1 Peter 1–2

Greeting

1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen^a who are residing temporarily in the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ²according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and for sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

A New Birth to a Living Hope

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴into an inheritance imperishable and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for you ⁵who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time, ⁶in which you rejoice greatly, although^* now for a short time, if necessary,^b you are distressed by various trials, ⁷so that the genuineness of your faith, more valuable than gold that is passing away, but is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, ⁸whom, although you^* have not seen, you love; in whom now you believe, although you^* do not see him, and you rejoice greatly with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹obtaining the goal of your faith, the salvation of your^* souls.

¹⁰Concerning this^c salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace meant for you sought and made careful inquiry, ¹¹investigating for what person or which time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he^* testified beforehand to the sufferings with reference to Christ and the glories after these things, ¹²to whom it was revealed that they were serving not themselves but you with reference to the same things which now have been announced to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which^d angels desire to look.

Be Holy in All Your Conduct

¹³Therefore, when you have prepared your minds for action^e by^* being self-controlled, put your hope completely in the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former desires you used to conform to^* in your ignorance, ¹⁵but as the one who called you is holy, you yourselves be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶for it is written, “You will be holy, because I am^* holy.”^{fg 17}And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves with fear during the time of your temporary residence, ¹⁸because you^* know that you were redeemed from your futile way of life inherited from your ancestors not with perishable things like silver or gold, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb ²⁰who was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has been revealed in these last times for you ²¹who through him are believing in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²²Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love, love one another fervently from the heart,^{h 23}because you^* have been born again, not from perishable seed but imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴For

“all flesh is like grass,

and all its glory like the flower of the grass.

The grass withers and the flower falls off,

²⁵but the word of the Lord endures foreverⁱ.”^j

And this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

Chosen as Living Stones

2Therefore, ridding yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, ²like newborn infants long for the unadulterated spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up to salvation, ³if you have tasted that the Lord is kind,^{a 4}to whom you are drawing near, a living stone rejected by men but chosen and precious in the sight of God. ⁵And you yourselves, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For it stands in scripture,

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone,

and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”^b

⁷Therefore the honor is for you who believe, but for those who refuse to believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected,

this one has become the cornerstone^c,”

⁸and

“A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,”^d

who stumble because they^* disobey the word to which also they were consigned. ⁹But you are a chosen race,^e a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, ¹⁰who once were not a people, but now are the people of God, the ones who were not shown mercy, but now are shown mercy.^f

¹¹Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and temporary residents to abstain from fleshly desires which wage war against your^* soul, ¹²maintaining your good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in the things in which they slander you as evildoers, by seeing your good deeds they may glorify God on the day of visitation.

Submission to Established Authority

¹³Subject yourselves to every human authority for the sake of the Lord, whether to a king^g as having supreme authority, ¹⁴or to governors as those sent out by him for the punishment of those who do evil and the praise of those who do good. ¹⁵For the will of God is as follows: by^* doing good to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ¹⁶Live as free persons, and not using your^* freedom as a covering for evil, but as slaves of God. ¹⁷Honor all people, love the community of believers, fear God, honor the king.^h

¹⁸Domestic slaves, be subject to your^* masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unjust. ¹⁹For this finds favor, if because of consciousness of God someone endures sorrows while^* suffering unjustly. ²⁰For what credit is it if, when you^* sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if you endure when you^* do good and suffer for it, this finds favor with God. ²¹For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his footsteps, ²²who did not commit sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth,^{i 23}who when he^* was reviled, did not revile in return; when^* suffering, he did not threaten, but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly, ²⁴who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we may die to sins and live to righteousness, by whose wounds you were healed. ²⁵For you were going astray like sheep, but you have turned back now to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.