Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time,

in which you rejoice greatly, [although] now for a short time, if necessary, you are distressed by various trials,

so that the genuineness of your faith, more valuable than gold that is passing away, but is tested by fire, may be found to [result in] praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

to whom it was revealed that they were serving not themselves but you with reference to the same [things] which now have been announced to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, {things into which} angels desire to look.

Therefore, {when you have prepared your minds for action} [by] being self-controlled, put your hope completely in the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former desires [you used to conform to] in your ignorance,

but as the one who called you [is] holy, [you] yourselves be holy in all [your] conduct,

for it is written, "You will be holy, because I [am] holy."

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love, love one another fervently from the heart,

like newborn infants long for the unadulterated spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up to salvation,

to whom you are drawing near, a living stone rejected by men but chosen [and] precious in the sight of God.

For it stands in scripture, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a chosen [and] precious cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame."

maintaining your good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in [the things] in which they slander you as evildoers, by seeing your good deeds they may glorify God on the day of visitation.

or to governors as those sent out by him for the punishment of those who do evil and the praise of those who do good.

For the will of God is as follows: [by] doing good to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Domestic slaves, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to those [who are] good and gentle, but also to those [who are] unjust.

who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that [we] may die to sins [and] live to righteousness, by whose wounds you were healed.

In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some are disobedient to the word, they may be won over without a word by the conduct of their wives,

Let your adornment not be the external [kind], braiding hair and putting on gold jewelry or putting on [fine] clothing,

For in the [same] way formerly the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves [by] being subject to their own husbands,

Husbands, in the same way live with [your wives] {knowledgeably}, as with the weaker female vessel, showing [them] honor as fellow heirs also of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

And finally, all [of you be] harmonious, sympathetic, showing mutual affection, compassionate, humble,

But even if you might suffer for the sake of righteousness, [you are] blessed. And do not be afraid of their intimidation or be disturbed,

But [do so] with courtesy and respect, having a good conscience, so that in [the things] in which you are slandered, the ones who malign your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.

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}.

Now the end of all [things] draws near. Therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for [your] prayers.

[Be] hospitable to one another without complaining.

If anyone speaks, [let it be] as the oracles of God; if anyone serves, [let it be] as by the strength that God provides, so that in all [things] God will be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory and the power {forever and ever}. Amen.

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, [when it] takes place to test you, as [if] [something] strange were happening to you.

But to the degree that you share in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice, so that also at the revelation of his glory you may rejoice [and] be glad.

By all means do not let anyone of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.

But if [someone suffers] as a Christian, he must not be ashamed, but must glorify God with this name.

For [it is] the time for the judgment to begin out from the household of God. But if [it begins] out from us first, what will be the outcome for those who are disobedient to the gospel of God?

Therefore [I, your] fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, [and] also a sharer of the glory that is going to be revealed, exhort the elders among you:

shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not by compulsion but willingly, in accordance with God, and not greedily but eagerly,

In the same way, younger men, be subject to the elders, and all [of you] clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Be sober; be on the alert. Your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

{Resist him}, steadfast in your faith, [because you] know the same [kinds] of sufferings are being accomplished by your community of believers in the world.

To him [be] the power {forever and ever}. Amen.

Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith equal in value to ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,

because his divine power has bestowed on us all [things] [that are] necessary for life and godliness, through the knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence of character,

and [for] this same [reason], and [by] applying all diligence, supply with your faith excellence of character, and with excellence of character, knowledge,

Therefore, brothers, be zealous even more to make your calling and election secure, because [if you] do these [things], you will never ever stumble.

For in this way entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied for you.

But I consider [it] right, for as long as I am in this habitation, to stir you up by a reminder,

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 [he] received honor and glory from God the Father [when] a voice such as this was brought to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

and we possess [as] more reliable the prophetic word, to which you do well [if you] pay attention to [it] as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

But there were also false prophets among the people, as there will be false teachers among you also, who will bring in {destructive heresies}, even denying the Master who bought them, [thus] bringing on themselves swift destruction.

And many will follow their licentious ways, because of whom the way of truth will be reviled.

For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but held [them] captive in Tartarus with chains of darkness [and] handed [them] over to be kept for judgment,

and condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes, having appointed [them] [as] an example for those who are going to be ungodly,

and rescued righteous Lot, worn down by the way of life of lawless persons in licentiousness

(for that righteous man, [as he] lived among them day after day, was tormenting [his] righteous soul by the lawless deeds [he was] seeing and hearing),

[then] the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to reserve the unrighteous to be punished at the day of judgment,

But these persons, like irrational animals born [only with] natural [instincts] for capture and killing, blaspheming {about things} they do not understand, in their destruction will also be destroyed,

[By] leaving the straight path, they have gone astray, [because they] followed the way of Balaam the [son of] Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,

These [people] are waterless springs and mists driven by a hurricane, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved.

{For by speaking high-sounding but empty words}, they entice with desires of the flesh [and] with licentiousness those who are scarcely escaping from those who live in error,

promising them freedom [although they] themselves are slaves of depravity. For to whatever someone succumbs, by this he is also enslaved.

Dear friends, this [is] already the second letter I am writing to you, in [both of] which I am attempting to stir up your sincere mind by a reminder,

to remember the words proclaimed beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles,

For [when] they maintain this, it escapes [their] notice that the heavens existed long ago and the earth held together out of water and through water by the word of God,

by means of which things the world that existed at that time was destroyed [by] being inundated with water.

But by the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will disappear with a rushing noise, and the celestial bodies will be destroyed [by] being burned up, and the earth and the deeds [done] on it will be disclosed.

[Because] all these things are being destroyed in this way, what sort of [people] must you be in holy behavior and godliness,

[while] waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed [by] being burned up and the celestial bodies will melt [as they] are consumed by heat!

Therefore, dear friends, [because you] are waiting for these [things], make every effort to be found at peace, spotless and unblemished in him.

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 in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him [be] the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

And these [things] we write, in order that our joy may be complete.

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

But whoever keeps his word, truly in this person the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in him.

Children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen, by which we know that it is the last hour.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. But [they went out], in order that it might be shown that all of them are not of us.

And now, little children, remain in him, so that whenever he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming.

If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been fathered by him.

See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called children of God, and we are! Because of this the world does not know us: because it did not know him.

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever he is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is.

Everyone who is fathered by God does not practice sin, because his seed resides in him, and [he is] not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God.

By this the children of God and the children of the devil are evident: everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, namely, the one who does not love his brother.

We have come to know love by this: that {he} laid down his life on behalf of us, and we ought to lay down our lives on behalf of the brothers.

By this we know that we are of the truth and will convince our heart before him,

And the one who keeps his commandments resides in him, and he in him. And by this we know that he resides in us: by the Spirit whom he has given to us.

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

We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God.

By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God sent his one and only Son into the world in order that we may live through him.

In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son [to be the] propitiation for our sins.

By this we know that we reside in him and he in us: that he has given us of his Spirit.

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son [to be the] Savior of the world.

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

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered by God, and everyone who loves {the father} also loves the [child] fathered by him.

By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and keep his commandments.

because everyone who is fathered by God conquers the world.

This is the one who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ, not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.