Salutation

^1 (A)Paul, ^(B)a prisoner of ^(C)Christ Jesus, and ^(D)Timothy ^[a]our brother,

To Philemon our beloved brother and ^(E)fellow worker, ² and to Apphia ^[b](F)our sister, and to ^(G)Archippus our ^(H)fellow soldier, and to ^(I)the church in your house: ^3 (J)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

^4 (K)I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, ⁵ because I ^(L)hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the ^[c]saints; ⁶ and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective ^[d]through the ^(M)knowledge of every good thing which is in you ^[e]for the sake of Christ. ⁷ For I have had great ^(N)joy and comfort in your love, because the ^[f]hearts of the ^[g]saints have been ^(O)refreshed through you, brother.

⁸ Therefore, ^(P)though I have ^[h]enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is ^(Q)proper, ⁹ yet for love’s sake I rather ^(R)appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, ^[i]an ^(S)old man, and now also ^(T)a prisoner of ^(U)Christ Jesus—

Plea for Onesimus, a Free Man

¹⁰ I ^(V)appeal to you for my ^(W)[j]son ^[k](X)Onesimus, whom I ^[l]fathered in my ^[m]imprisonment, ¹¹ who previously was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. ¹² I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, ¹³ whom I wanted to keep with me, so that in your behalf he might be at my service in my ^[n](Y)imprisonment for the gospel; ¹⁴ but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness would ^(Z)not be, in effect, by compulsion, but of your own free will. ¹⁵ For perhaps it was ^(AA)for this reason that he was separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, ^16 (AB)no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, ^(AC)a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both ^(AD)in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷ If then you regard me as a ^(AE)partner, accept him as you would me. ¹⁸ But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account; ^19 (AF)I, Paul, have written this with my own hand, I will repay it (^(AG)not to ^[o]mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well). ²⁰ Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; ^(AH)refresh my heart in Christ.

^21 (AI)Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.

²² At the same time also prepare me a ^(AJ)guest room, for ^(AK)I hope that through ^(AL)your prayers ^(AM)I will be given to you.

^23 (AN)Epaphras, my ^(AO)fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, ²⁴ as do ^(AP)Mark, ^(AQ)Aristarchus, ^(AR)Demas, and ^(AS)Luke, my ^(AT)fellow workers.

^25 (AU)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be ^(AV)with your spirit.^[p]

A Living Hope and a Sure Salvation

1 ^(A)Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who reside as ^(B)strangers, ^(C)scattered throughout ^(D)Pontus, ^(E)Galatia, ^(F)Cappadocia, ^(G)Asia, and ^(H)Bithynia, ^(I)who are chosen ² according to the ^(J)foreknowledge of God the Father, ^(K)by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, ^[a]to ^(L)obey Jesus Christ and be ^(M)sprinkled with His blood: ^(N)May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

^3 (O)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who ^(P)according to His great mercy ^(Q)has caused us to be born again to ^(R)a living hope through the ^(S)resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to obtain an ^(T)inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and ^(U)will not fade away, ^(V)reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are ^(W)protected by the power of God ^(X)through faith for ^(Y)a salvation ready ^(Z)to be revealed in the last time. ^6 (AA)In this you greatly rejoice, even though now ^(AB)for a little while, ^(AC)if necessary, you have been distressed by ^(AD)various ^[b]trials, ⁷ so that the ^[c](AE)proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes ^(AF)though tested by fire, ^(AG)may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at ^(AH)the revelation of Jesus Christ; ⁸ and ^(AI)though you have not seen Him, you ^(AJ)love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and ^[d]full of glory, ⁹ obtaining as ^(AK)the outcome of your faith, the salvation of ^[e]your souls.

^10 (AL)As to this salvation, the prophets who ^(AM)prophesied of the ^(AN)grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, ^11 [f]seeking to know what person or time ^(AO)the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He ^(AP)predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories ^[g]to follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who ^(AQ)preached the gospel to you by ^(AR)the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which ^(AS)angels long to ^[h]look.

