Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Peter 1:5

"Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply virtue; and in [your] virtue knowledge;" — 2 Peter 1:5 (ASV)

And beside this.—Rather, and for this very reason. The Authorised Version is quite indefensible, and it is all the more regrettable because it obscures a parallel between this passage and 1 Peter. There also we are exhorted to regulate our conduct according to God's own standard (1 Peter 1:15; 1 Peter 2:1; 1 Peter 2:5). [In the Notes on 2 Peter 1:5–8, use has been made of addresses On some Traits in the Christian Character, Cambridge, 1876.]

Giving all diligence.—Literally, bringing in all diligence alongside God’s gifts and promises, making your contribution in response to His. He has made all things possible for you, but they are not yet done, and you must labour diligently to realise the glorious possibilities opened up to you.

Add to your faith virtue.—Rather, in your faith supply virtue. The error comes from the Geneva Bible; all other English versions are right. The interesting word inadequately translated “add” occurs again in 2 Peter 1:11, and elsewhere only in 2 Corinthians 9:10, Galatians 3:5, and Colossians 2:19. Everywhere else it is translated “minister.” A sufficient explanation of the word will be found in the Notes on 2 Corinthians 9:10 and Galatians 3:5.

The notion of rendering a service that is expected of one by virtue of one’s position fits admirably here. God gives; His blessings and promises come from His free, undeserved bounty. Humankind, in turn, renders, supplies, furnishes that which, considering the benefits received, is fairly required. Note that we are not told to supply faith; that comes from God (Ephesians 2:8), and the Apostle assumes that his readers possess it. “Virtue” is that which is recognised by all people as excellent—the excellence of a human being as a human being. Classical moralists had drawn a noble picture of what a human being ought to be; the gospel gave the command to realise an even nobler ideal, and also gave the power by which it could be realised.

And to virtue knowledge.—As before, and in your virtue [supply] knowledge—i.e., in the virtue which each of you possesses. Virtue for each individual is the excellence corresponding to the talents committed to that person. The word for “knowledge” here is not the compound used in 2 Peter 1:2–3, but the simple substantive. It means, therefore, knowledge that still allows for growth, not yet ripe or complete. It is worth noting that the word for absolute knowledge, epistêmê, does not occur in the New Testament. By “knowledge” here is probably meant spiritual discernment concerning what is right and wrong in all things: the right object, the right way, and the right time.