt vvith the heate of fire? ✝ [leftJustify 13] But vve expect * nevv heauens and a nevv earth ac∣cording

to his promises, in vvhich iustice inhabiteth.

✝ [rightJustify 14] For the vvhich cause my deerest, expecting these things, labour earnestly to be found immaculate and vnspotted to him in peace:* 1.10 ✝ [rightJustify 15] and * the longanimitie of our Lord, do ye account saluation, as also our most deere brother Paul accor∣ding to the vvisdom giuen him hath vvritten to you: ✝ [rightJustify 16] as al∣so in al epistles, speaking in them of these things, in the vvhich are •• certaine things hard to be vnderstoode, vvhich the vnlearned and vnstable depraue, as also the rest of the Scriptures, to their ovvne perdition. ✝ [rightJustify 17] You therfore brethrē, foreknovving, take heede lest ledde aside by the errour of the vnwise you fal away from your owne stedfastnes. ✝ [rightJustify 18] but grovv in grace and in knovvledge of our Lord and sauiour IESVS Christ. To him be glorie both novv and vnto the day of eternitie. Amen.

ANNOTATIONS CHAP. III.

16. Certaine things hard.]* 1.11 This is a plaine text to conuince the Protestants, vvho (as al heretikes lightly doe and did from the beginning) say the Scriptures be easie to vnder∣stand, and therfore may be not onely read safely, but also expounded boldly of al the people, as vvel vnlearned as learned: and consequently euery one by him self and his pri∣uate spirit, vvithout respect of the expositions of the learned fathers, or expectation of the Churches, their Pastors and Prelates iudgment, may determine and make choise of such sense as him self liketh or thinketh agreable. For this is partly their saying, partly the necessarie sequele of their folish opinion, vvhich admitteth nothing but the bare Scriptures. And Luther said that the Scriptures vvere more plaine then al the fathers commentaries: and so al to be superfluous but the Bible. Pra••fat. assert. art. damnat.

Against al vvhich Diuelish & seditious arrogācie, tending to make the people esteeme them selues learned or sufficient vvithout their Pastors and spiritual rulers helpe, to guide them selues in al matters of doctrine & doubtes in religion:* 1.12 the holy Apostle here telleth and forevvarneth the faithful, that the Scriptures be ful of difficultie, & specially S. Paules epistles of al other partes of holy vvrite, and that ignorant men ••ad vnstable or phātastical fellovves puffed to & fro vvith euery blast of doctrine and haeresie, abuse, peruert, and misconster them to their ovvne damnation. And* 1.13 S. Augustine saith, that the special difficulty in S. Paules epistles, vvhich ignorant, and euil men do so peruert and vvhich S. Peter meaneth, is his hard speache and much commendation of that faith vvhich he saith doth iustifie. vvhich the ignorant euen from the Apostles time, and much more novv, haue and do so misconster, as though he had meant that onely faith vvithout good vvorkes could iustifie or saue a man. Against vvhich vvicked collection and abuse of S. Paules vvordes, the said father faith, al these Canonical or Catholike epistles vvere vvritten.

But the Haeretikes here to shift of the matter, and to creepe out after their fashion, ansvver,* 1.14 that S. Peter saith not, S. Paules epistles be hard, but that many things in them are hard. Vvhich may be to the Catholikes an example of their sophistical euasions from the euidence of Gods vvord. As though it vvere not al one to say, Such an author or vvriter is hard: and, There be many things in that vvriter hard to be vnderstood. For, vvhether it be that the argument and matter be high and past vulgar capacitie, as that of praedestination, reproba∣tion, vocation of the Gentiles, and iustifying faith: or vvhether his manner of stile and vvriting be obscure: al proue that his epistles be hard, and other Scriptures also: because

S. Peter here affirmeth that by reason of the difficulties in them,* 1.15 vvhether in the style, or in the depth of the matter, the ignorant and vnstable (such as Heretikes be) do peruert his vvritings, as also other Scriptures, to their ovvne damnation. Vvhereby it is plaine that it is a very dangerous thing for such as be ignorant, or for vvilde vvitted fellovves, to reade the Scriptures. For such con∣ditioned men be they that become Heretikes, and through ignorance, pride, and priuate phan∣tasie, meeting vvith hard places of S. Paules epistles or other Scriptures, breede Haeresies.

And that not onely the things treated of in the holy Scriptures, but also that the very man∣ner of vvriting and enditing thereof, is high and hard, and purposely by Gods prouidence ap∣pointed to be vvritten in such sort, see S. Augustine li. 2 de doct. Christ. c. 6. and ep. 119. S. Ambrose ep. 44 in principio. S. Hierom to Paulinus ep. 103 c. 5. 6. 7. vvho also (ep. 65. c. 1.) saith,* 1.16 that in his old age vvhen he should rather haue taught then be taught, he vvent as far as Alexandria, onely to heare Didymus, and to haue his helpe for the vnderstanding of the Scriptures, and con∣fesseth vvith great thankes to the said Didymus, that he learned of him that vvhich before he knevve not.* 1.17 Dauid saith, Giue me vnderstanding, and I vvil searche thy lavv. The Eunuch in the Actes said,* 1.18 Hovv can I vnderstand vvith out an interpreter? The Apostles, til Christ opened their sense to vnderstand the scriptures,* 1.19 could not vnderstand them. The holy Doctors by continual studie, vvatching, fasting, and praying, had much a doe to vnderstand them: that great clerke S. Au∣gustine cōfessing in the foresaid epistle 119. c. 21. that there vvere many moe things that he vnder∣stood not, then that he vnderstood. The Heretikes say the fathers did commonly erre▪ and hovv could such great vvise learned men be deceiued in reading and expounding the Scriptures, if they vvere not hard? and if they vvere hard to them, hovv are they easie to these nevv maisters the Haeretikes? finally, vvhy do they vvrite so many nevv glosses, schol••es, commentaries, as a cart cannot carrie? Vvhy do Luther, Zuinglius, Caluin, and their Companions agree no better vpon the interpretation of the Scriptures, if they be not hard? vvhereat stumbled al the old heretikes & the nevv, Arîus, Macedonius, Vigilantius, Nestorius, Eutyches, Berengarius, Vvicleffe, Protestants, Puritanes, Anabaptists, and the rest, but at the hardnes of the Scriptures? They be hard then to vnderstand▪ and Heretikes peruert them to their ovvne damnation.

Notes

• c 1.1

  in qui∣bus
• * 1.2

  2 Tim. 3, 1. Iude, 18.
• * 1.3

  Ps. 89, 4
• * 1.4

  Ezec. 33.
• * 1.5

  1 Tim. 2.
• * 1.6

  Mt. 24.
• * 1.7

  1 Thes. 5.
• * 1.8

  Apoc. 3.
• * 1.9

  Esa. 65, 17. Apo. 21, 1.
• * 1.10

  Ro. 2, 4.
• * 1.11

  The heretical proud spirit of priuate inter∣pretation of Scriptures.
• * 1.12

  The Scriptu∣res be hard, namely S. Pau∣les epistles, specially vvhe∣re he speaketh of iustificatiō by faith.
• * 1.13

  De fid. & op. c. 14
• * 1.14

  The Protestāts idle distinctiō betvvene dif∣ficultie in the Epistles and difficultie in the things.
• * 1.15

  The Greeke co∣pies, haue both, some 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, in vvhich things: some 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, in vvhich epistles.
• * 1.16

  Not only the matter, but the style of the Scriptures is hard.
• * 1.17

  Ps. 118.
• * 1.18

  Act. 8.
• * 1.19

  Luc. 24. v. 45.