1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the choice sojourners of the dispersion of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

² according to a foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied!

³ Blessed [is] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to the abundance of His kindness did beget us again to a living hope, through the rising again of Jesus Christ out of the dead,

⁴ to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and unfading, reserved in the heavens for you,

⁵ who, in the power of God are being guarded, through faith, unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time,

⁶ in which ye are glad, a little now, if it be necessary, being made to sorrow in manifold trials,

⁷ that the proof of your faith -- much more precious than of gold that is perishing, and through fire being approved -- may be found to praise, and honour, and glory, in the revelation of Jesus Christ,

⁸ whom, not having seen, ye love, in whom, now not seeing and believing, ye are glad with joy unspeakable and glorified,

⁹ receiving the end of your faith -- salvation of souls;

¹⁰ concerning which salvation seek out and search out did prophets who concerning the grace toward you did prophecy,

¹¹ searching in regard to what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ that was in them was manifesting, testifying beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory after these,

¹² to whom it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to us they were ministering these, which now were told to you (through those who did proclaim good news to you,) in the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, to which things messengers do desire to bend looking.

¹³ Wherefore having girded up the loins of your mind, being sober, hope perfectly upon the grace that is being brought to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ,

¹⁴ as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves to the former desires in your ignorance,

¹⁵ but according as He who did call you [is] holy, ye also, become holy in all behaviour,

¹⁶ because it hath been written, `Become ye holy, because I am holy;'

¹⁷ and if on the Father ye do call, who without acceptance of persons is judging according to the work of each, in fear the time of your sojourn pass ye,

¹⁸ having known that, not with corruptible things -- silver or gold -- were ye redeemed from your foolish behaviour delivered by fathers,

¹⁹ but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and unspotted -- Christ's --

²⁰ foreknown, indeed, before the foundation of the world, and manifested in the last times because of you,

²¹ who through him do believe in God, who did raise out of the dead, and glory to him did give, so that your faith and hope may be in God.

²² Your souls having purified in the obedience of the truth through the Spirit to brotherly love unfeigned, out of a pure heart one another love ye earnestly,

²³ being begotten again, not out of seed corruptible, but incorruptible, through a word of God -- living and remaining -- to the age;

²⁴ because all flesh [is] as grass, and all glory of man as flower of grass; wither did the grass, and the flower of it fell away,

²⁵ and the saying of the Lord doth remain -- to the age; and this is the saying that was proclaimed good news to you.

2 Having put aside, then, all evil, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envyings, and all evil speakings,

² as new-born babes the word's pure milk desire ye, that in it ye may grow,

³ if so be ye did taste that the Lord [is] gracious,

⁴ to whom coming -- a living stone -- by men, indeed, having been disapproved of, but with God choice, precious,

⁵ and ye yourselves, as living stones, are built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁶ Wherefore, also, it is contained in the Writing: `Lo, I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, choice, precious, and he who is believing on him may not be put to shame;'

⁷ to you, then, who are believing [is] the preciousness; and to the unbelieving, a stone that the builders disapproved of, this one did become for the head of a corner,

⁸ and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence -- who are stumbling at the word, being unbelieving, -- to which also they were set;

⁹ and ye [are] a choice race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired, that the excellences ye may shew forth of Him who out of darkness did call you to His wondrous light;

¹⁰ who [were] once not a people, and [are] now the people of God; who had not found kindness, and now have found kindness.

¹¹ Beloved, I call upon [you], as strangers and sojourners, to keep from the fleshly desires, that war against the soul,

¹² having your behaviour among the nations right, that in that which they speak against you as evil-doers, of the good works having beheld, they may glorify God in a day of inspection.

¹³ Be subject, then, to every human creation, because of the Lord, whether to a king, as the highest,

¹⁴ whether to governors, as to those sent through him, for punishment, indeed, of evil-doers, and a praise of those doing good;

¹⁵ because, so is the will of God, doing good, to put to silence the ignorance of the foolish men;

¹⁶ as free, and not having the freedom as the cloak of the evil, but as servants of God;

¹⁷ to all give ye honour; the brotherhood love ye; God fear ye; the king honour ye.

¹⁸ The domestics! be subjecting yourselves in all fear to the masters, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the cross;

¹⁹ for this [is] gracious, if because of conscience toward God any one doth endure sorrows, suffering unrighteously;

²⁰ for what renown [is it], if sinning and being buffeted, ye do endure [it]? but if, doing good and suffering [for it], ye do endure, this [is] gracious with God,

²¹ for to this ye were called, because Christ also did suffer for you, leaving to you an example, that ye may follow his steps,

²² who did not commit sin, nor was guile found in his mouth,

²³ who being reviled -- was not reviling again, suffering -- was not threatening, and was committing himself to Him who is judging righteously,

²⁴ who our sins himself did bear in his body, upon the tree, that to the sins having died, to the righteousness we may live; by whose stripes ye were healed,

²⁵ for ye were as sheep going astray, but ye turned back now to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.