For you were continually wandering like [so many] sheep, but now you have come back to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands [subordinate, not as inferior, but out of respect for the responsibilities entrusted to husbands and their accountability to God, and so partnering with them] so that even if some do not obey the word [of God], they may be won over [to Christ] without discussion by the godly lives of their wives,

[when they] see your respectful, pure conduct.

Instead, it should consist of what is inside the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very valuable in God’s eyes.

For, so, at one time, the holy women also, who directed their hope towards God, used to adorn themselves, being in submission unto their own husbands:

Thus, for instance, Sarah obeyed Abraham, acknowledging his authority over her. And you have become Sarah's children if you do what is right and permit nothing whatever to terrify you.

In the same way, you husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way [with great gentleness and tact, and with an intelligent regard for the marriage relationship], as with someone physically weaker, since she is a woman. Show her honor and respect as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered or ineffective.

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 repaying evil for evil or insult for insult, but on the other hand blessing [others], because for this [reason] you were called, so that you could inherit a blessing.

For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the Lord's face is against those who do evil.

But even if you suffer for righteousness' sake, you are to be envied. So do not be alarmed by their threats, nor troubled;

but reverence Christ in your hearts as Lord, and always be ready to make your defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that you have. But do so gently and respectfully,

And see to it that your conscience is entirely clear, so that every time you are slandered or falsely accused, those who attack or disparage your good behavior in Christ will be shamed [by their own words].

For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer 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;

It was by the Holy Spirit that He went to preach [See Eph. 2:17] to the [now departed] spirits [of pre-Flood people who are now] in prison [i.e., Hades].

who once were disobedient, when the great patience of God was waiting in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons [Noah’s family], were brought safely through the water.

Now that He has gone into heaven, He is at God’s right hand with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.

Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh [and died for us], arm yourselves [like warriors] with the same purpose [being willing to suffer for doing what is right and pleasing God], because whoever has suffered in the flesh [being like-minded with Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [having stopped pleasing the world],

no longer to live the rest of his time in the flesh to men's lusts, but to God's will.

with respect to which they are surprised [when] you do not run with [them] into the same flood of dissipation, [and so they] revile [you].

Because for this reason also the gospel was preached to those who are dead, so that they were judged {by human standards} in the flesh, but they may live in the spirit {by God's standards}.

But the end of all things is now close at hand: therefore be sober-minded and temperate, so that you may give yourselves to prayer.

Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Whoever speaks [to the congregation], is to do so as one who speaks the oracles (utterances, the very words) of God. Whoever serves [the congregation] is to do so as one who serves by the strength which God [abundantly] supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified [honored and magnified] through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

If you are insulted and reviled for [bearing] the name of Christ, you are blessed [happy, with life-joy and comfort in God’s salvation regardless of your circumstances], because the Spirit of glory and of God is resting on you [and indwelling you—He whom they curse, you glorify].

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

so that also those suffering according to the will of god, as to a stedfast Creator, let them commit their own souls in good doing.

So I exhort the Elders among you--I who am their fellow Elder and have been an eye-witness of the sufferings of the Christ, and am also a sharer in the glory which is soon to be revealed.

Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will; not for the money but eagerly;

Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

And when the Chief Shepherd (Christ) appears, you will receive the [conqueror’s] unfading crown of glory.

Likewise, you younger men [of lesser rank and experience], be subject to your elders [seek their counsel]; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another [tie on the servant’s apron], for God is opposed to the proud [the disdainful, the presumptuous, and He defeats them], but He gives grace to the humble.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the [right] time,

Curb every passion, and be on the alert. Your great accuser, the Devil, is going about like a roaring lion to see whom he can devour.

To Him be dominion (power, authority, sovereignty) forever and ever. Amen.

Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!

The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.

Greet one another with a kiss of love.To all of you who are in Christ, may there be peace.

Grace and peace [that special sense of spiritual well-being] be multiplied to you in the [true, intimate] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

God's divine power has given us everything [necessary] for [abundant] life and godly living, through the knowledge of Him [i.e., God], who called us by His own splendor and goodness.

For by these He has bestowed on us His precious and magnificent promises [of inexpressible value], so that by them you may escape from the immoral freedom that is in the world because of disreputable desire, and become sharers of the divine nature.

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

But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

For this reason, brethren, be all the more in earnest to make sure that God has called you and chosen you; for it is certain that so long as you practise these things, you will never stumble.

For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them and are established in the truth which is held firmly in your grasp.

and I think right, so long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up in reminding you,

Moreover, I will diligently endeavor [to see to it] that even after my departure you will be able, at all times, to call these things to mind.

For we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ [by] following ingeniously concocted myths, but [by] being eyewitnesses of that one's majesty.

