knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,

who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.

and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives,

You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.

Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;

For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.

Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler;

And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

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!

seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,

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

having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children;

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.

that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,

For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water,

through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,

what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;

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

If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. Cross references: 1 John 1:1 : John 1:1f; 1 John 2:13, 14 1 John 1:1 : Acts 4:20; 1 John 1:3 1 John 1:1 : John 19:35; 2 Pet 1:16; 1 John 1:2 1 John 1:1 : John 1:14; 1 John 4:14 1 John 1:1 : Luke 24:39; John 20:27 1 John 1:1 : John 1:1, 4 1 John 1:2 : John 1:4; 1 John 3:5, 8; 5:20 1 John 1:2 : John 19:35; 1 John 1:1 1 John 1:2 : John 15:27; 1 John 4:14 1 John 1:2 : John 10:28; 17:3; 1 John 2:25; 5:11, 13, 20 1 John 1:2 : John 1:1 1 John 1:2 : John 1:4; 1 John 3:5, 8; 5:20 1 John 1:3 : John 19:35; 2 Pet 1:16; 1 John 1:1 1 John 1:3 : Acts 4:20; 1 John 1:1 1 John 1:3 : John 17:3, 21; 1 Cor 1:9 1 John 1:4 : 1 John 2:1 1 John 1:4 : John 3:29 1 John 1:5 : John 1:19; 1 John 3:11 1 John 1:5 : 1 Tim 6:16; James 1:17 1 John 1:6 : John 8:12; 1 John 2:11 1 John 1:6 : John 8:55; 1 John 2:4; 4:20 1 John 1:6 : John 3:21 1 John 1:7 : Is 2:5 1 John 1:7 : 1 Tim 6:16 1 John 1:7 : Titus 2:14 1 John 1:8 : Job 15:14; Prov 20:9; Rom 3:10ff; James 3:2 1 John 1:8 : John 8:44; 1 John 2:4 1 John 1:9 : Ps 32:5; Prov 28:13 1 John 1:9 : Titus 2:14 1 John 1:10 : Job 15:14 1 John 1:10 : John 3:33; 1 John 5:10 1 John 1:10 : 1 John 2:14 end of crossrefs

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.

but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.

They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.

If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him

in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.

and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.

The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;

and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.

And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

For there are three that testify:

If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son.

The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.

And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.

We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.

We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.

And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.

Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full.