¹³ Therefore, ^[i](AT)prepare your minds for action, ^[j](AU)keep sober in spirit, set your ^(AV)hope completely on the ^(AW)grace to be brought to you at ^(AX)the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As ^[k](AY)obedient children, do not ^[l](AZ)be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ^(BA)ignorance, ¹⁵ but ^[m](BB)like the Holy One who called you, ^[n](BC)be holy yourselves also ^(BD)in all your behavior; ¹⁶ because it is written: “^(BE)You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

¹⁷ If you ^(BF)address as Father the One who ^(BG)impartially ^(BH)judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves ^(BI)in fear during the time of your ^(BJ)stay on earth; ¹⁸ knowing that you were not ^[o](BK)redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your ^(BL)futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with precious ^(BM)blood, as of a ^(BN)lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. ²⁰ For He was ^(BO)foreknown before ^(BP)the foundation of the world, but has ^(BQ)appeared ^[p]in these last times ^(BR)for the sake of you ²¹ who through Him are ^(BS)believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and ^(BT)gave Him glory, so that your faith and ^(BU)hope are in God.

²² Since you have ^(BV)purified your souls ^(BW)in obedience to the truth for a ^(BX)sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently love one another from ^[q]the heart, ²³ for you have been ^(BY)born again ^(BZ)not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring ^(CA)word of God. ²⁴ For,

And this is ^(CD)the word which was ^[r]preached to you.

As Newborn Babes

2 Therefore, ^(CE)rid yourselves of all ^[s]malice and all deceit and ^[t]hypocrisy and ^[u]envy and all ^[v](CF)slander, ^2 (CG)and like newborn babies, long for the ^[w](CH)pure ^[x]milk of the word, so that by it you may ^(CI)grow ^[y]in respect to salvation, ³ if you have ^(CJ)tasted ^[z](CK)the kindness of the Lord.

As Living Stones

⁴ And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been ^(CL)rejected by people, but is ^[aa]choice and precious in the sight of God, ^5 (CM)you also, as living stones, ^[ab]are being built up as a ^(CN)spiritual house for a holy ^(CO)priesthood, to ^(CP)offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For this is contained in ^[ac]Scripture:

^7 (CS)This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for unbelievers,

⁸ and,

^(CW)for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, ^(CX)and to this they were also appointed.

⁹ But you are ^(CY)a chosen people, a royal ^(CZ)priesthood, a ^(DA)holy nation, ^(DB)a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you ^(DC)out of darkness into His marvelous light; ^10 (DD)for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

^11 (DE)Beloved, ^(DF)I urge you as ^(DG)foreigners and strangers to abstain from ^(DH)fleshly lusts, which wage ^(DI)war against the soul. ^12 (DJ)Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they ^(DK)slander you as evildoers, they may ^[ag]because of your good deeds, as they observe them, ^(DL)glorify God ^(DM)on the day of ^[ah]visitation.

Honor Authority

^13 (DN)Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent ^[ai]by him ^(DO)for the punishment of evildoers and the ^(DP)praise of those who do right. ¹⁵ For ^[aj](DQ)such is the will of God, that by doing right you ^(DR)silence the ignorance of foolish people. ¹⁶ Act as ^(DS)free people, and ^[ak]do not use your freedom as a ^[al]covering for evil, but use it as ^(DT)bond-servants of God. ^17 (DU)Honor all people, ^(DV)love the brotherhood, ^(DW)fear God, ^(DX)honor the ^[am]king.

^18 (DY)Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and ^(DZ)gentle, but also to those who are ^[an]harsh. ¹⁹ For this finds favor, if for the sake of ^(EA)conscience toward God a person endures ^[ao]grief when suffering unjustly. ²⁰ For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if ^(EB)when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.

Christ Is Our Example

²¹ For ^(EC)you have been called for this purpose, ^(ED)because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you ^(EE)an example, so that you would follow in His steps, ²² He who ^(EF)committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; ^23 [ap]and while being ^(EG)abusively insulted, He did not insult in return; while suffering, He did not threaten, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; ²⁴ and He Himself ^[aq](EH)brought our sins in His body up on the ^[ar](EI)cross, so that we ^(EJ)might die to ^[as]sin and live for righteousness; ^(EK)by His ^[at]wounds you were ^(EL)healed. ²⁵ For you were ^(EM)continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the ^(EN)Shepherd and ^[au]Guardian of your souls.