For Jesus had received honor and glory from God, the Father, when [God's] voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory saying, "This is my dearly loved Son, and I am very pleased with Him."

So we have the prophetic word strongly confirmed. You will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dismal place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

recognizing this above all, that every prophecy of scripture does not come about from one's own interpretation,

for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

and if He did not spare the ancient world of Noah's day, when He brought a flood on those ungodly people (though Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven other people, were saved from it);

and saved the upright Lot who was so distressed by the immoral conduct of unprincipled men??8 for as long as that upright man lived among them, day after day his upright soul was tormented by what he saw and heard of their lawless actions??9 then the Lord knows how to rescue God-fearing people from trial and to punish wrongdoers while they are being kept for the Day of Judgment,

(for that just man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by what he saw and heard of their lawless acts),

Since all this is so, the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from temptation, and on the other hand how to keep the unrighteous under punishment in readiness for the Day of Judgement,

Whereas the angels, though so much greater in might and power, bring not a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.

These men, however, like animals without reason, intended by nature to be caught and killed--these men, I say, malign those of whom they know nothing, and will assuredly perish through their own corruption,

Their very eyes are full of adultery--being eyes which never cease from sin. These men set traps to catch unstedfast souls, their own hearts being well trained in greed. They are fore-doomed to God's curse!

They have left the straight path and wandered off to follow the path of Bosor's son Balaam, who loved the reward he got for doing wrong.

But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

[Although] their talk is big, what they say is worthless, and by [offering people] fleshly desires [i.e., sexual gratification], they lead people astray, who are barely escaping from the error of the world.

For if, having escaped the world’s impurity through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first.

But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

so that you can remember the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles.

and saying, 'Where is the promise of his presence? for since the fathers did fall asleep, all things so remain from the beginning of the creation;'

For this they, willfully, forget - that there were, heavens, from of old, and, an earth, on account of water and by means of water, compacted, by God's word, -

[And] it was by water that the world, which existed at that time, perished in a great flood [of Noah's day]!

The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

[while] looking forward to, and earnestly desiring the day of God to come, when the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved by fire and the elements [See verse 10] will melt with intense heat.

So, beloved, since you are looking forward to these things, be diligent and make every effort to be found by Him [at His return] spotless and blameless, in peace [that is, inwardly calm with a sense of spiritual well-being and confidence, having lived a life of obedience to Him].

And consider the patience of our Lord [His delay in judging and avenging wrongs] as salvation [that is, allowing time for more to be saved]; just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him [by God],

And as he said in all his letters, which had to do with these things; in which are some hard sayings, so that, like the rest of the holy Writings, they are twisted by those who are uncertain and without knowledge, to the destruction of their souls.

Therefore, dear friends, [because you] know [this] beforehand, guard yourselves so that you do not lose your own safe position [because you] have been led away by the error of lawless persons.

but grow [spiritually mature] in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory (honor, majesty, splendor), both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life

and the Life [an aspect of His being] was manifested, and we have seen [it as eyewitnesses] and testify and declare to you [the Life], the eternal Life who was [already existing] with the Father and was [actually] made visible to us [His followers]—

what we have seen and heard we also proclaim to you, so that you too may have fellowship [as partners] with us. And indeed our fellowship [which is a distinguishing mark of born-again believers] is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

We are writing these things to you so that our joy [in seeing you included] may be made complete [by having you share in the joy of salvation].

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

But, if we live in the light [of righteousness] just like God [constantly] lives in the light [of righteousness], we can truly share a relationship with one another and [can know that] the blood of Jesus, God's Son, continues to cleanse [our spirits] from all of our sins.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, so that he will forgive us [our] sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

My little children (believers, dear ones), I am writing you these things so that you will not sin and violate God’s law. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate [who will intercede for us] with the Father: Jesus Christ the righteous [the upright, the just One, who conforms to the Father’s will in every way—purpose, thought, and action].

It is he who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world's.

But whoever keeps his word, God's love has most certainly been perfected in him. This is how we know that we are in him:

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

My dearly loved ones, I am not writing to you about a new commandment, but about an old one. [It is the one] you had learned about from the beginning. [Note: This is the commandment to love one another (3:1: II John 5) which Jesus had taught his disciples during His earthly ministry. See Mark 12:31]. This old commandment is the word [of God] which you heard [previously].

And yet I *am* giving you a new command, for such it really is, so far as both He and you are concerned: because the darkness is now passing away and the light, the true light, is already beginning to shine.

The person who claims to be living in [harmony with] the light [i.e., by obeying God's truth], and [yet] hates his brother is still [living] in the darkness [of sin].

[However], the person who loves his brother continues to live in [harmony with] the light [of God's truth], and such a person is not the cause of others stumbling [over his example].

But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.