the people chosen in accordance with the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the consecration of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with His blood: spiritual blessing and peace to you in increasing abundance.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In accordance with His great mercy He has begotten us anew to an ever living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead;

who are always guarded by the power of God through faith, in order that you may receive that final salvation which will be ready to be uncovered for you at the last time.

It was made known to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in their searching for these things that have already been told to you by those who through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven brought you the good news. The angels long to take a peep into these things.

who through Him trust in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory; so that your faith and hope may rest in God.

because you have been born anew, not from a germ that perishes but from one that does not perish, by the word of the living and everlasting God.

But the word of the Lord lives on forever"; that is, the message of the good news which has been brought to you.

So once for all get rid of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all sorts of slander,

Keep on coming to Him, as to a living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious in His sight,

and keep on building yourselves up, as living stones, into a spiritual house for a consecrated priesthood, to offer up, through Jesus Christ, spiritual sacrifices that will be acceptable to God.

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once His mercy had not been shown you, but now it has.

Keep on living upright lives among the heathen, so that, when they slander you as evildoers, by what they see of your good deeds they may come to praise God on the judgment day.

For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.

Live like free men, only do not make your freedom a pretext for doing evil, but live like slaves of God.

Show honor to everyone. Practice love for the brotherhood; practice reverence to God and honor to the Emperor.

For it is pleasing in the sight of God for one to bear his sorrows though suffering innocently.

For what credit is it to bear it patiently, if you do wrong and are beaten for it? But if you do right and patiently suffer for it, it is pleasing in the sight of God.

but they must be of an internal nature, the character concealed in the heart, in the imperishable quality of a quiet and gentle spirit, which is of great value in the sight of God.

For this is the way the pious women of olden times, who set their hope on God, used to adorn themselves.

For it is better, if the will of God should plan it so, to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.

For Christ Himself, once for all, died for our sins, the Innocent for the guilty to bring us to God, being put to death in physical form but made alive in the Spirit,

who had once been disobedient, while God's patience was awaiting in the days when Noah was preparing an ark, in which a few people-- eight, to be exact -- were brought safely through the water.

Baptism, which corresponds to this figure, now saves you, too -- I do not mean the mere removal of physical stains, but the craving for a clear conscience toward God -- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

who has gone to heaven and is now at God's right hand, with angels, heavenly authorities and powers made subject to Him.

so that he no longer can spend the rest of his earthly life in harmony with human desires but in accordance with God's will.

This is why the good news was preached to the dead too, that they may be judged in their physical nature as men are, but live in the Spirit as God does.

As all of you have received your spiritual talents, you must keep on using them in serving one another, as good trustees of God's many-sided favor.

If anyone is preaching, let him do it as one who utters the oracles of God; if anyone is rendering any service to others, let him do it with all the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

If you are suffering abuse because you bear the name of Christ, you are happy, because the glorious Spirit of God is resting upon you.

but if anyone suffers for being a Christian, he must not be ashamed of it, but should keep on praising God for bearing this name.

Because the time has come for judgment to begin at the household of God, and if it begins with us, what will the end be of those who are rejecting God's good news?

Therefore, those who suffer in accordance with God's will must also, in doing right, entrust their souls to the Creator who is faithful.

be shepherds of the flock of God that is among you, not as though you had to but of your own free will, not from the motive of personal profit but freely,

You younger men, on your part, must be submissive to the elders. And you must all put on the servant's apron of humility to one another, because God opposes the haughty but bestows His unmerited favor on the humble.

Therefore humbly submit to God's strong hand, so that at the proper time He may exalt you.

And God, the giver of every spiritual blessing, who through your union with Christ has called you to His eternal glory, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself make you perfect, firm, and strong,

By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I regard him, I have written you this short letter, to encourage you and to testify that this is the true, unmerited favor of God. Stand firm in it.