For the prophets who gave the news of the grace which would come to you, made search with all care for knowledge of this salvation;

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.

So make your minds ready, and keep on the watch, hoping with all your power for the grace which is to come to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Because it has been said in the Writings, You are to be holy, for I am holy.

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:

Being conscious that you have been made free from that foolish way of life which was your heritage from your fathers, not through a payment of things like silver or gold which come to destruction,

Who was marked out by God before the making of the world, but was caused to be seen in these last times for you,

For it is said, All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the grass. The grass becomes dry and the flower dead:

Be full of desire for the true milk of the word, as babies at their mothers' breasts, so that you may go on to salvation;

And the value is for you who have faith; but it is said for those without faith, The very stone which the builders put on one side, was made the chief stone of the building;

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.

My loved ones, I make this request with all my heart, that, as those for whom this world is a strange country, you will keep yourselves from the desires of the flesh which make war against the soul;

And those of the rulers who are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of those who do well.

As those who are free, not using your free position as a cover for wrongdoing, but living as the servants of God;

Have respect for all, loving the brothers, fearing God, honouring the king.

For it is a sign of grace if a man, desiring to do right in the eyes of God, undergoes pain as punishment for something which he has not done.

What credit is it if, when you have done evil, you take your punishment quietly? but if you are given punishment for doing right, and take it quietly, this is pleasing to God.

This is God's purpose for you: because Jesus himself underwent punishment for you, giving you an example, so that you might go in his footsteps:

When they see your holy behaviour in the fear of God.

Do not let your ornaments be those of the body such as dressing of the hair, or putting on of jewels of gold or fair clothing;

As Sarah was ruled by Abraham, naming him lord; whose children you are if you do well, and are not put in fear by any danger.

Last of all, see that you are all in agreement; feeling for one another, loving one another like brothers, full of pity, without pride:

Not giving back evil for evil, or curse for curse, but in place of cursing, blessing; because this is the purpose of God for you that you may have a heritage of blessing.

For it is said, Let the man who has a love of life, desiring to see good days, keep his tongue from evil and his lips from words of deceit:

And let him be turned from evil and do good; searching for peace and going after it with all his heart.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the upright, and his ears are open to their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

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

But give honour to Christ in your hearts as your Lord; and be ready at any time when you are questioned about the hope which is in you, to give an answer in the fear of the Lord and without pride;

Because if it is God's purpose for you to undergo pain, it is better to do so for well-doing than for evil-doing.

Because Christ once went through pain for sins, the upright one taking the place of sinners, so that through him we might come back to God; being put to death in the flesh, but given life in the Spirit;

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;

So that as Jesus was put to death in the flesh, do you yourselves be of the same mind; for the death of the flesh puts an end to sin;

Because for long enough, in times past, we have been living after the way of the Gentiles, given up to the desires of the flesh, to drinking and feasting and loose behaviour and unclean worship of images;

For this was the reason why the good news of Jesus was given even to the dead, so that they might be judged as men in the flesh, but might be living before God in the spirit.

And most of all be warm in your love for one another; because in love there is forgiveness for sins without number:

Keep open house for all with a glad heart;

If anyone has anything to say, let it be as the words of God; if anyone has the desire to be the servant of others, let him do it in the strength which is given by God; so that in all things God may have the glory through Jesus Christ, whose are the glory and the power for ever.

Dear brothers, do not be surprised, as if it was something strange, if your faith is tested as by fire:

If men say evil things of you because of the name of Christ, happy are you; for the Spirit of glory and of God is resting on you.

For the time has come for the judging, starting with the church of God; but if it makes a start with us, what will be the end of those who are not under the rule of God?

And if it is hard for even the good man to get salvation, what chance has the man without religion or the sinner?

For this reason let those who by the purpose of God undergo punishment, keep on in well-doing and put their souls into the safe hands of their Maker.

Keep watch over the flock of God which is in your care, using your authority, not as forced to do so, but gladly; and not for unclean profit but with a ready mind;

And in the same way, let the younger men be ruled by the older ones. Let all of you put away pride and make yourselves ready to be servants: for God is a hater of pride, but he gives grace to those who make themselves low.

For this cause make yourselves low under the strong hand of God, so that when the time comes you may be lifted up;

Putting all your troubles on him, for he takes care of you.

And after you have undergone pain for a little time, the God of all grace who has given you a part in his eternal glory through Christ Jesus, will himself give you strength and support, and make you complete in every good thing;

His is the power for ever. So be it.

Because by his power he has given us everything necessary for life and righteousness, through the knowledge of him who has been our guide by his glory and virtue;

And through this he has given us the hope of great rewards highly to be valued; so that by them we might have our part in God's being, and be made free from the destruction which is in the world through the desires of the flesh.

So, for this very cause, take every care; joining virtue to faith, and knowledge to virtue,

And self-control to knowledge, and a quiet mind to self-control, and fear of God to a quiet mind,

And love of the brothers to fear of God, and to love of the brothers, love itself.

