Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who through his great mercy has given us a new birth and a living hope by the coming again of Jesus Christ from the dead,

And a heritage fair, holy and for ever new, waiting in heaven for you,

To whom your love is given, though you have not seen him; and the faith which you have in him, though you do not see him now, gives you joy greater than words and full of glory:

And it was made clear to those prophets that they were God's servants not for themselves but for you, to give you word of the things which have now come to your ears from the preachers of the good news through the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven; things which even angels have a desire to see.

And if you give the name of Father to him who, judging every man by his acts, has no respect for a man's position, then go in fear while you are on this earth:

Because you have had a new birth, not from the seed of man, but from eternal seed, through the word of a living and unchanging God.

In the past you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; then there was no mercy for you, but now mercy has been given to you.

Being of good behaviour among the Gentiles; so that though they say now that you are evil-doers, they may see your good works and give glory to God when he comes to be their judge.

Who did no evil, and there was no deceit in his mouth:

To sharp words he gave no sharp answer; when he was undergoing pain, no angry word came from his lips; but he put himself into the hands of the judge of righteousness:

He took our sins on himself, giving his body to be nailed on the tree, so that we, being dead to sin, might have a new life in righteousness, and by his wounds we have been made well.

Because, like sheep, you had gone out of the way; but now you have come back to him who keeps watch over your souls.

Wives, be ruled by your husbands; so that even if some of them give no attention to the word, their hearts may be changed by the behaviour of their wives,

But you are happy if you undergo pain because of righteousness; have no part in their fear and do not be troubled;

Being conscious that you have done no wrong; so that those who say evil things about your good way of life as Christians may be put to shame.

Who, in the days of Noah, went against God's orders; but God in his mercy kept back the punishment, while Noah got ready the ark, in which a small number, that is to say eight persons, got salvation through water:

And baptism, of which this is an image, now gives you salvation, not by washing clean the flesh, but by making you free from the sense of sin before God, through the coming again of Jesus Christ from the dead;

And they are wondering that you no longer go with them in this violent wasting of life, and are saying evil things of you:

Let no one among you undergo punishment as a taker of life, or as a thief, or as an evil-doer, or as one who is over-interested in other men's business;

But if he undergoes punishment as a Christian, that is no shame to him; let him give glory to God in this name.