God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is to be praised for being so merciful as to have given us a new birth, which provides for us a hope of never ending life through the means of Jesus Christ's return from the dead.

Although you have not seen Jesus, you [still] love Him and believe in Him, and this causes you to have an indescribable, glorious joy.

because it is written [Lev. 11:44f], "You shall be holy [i.e., separated from sin] even as I am holy."

And if you call upon [God as] your Father, who judges each person's work impartially, [then] conduct yourselves during the time you spend in this life showing reverence [to God].

You [should] know that you were bought back [from Satan], from your useless way of life, inherited from your forefathers, not with such perishable things as silver and gold,

[Since] you have purified your souls by [your] obedience to the truth [i.e., the Gospel message], which produces a genuine love for your brothers, [now] you should have this kind of fervent, heartfelt love for one another.

But the word of the Lord continues to live on and on [forever]. And this word is the good news that was preached to you people.

You should live such good lives before [unconverted] Gentiles, so that even though they accuse you of being evildoers, by seeing your good deeds, they will [be led to] honor God [for you] on the day He visits us again [i.e., to bring judgment].

As servants of God, you should live as free people, but do not use this freedom to cover up your wrongdoing.

Show [proper] respect for everyone. Love your [Christian] brothers [and sisters]. Have an awe-inspiring respect for God. Show honor to the king.

Jesus took upon Himself our sins [when] His body was placed upon the cross so that we, [through] dying to [i.e., giving up] the sinful life, would live for righteousness. You were healed [from your sins] by His being brutally treated.

Sarah obeyed her husband Abraham, even referring to him [in respectful terms such] as "sir." You [wives] are her [spiritual] descendants if you also do what is right and are not fearful [that things in life will turn out badly].

[You] husbands, in the same way, should live with your wives in an understanding way, recognizing their feminine nature as being physically weaker than yours, and showing special honor to them because of it. [Realize] that sharing your lives together is a gracious gift [from God]. [If you have the right relationship with them] it will help avoid problems in your prayer lives.

For [Psalm 39:12 says], "The person who loves [his] life and wants to have happy days, should avoid saying anything bad or deceptive.

For Christ suffered once for people's sins [to be forgiven]. [It was the case of] a righteous Man suffering for unrighteous people, so that He could bring you [or, "us"] to God [for salvation]. [Though] He [i.e., Jesus] was put to death physically, He was brought back to life by the Holy Spirit [Note: Some translations say "in spirit"].

So then, you should no longer live the rest of your lives [to satisfy] the sinful desires of your body, but to do what God wants.

This is the purpose that the Gospel was preached to those who have died physically [for the faith]: It was so that, even though they had been judged physically [i.e., by suffering death at the hands of men], they could still live spiritually in the presence of God.

Above everything else, have a warm love for one another, for such a love keeps many sins from occurring [between you].

So, the elders in the various places where you live, are to receive the following exhortation. (I too, am an elder and have witnessed the sufferings of Christ, and am also assured of partaking of the glorious [salvation, 1:5] that will someday be revealed).

Do not act as dictators over the people you are assigned to care for, but [rather] serve as examples of how they ought to live.