For if you have these things in good measure, they will make you fertile and full of fruit in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For the man who has not these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having no memory of how he was made clean from his old sins.

For this reason, my brothers, take all the more care to make your selection and approval certain; for if you do these things you will never have a fall:

For so the way will be open to you into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

For this reason I will be ready at all times to keep your memory of these things awake, though you have the knowledge of them now and are well based in your present faith.

For I am conscious that in a short time I will have to put off this tent of flesh, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

For when we gave you news of the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, our teaching was not based on stories put together by art, but we were eye-witnesses of his glory.

For God the Father gave him honour and glory, when such a voice came to him out of the great glory, saying, This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

And so the words of the prophets are made more certain; and it is well for you to give attention to them as to a light shining in a dark place, till the dawn comes and the morning star is seen in your hearts;

For these words did not ever come through the impulse of men: but the prophets had them from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.

But there were false prophets among the people, as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly put forward wrong teachings for your destruction, even turning away from the Lord who gave himself for them; whose destruction will come quickly, and they themselves will be the cause of it.

And in their desire for profit they will come to you with words of deceit, like traders doing business in souls: whose punishment has been ready for a long time and their destruction is watching for them.

For if God did not have pity for the angels who did evil, but sent them down into hell, to be kept in chains of eternal night till they were judged;

And sent destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah, burning them up with fire as an example to those whose way of life might in the future be unpleasing to him;

But specially those who go after the unclean desires of the flesh, and make sport of authority. Ready to take chances, uncontrolled, they have no fear of saying evil of those in high places:

But these men, like beasts without reason, whose natural use is to be taken and put to death, crying out against things of which they have no knowledge, will undergo that same destruction which they are designing for others;

For the evil which overtakes them is the reward of their evil-doing: such men take their pleasure in the delights of the flesh even in the daytime; they are like the marks of a disease, like poisoned wounds among you, feasting together with you in joy;

Turning out of the true way, they have gone wandering in error, after the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who was pleased to take payment for wrongdoing;

These are fountains without water, and mists before a driving storm; for whom the eternal night is kept in store.

For with high-sounding false words, making use of the attraction of unclean desires of the flesh, they get into their power those newly made free from those who are living in error;

Saying that they will be free, while they themselves are the servants of destruction; because whatever gets the better of a man makes a servant of him.

For if, after they have got free from the unclean things of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again taken in the net and overcome, their last condition is worse than their first.

For it would have been better for them to have had no knowledge of the way of righteousness, than to go back again from the holy law which was given to them, after having knowledge of it.

But the present heaven and the present earth have been kept for destruction by fire, which is waiting for them on the day of the judging and destruction of evil men.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his word, as he seems to some, but he is waiting in mercy for you, not desiring the destruction of any, but that all may be turned from their evil ways.

Seeing then that all these things are coming to such an end, what sort of persons is it right for you to be, in all holy behaviour and righteousness,

Looking for and truly desiring the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will come to an end through fire, and the substance of the earth will be changed by the great heat?

But having faith in his word, we are looking for a new heaven and a new earth, which will be the resting-place of righteousness.

For this reason, my loved ones, as you are looking for these things, take great care that when he comes you may be in peace before him, free from sin and every evil thing.

And be certain that the long waiting of the Lord is for salvation; even as our brother Paul has said in his letters to you, from the wisdom which was given to him;

For this reason, my loved ones, having knowledge of these things before they take place, take care that you are not turned away by the error of the uncontrolled, so falling from your true faith.

But be increased in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May he have glory now and for ever. So be it.

He is the offering for our sins; and not for ours only, but for all the world.

Again, I give you a new law, which is true in him and in you; for the night is near its end and the true light is even now shining out.

He who says that he is in the light, and has hate in his heart for his brother, is still in the dark.

He who has love for his brother is in the light, and there is no cause of error in him.

But he who has hate for his brother is in the dark, walking in the dark with no knowledge of where he is going, unable to see because of the dark.

Have no love for the world or for the things which are in the world. If any man has love for the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

And the world and its desires is coming to an end: but he who does God's pleasure is living for ever.

But as for you, keep in your hearts the things which were made clear to you from the first. If you keep these things in your hearts you will be kept in the Father and the Son.

As for you, the Spirit which he gave you is still in you, and you have no need of any teacher; but as his Spirit gives you teaching about all things, and is true and not false, so keep your hearts in him, through the teaching which he has given you.

And now, my children, keep your hearts in him; so that at his revelation, we may have no fear or shame before him at his coming.

See what great love the Father has given us in naming us the children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not see who we are, because it did not see who he was.

My loved ones, now we are children of God, and at present it is not clear what we are to be. We are certain that at his revelation we will be like him; for we will see him as he is.

Everyone who is a sinner goes against the law, for sin is going against the law.

The sinner is a child of the Evil One; for the Evil One has been a sinner from the first. And the Son of God was seen on earth so that he might put an end to the works of the Evil One.

In this way it is clear who are the children of God and who are the children of the Evil One; anyone who does not do righteousness or who has no love for his brother, is not a child of God.