1 Peter 1–2

1From Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ—To God’s chosen people who live as refugees scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. ²You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father and were made a holy people by his Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be purified by his blood.

May grace and peace be yours in full measure.

A Living Hope

³Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope, ⁴and so we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people. He keeps them for you in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away. ⁵They are for you, who through faith are kept safe by God’s power for the salvation which is ready to be revealed at the end of time.

⁶Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. ⁷Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honour on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸You love him, although you have not seen him, and you believe in him, although you do not now see him. So you rejoice with a great and glorious joy which words cannot express, ⁹because you are receiving the salvation of your souls, which is the purpose of your faith in him.

¹⁰It was concerning this salvation that the prophets made careful search and investigation, and they prophesied about this gift which God would give you. ¹¹They tried to find out when the time would be and how it would come.^a This was the time to which Christ’s Spirit in them was pointing, in predicting the sufferings that Christ would have to endure and the glory that would follow. ¹²God revealed to these prophets that their work was not for their own benefit, but for yours, as they spoke about those things which you have now heard from the messengers who announced the Good News by the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things which even the angels would like to understand.

A Call to Holy Living

¹³So then, have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your hope completely on the blessing which will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. ¹⁴Be obedient to God, and do not allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant. ¹⁵Instead, be holy in all that you do, just as God who called you is holy. ^16*The scripture says, “Be holy because I am holy.”

¹⁷You call him Father, when you pray to God, who judges all people by the same standard, according to what each one has done; so then, spend the rest of your lives here on earth in reverence for him. ¹⁸For you know what was paid to set you free from the worthless manner of life handed down by your ancestors. It was not something that can be destroyed, such as silver or gold; ¹⁹it was the costly sacrifice of Christ, who was like a lamb without defect or flaw. ²⁰He had been chosen by God before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last days for your sake. ²¹Through him you believe in God, who raised him from death and gave him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.

²²Now that by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves and have come to have a sincere love for your fellow-believers, love one another earnestly with all your heart.^{b 23}For through the living and eternal word of God you have been born again as the children of a parent who is immortal, not mortal. ^24*As the scripture says:

“All human beings are like grass,

and all their glory is like wild flowers.

The grass withers, and the flowers fall,

^25*but the word of the Lord remains for ever.”

This word is the Good News that was proclaimed to you.

The Living Stone and the Holy Nation

2Rid yourselves, then, of all evil; no more lying or hypocrisy or jealousy or insulting language. ²Be like newborn babies, always thirsty for the pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up and be saved. ^3*As the scripture says, “You have found out for yourselves how kind the Lord is.”

⁴Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable. ⁵Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. ^6*For the scripture says:

“I chose a valuable stone,

which I am placing as the cornerstone in Zion;

and whoever believes in him will never be disappointed.”

^7*This stone is of great value for you that believe; but for those who do not believe:

“The stone which the builders rejected as worthless

turned out to be the most important of all.”

^8*And another scripture says:

“This is the stone that will make people stumble,

the rock that will make them fall.”

They stumbled because they did not believe in the word; such was God’s will for them.

^9*But you are the chosen race, the King’s priests, the holy nation, God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvellous light. ^10*At one time you were not God’s people, but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God’s mercy, but now you have received his mercy.

Slaves of God

¹¹I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refugees in this world! Do not give in to bodily passions, which are always at war against the soul. ¹²Your conduct among the heathen should be so good that when they accuse you of being evildoers, they will have to recognize your good deeds and so praise God on the Day of his coming.

¹³For the sake of the Lord submit to every human authority: to the Emperor, who is the supreme authority, ¹⁴and to the governors, who have been appointed by him to punish the evildoers and to praise those who do good. ¹⁵For God wants you to silence the ignorant talk of foolish people by the good things you do. ¹⁶Live as free people; do not, however, use your freedom to cover up any evil, but live as God’s slaves. ¹⁷Respect everyone, love your fellow-believers, honour God, and respect the Emperor.

The Example of Christ’s Suffering

¹⁸You servants must submit to your masters and show them complete respect, not only to those who are kind and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. ¹⁹God will bless you for this, if you endure the pain of undeserved suffering because you are conscious of his will. ²⁰For what credit is there if you endure the beatings you deserve for having done wrong? But if you endure suffering even when you have done right, God will bless you for it. ²¹It was to this that God called you, for Christ himself suffered for you and left you an example, so that you would follow in his steps. ^22*He committed no sin, and no one ever heard a lie come from his lips. ^23*When he was insulted, he did not answer back with an insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but placed his hopes in God, the righteous Judge. ^24*Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by his wounds that you have been healed. ^25*You were like sheep that had lost their way, but now you have been brought back to follow the Shepherd and Keeper of your souls.