according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

Praised the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy having begotten us again to a living hope, by the rising up of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

for you know that you have not been ransomed with anything perishable like silver or gold, from the futile way of living in which you were brought up,

Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

Now that, by your obedience to the Truth, you have purified your lives, so that there is growing up among you a genuine brotherly affection, love one another earnestly with all your hearts;

"All mankind resemble the herbage, and all their beauty is like its flowers. The herbage dries up, and its flowers drop off;

as newborn babes desire earnestly the pure mental milk of the word, that by it ye may grow up to salvation,

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

For it says in the Scripture [Isa. 28:16], "Look, I am placing a stone in [the city of] Zion [i.e., Jerusalem]. It is a specially selected, very valuable cornerstone. And the person who trusts in the Him [i.e., the One represented by this stone] will never have to suffer shame [i.e., because of unforgiven sin being brought up against him]."

and

A stone to stumble over,
and a rock to trip over.

They stumble because they disobey the message; they were destined for this.

But you are a special people, a holy nation, priests and kings, a people given up completely to God, so that you may make clear the virtues of him who took you out of the dark into the light of heaven.

Submit, for the Lord's sake, to every authority set up by man, whether it be to the Emperor as supreme ruler,

As servants of God, you should live as free people, but do not use this freedom to cover up your wrongdoing.

Servants obey your masters with all fear, not only if they be good and courteous: but also though they be froward.

For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.

But it is no credit to you if you put up with a beating you deserve. But if you patiently tolerate suffering for doing good, this is pleasing to God.

who when He was reviled did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten, but gave Himself up to Him who judges righteously.

Who, our sins, himself, bare up, in his body, unto the tree, in order that we, from our sins getting away, in righteousness, might live, - by whose stripes, ye have been healed;

Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

but let it be [the inner beauty of] the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, [one that is calm and self-controlled, not overanxious, but serene and spiritually mature] which is very precious in the sight of God.

To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;

who formerly did not obey, when the patience of God waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.

By which also the figure, immersion, now saves us (not by laying aside of the filth of the flesh, but the question of a good. consciousness toward God,) by the rising up of Jesus Christ:

who is on the right hand of God, having gone up into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being subordinated unto him.

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;

Above all keep your love for one another strong, because love covers up a host of sins.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

And if people who are trying to do right [i.e., Christians] are saved through [suffering] such difficulties, where will the ungodly and sinful person end up, [if not in hell]?

Likewise, ye younger, be subjected to the elders. And all being subject to one another, be wrapped up in humility: for God opposes the proud, and gives grace to the humble.

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

Be sober, vigilant, because your opponent the devil, as a roaring lion, doth walk about, seeking whom he may swallow up,

This brief message is being inscribed [or delivered] by Silvanus, whom I consider to be a faithful brother. [In it] I am exhorting you and giving testimony that it is a message about God's genuine unearned favor upon you. So, continue to follow [and obey] what it says.