the readers: ‘Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.’ Peter passes no verdict on the morality of the trial, whether it is a satanic arrow aimed at irritating the saint, or a divine test sent to strengthen his faith. Peter’s point is the predictability of such testing. In his second letter Peter again returns to the word, and encourages his readers that ‘The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials’ (2 Peter 2:9). One often