the Spirit of messiah within them foretold all the suffering of messiah and his after-glory, and they pondered when or how this was to come;

Conduct yourselves properly before pagans; so that for all their slander of you as bad characters, they may come to glorify God when you are put upon your trial, by what they see of your good deeds.

Servants, be submissive to your masters with perfect respect, not simply to those who are kind and reasonable but to the surly as well ??19 for it is a merit when from a sense of God one bears the pain of unjust suffering.

It is your vocation; for when Christ suffered for you, he left you an example, and you must follow his footsteps.

when they see how chaste and reverent you are.

never paying back evil for evil, never reviling when you are reviled, but on the contrary blessing. For this is your vocation, to bless and to inherit blessing;

who had disobeyed at the time when God's patience held out during the construction of the ark in the days of Noah ??the ark by which only a few souls, eight in all, were brought safely through the water.)

You are sharing what Christ suffered; so rejoice in it, that you may also rejoice and exult when his glory is revealed.

Then you will receive the unfading crown of glory, when the chief Shepherd makes his appearance.

Humble yourselves under the strong hand of God, then, so that when it is time, he may raise you;