"Ask [God for something] and it will be given to you; look [to God for something] and you will find it; knock [on the door of opportunity] and it will be opened up to you.

May [God's] unearned favor be yours, [along with] peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, will give you a spirit [i.e., a disposition] of wisdom and revelation [or, "give you the spiritual gifts of wisdom and revelation"], so you can have full knowledge of God.

This is the reason that I bow my knees [in prayer] to the Father,

Who

So, they sent their disciples, [along] with the Herodians to Him [Note: These were members of a political party favoring King Herod], saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and that you teach the truth about God's way. You do not care for [i.e., do not fear or give in to] anyone or allow the position of any person to influence you.

Then Peter began to speak. He said, "I perceive that God truly does not show favoritism toward anyone,

But [He will bring] glory, honor and peace upon every person who does what is good; upon the Jews first, then also upon the Greeks,

These apostles, who were highly regarded (although it really does not matter to me what they are, for God does not show partiality to any particular person); these men, I say, provided me with nothing [concerning the Gospel message].

And you masters should treat your slaves the same way; do not threaten them, knowing that God, who is both their Master and yours, is in heaven and He does not respect any particular person [over another].

And the person who does what is wrong will be repaid for his wrongdoing, for there is no favoritism [with God].

Pass

These people [all] continued to have faith until they died, [even though] they had not obtained [all] the things God had promised, but had [only] seen them and welcomed them from a distance. And they had confessed to being strangers and aliens on earth.

In fear

My dearly loved ones, I urge you, as a people who are foreigners and strangers [in this world], do not give in to sinful desires, which wage war against the soul.

True, but they [i.e., the Jews] were [really] broken off because they did not believe [in Christ], and you [Gentiles] remain [in God's favor] because you do believe [in Him]. So, do not become arrogant [about it], but be fearful.

So, we are always encouraged and know that, while we are at home in our [physical] body, we are away from the Lord,

[So], since we have these promises [See 6:16-18], dear ones, we should purify ourselves from everything that pollutes [our] body and spirit while living lives completely separated [from sin], out of reverence for God.

So then, my dear ones, just as you people were always obedient [to my teaching] when I was there with you, so now, in my absence [also], be [obedient] all the more. [Continue to] complete your own salvation [i.e., by living faithfully to the end. See Rom. 13:11] with fear and trembling [i.e., with a reverent and submissive spirit],

So, as long as God's promise of entering into a state of rest with Him [still] remains, we should fear that someone among you will appear [in the end] to have fallen short of [attaining] it. [Note: In this section "entering into rest" refers to Israel entering Canaan (verses 6, 8) and to Christians entering heaven (verses 3, 9). The "Sabbath day rest" is represented as a type of both].

Therefore, we should be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken [i.e., the church. See Col. 1:13; Rev. 1:6, 9]. So, with reverence and awe, we should serve God in a way that pleases Him,

General references

So, the whole church and everyone else who heard about these things were filled with great fear.

for there is no favoritism with God.