who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling with his blood: may grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Blessed be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

who are protected by God's power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Through him you have confidence in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

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

As you come to him, the living Stone rejected by men but chosen and precious in the sight of God

you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.

Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a covering for evil; live as servants of God.

Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are overbearing.

For a man is approved if, mindful of God, he bears up under pain while suffering unjustly.

For what credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you patiently endure? But if when you do right and suffer for it you patiently endure, you have favor with God.

but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God's sight.

For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, and were submissive to their own husbands;

For, "He who would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.

He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

Who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?

and keep a clear conscience, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

For it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be God's will, than for doing wrong.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit;

who formerly did not obey, when the patience of God waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.

And corresponding to that, baptism now saves younot the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good consciencethrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels and authorities and powers subject to him.

so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human lusts, but for the will of God.

For this reason the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they might live in the spirit according to the will of God.

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of God's varied grace.

Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belongs the glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

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

yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God.

For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will do right and entrust their souls to a faithful Creator.

shepherd the flock of God that is under your care, serving as overseersnot under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;

Likewise you that are younger men be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you.

With the help of Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.