Daniel's Literal Translation and Commentary
Prophecy is not Fulfilled by Human Will
"20 This firstly knowing that no prophecy of Scripture by man's own resolution is not coming to pass. 21 For not by man's will is prophecy carried out even once, but by the Ruakh HaQodesh, men being carried, speak from Elohim." (DLT: torahtimes.org, 2Peter 1:20-21).
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Refer to the NET Bible footnotes on this text (bible.org). Alternatively the text can be read, "by it's own resolution" or "by the prophet's own resolution". The literal text is just, "by own resolution". As the NET Bible points out, the noun επιλυσις is a hapax word in the Apostolic Writings of uncertain meaning. However, if we examine the verb επιλυω, which the NET Bible does not do, we will find that BDAG def. 2, "resolve, decide, settle " fits the three contexts concordantly (Mk. 4:34, Acts 19:39; 2Pet. 1:20). The NET Bible translation is essentially the same as here, but it is more functionally equivalent than it needs to be.
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The divine titles come from the early Greek Papyri, represented by the nomina sacra, ΠΝΑ, ΘΥ, where an over-line was placed above abbreviated Greek letters, and the words πνευμα, θεος, etc. did not appear at all in the Greek text. By this device, the Jerusalem Congregation was teaching that the divine names should be uttered in Hebrew: רוח, אלהים. Doubtless it was out of respect, and to prevent words of idolatrous provenance from being used to refer to God.
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The 1611 mistranslation, "no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" shifts the sense from what makes the prophecy come to pass onto the meaning of the prophecy. This is obviously not what is meant by the word γενεται, which means "coming to pass" in the sense of fulfillment. Peter's context is not interpretation, but the sure word of prophecy, vs. 19, which cannot be produced by false prophets (cf. 2:1). The biblical prophecies are reliable because they are not fulfilled by human engineering.
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Finally, this text is often quoted to put down an individual's exposition of the Scriptures. Doubtless Jezebel's 400 prophets would have used the same argument on Elijah. After all Elijah was a private expositor of the word of YHWH while Jezebel had the committee. YHWH took a dim view of that committees' pleas to validate their interpretation on Mt. Carmel.
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Daniel's Literal Translation and Commentary: (http://www.torahtimes.org/translation/2Pet0120.html)
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