1 Peter 1–2

Chapter 1

A Living Hope, and a Sure Salvation

^1aPeter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who reside as ^baliens, ^cscattered throughout ^dPontus, ^eGalatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and ^fBithynia, ^gwho are chosen

²according to the ^aforeknowledge of God the Father, ^bby the sanctifying work of the Spirit, ¹to ^cobey Jesus Christ and be ^dsprinkled with His blood: ^eMay grace and peace ²be yours in the fullest measure.

^3aBlessed 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,

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

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

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

⁷so 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;

⁸and ^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,

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

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

¹¹¹seeking 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.

¹²It 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.

¹³Therefore, ^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.

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

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

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

¹⁷If 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;

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

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

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

²¹who 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.

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

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

²⁴For,

“^aAll flesh is like grass,

And all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

And the flower falls off,

^25aBut the word of the Lord endures forever.”

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

Chapter 2

As Newborn Babes

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

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

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

As Living Stones

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

^5ayou 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.

⁶For 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.”

^7aThis 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,”

⁸and,

“^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.

⁹But 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;

^10afor 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.

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

^12aKeep 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.

Honor Authority

^13aSubmit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority,

¹⁴or to governors as sent ¹by him ^afor the punishment of evildoers and the ^bpraise of those who do right.

¹⁵For ^1asuch is the will of God that by doing right you may ^bsilence the ignorance of foolish men.

¹⁶Act as ^afree men, and ¹do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as ^bbondslaves of God.

^17aHonor all people, ^blove the brotherhood, ^cfear God, ^dhonor the ¹king.

^18aServants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and ^bgentle, but also to those who are ¹unreasonable.

¹⁹For this finds ¹favor, if for the sake of ^aconscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.

²⁰For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if ^awhen you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds ¹favor with God.

Christ Is Our Example

²¹For ^ayou have been called for this purpose, ^bsince Christ also suffered for you, leaving you ^can example for you to follow in His steps,

²²who ^acommitted no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;

²³¹and while being ^areviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

²⁴and He Himself ^1abore our sins in His body on the ^2bcross, so that we ^cmight die to ³sin and live to righteousness; for ^dby His ⁴wounds you were ^ehealed.

²⁵For you were ^acontinually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the ^bShepherd and ¹Guardian of your souls.