3 aBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who baccording to His great mercy chas caused us to be born again to da living hope through the eresurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 to obtain an ainheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and bwill not fade away, creserved in heaven for you,

5 who are aprotected by the power of God bthrough faith for ca salvation ready dto be revealed in the last time.

6 aIn this you greatly rejoice, even though now bfor a little while, cif necessary, you have been distressed by dvarious 1trials,

7 so that the 1aproof of your faith, being more precious than gold which 2is perishable, beven though tested by fire, cmay be found to result in praise and glory and honor at dthe revelation of Jesus Christ;

8 and athough you have not seen Him, you blove Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and 1full of glory,

9 obtaining as athe outcome of your faith the salvation of 1your souls.

10 aAs to this salvation, the prophets who bprophesied of the cgrace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries,

11 1seeking to know what person or time athe Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He bpredicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories 2to follow.

12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who apreached the gospel to you by bthe Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which cangels long to 1look.

13 Therefore, 1aprepare your minds for action, 2bkeep sober in spirit, fix your chope completely on the dgrace 3to be brought to you at ethe revelation of Jesus Christ.

14 As 1aobedient children, do not 2bbe conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your cignorance,

15 but 1alike the Holy One who called you, 2bbe holy yourselves also cin all your behavior;

16 because it is written, “aYou shall be holy, for I am holy.”

17 If you aaddress as Father the One who bimpartially cjudges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves din fear during the time of your estay on earth;

18 knowing that you were not 1aredeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your bfutile way of life inherited from your forefathers,

19 but with precious ablood, as of a blamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

20 For He was aforeknown before bthe foundation of the world, but has cappeared 1in these last times dfor the sake of you

21 who through Him are abelievers in God, who raised Him from the dead and bgave Him glory, so that your faith and chope are in God.

22 Since you have ain obedience to the truth bpurified your souls for a 1csincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from 2the heart,

23 for you have been aborn again bnot of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring cword of God.

24 For,

“aAll flesh is like grass,

And all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

And the flower falls off,

25 aBut the word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is bthe word which was 1preached to you.

Chapter 2

As Newborn Babes

1 Therefore, aputting aside all 1malice and all deceit and 2hypocrisy and 2envy and all 2bslander,

2 alike newborn babies, long for the 1bpure 2milk of the word, so that by it you may cgrow 3in respect to salvation,

3 if you have atasted 1bthe kindness of the Lord.

As Living Stones

4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been arejected by men, but is 1choice and precious in the sight of God,

5 ayou also, as living stones, 1are being built up as a bspiritual house for a holy cpriesthood, to doffer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

6 For this is contained in 1Scripture:

“aBehold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a bprecious corner stone,

And he who believes in 2Him will not be 3disappointed.”

7 aThis precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,

“bThe stone which the builders crejected,

This became the very corner stone,”

8 and,

“aA stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”;

bfor they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, cand to this doom they were also appointed.

9 But you are aa chosen race, a royal bpriesthood, a choly nation, da people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you eout of darkness into His marvelous light;

10 afor you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11 aBeloved, bI urge you as caliens and strangers to abstain from dfleshly lusts which wage ewar against the soul.

12 aKeep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they bslander you as evildoers, they may 1because of your good deeds, as they observe them, cglorify God din the day of 2visitation.