but honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people for His possession,
so that you may proclaim the praises
of the One who called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light.

since you have tasted that the Lord is good.

For Christ also suffered for sins once for all,
the righteous for the unrighteous,
that He might bring you to God,
after being put to death in the fleshly realm
but made alive in the spiritual realm.

He Himself bore our sins
in His body on the tree,
so that, having died to sins,
we might live for righteousness;
you have been healed by His wounds.

Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

For in the past, the holy women who put their hope in God also beautified themselves in this way, submitting to their own husbands,

casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.

Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God.

according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and set apart by the Spirit for obedience and for sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold,

In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the Christian message, they may be won over without a message by the way their wives live

For you were called to this,
because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example,
so that you should follow in His steps.

Therefore, as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of the Messiah and also a participant in the glory about to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you:

since you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God.

Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

They will give an account to the One who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.

because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Like newborn infants, desire the pure spiritual milk, so that you may grow by it for your salvation,

Coming to Him, a living stone—rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God—

you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives with an understanding of their weaker nature yet showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ:

To the temporary residents dispersed in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen

Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and temporary residents to abstain from fleshly desires that war against you.

Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you.

Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the Emperor as the supreme authority

In the same way, you younger men, be subject to the elders. And all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because

God resists the proud
but gives grace to the humble.

By obedience to the truth, having purified yourselves for sincere love of the brothers, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

Now finally, all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble,

For this reason the gospel was also preached to those who are now dead, so that, although they might be judged by men in the fleshly realm, they might live by God in the spiritual realm.

But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct;

just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You have become her children when you do what is good and are not frightened by anything alarming.

You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,

who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

So rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.

Above all, maintain an intense love for each other, since love covers a multitude of sins.

And if you address as Father the One who judges impartially based on each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your temporary residence.

Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be serious and disciplined for prayer.

for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, equip yourselves also with the same resolve—because the one who suffered in the flesh has finished with sin—

He did not commit sin,
and no deceit was found in His mouth;

Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will; not for the money but eagerly;

If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated.

For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy,

Your beauty should not consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold ornaments or fine clothes.

Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do what is evil, they will, by observing your good works, glorify God on the day of visitation.

and he must turn away from evil
and do what is good.
He must seek peace and pursue it,

Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little.

Household slaves, submit with all fear to your masters, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel.

so that the genuineness of your faith—more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while an ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water.

Resist him and be firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.

but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.

He was chosen before the foundation of the world but was revealed at the end of the times for you

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance.

but the word of the Lord endures forever.

And this is the word that was preached as the gospel to you.

The dominion belongs to Him forever. Amen.

Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of the Messiah, so that you may also rejoice with great joy at the revelation of His glory.

For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.

However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscience clear, so that when you are accused, those who denounce your Christian life will be put to shame.

For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good.

I have written you this brief letter through Silvanus (I know him to be a faithful brother) to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Take your stand in it!

Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

when they observe your pure, reverent lives.

For what credit is there if you sin and are punished, and you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.

None of you, however, should suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler.

And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

in order to live the remaining time in the flesh, no longer for human desires, but for God’s will.

So they are surprised that you don’t plunge with them into the same flood of wild living—and they slander you.

In that state He also went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison

Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor.

and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

For it is contained in Scripture:

Look! I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and honored cornerstone,
and the one who believes in Him
will never be put to shame!

For you were like sheep going astray,
but you have now returned
to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Now that He has gone into heaven, He is at God’s right hand with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.

And who will harm you if you are deeply committed to what is good?

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Angels desire to look into these things.

And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Be hospitable to one another without complaining.

For

All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like a flower of the grass.
The grass withers, and the flower falls,

But if anyone suffers as a “Christian,” he should not be ashamed but should glorify God in having that name.

not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing.

They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when He testified in advance to the messianic sufferings and the glories that would follow.

So honor will come to you who believe, but for the unbelieving,

The stone that the builders rejected—
this One has become the cornerstone,

Instead, it should consist of what is inside the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very valuable in God’s eyes.

because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and His ears are open to their request.
But the face of the Lord is against
those who do what is evil.

For the one who wants to love life
and to see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit,

For it brings favor if, mindful of God’s will, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly.

when He was reviled,
He did not revile in return;
when He was suffering,
He did not threaten
but entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly.

If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

The church in Babylon, also chosen, sends you greetings, as does Mark, my son.

and

A stone to stumble over,
and a rock to trip over.

They stumble because they disobey the message; they were destined for this.

For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the pagans choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry.

But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear or be disturbed,

As God’s slaves, live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil.

Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.

not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

So those who suffer according to God’s will should, while doing what is good, entrust themselves to a faithful Creator.