3 ^[a]For then, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,^{(A) 2} I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there, on account of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations. They have divided my land^(B)

Judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat

The Glorious Future of Judah

Salutation

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To the exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood:

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.^(A)

A Living Hope

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead^{(B) 4} and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.^{(C) 6} In this you rejoice,^[a] even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials,^{(D) 7} so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.^{(E) 8} Although you have not seen^[b] him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,^{(F) 9} for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.^[c]

¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace intended for you made careful search and inquiry,^{(G) 11} inquiring about the time and circumstances^[d] that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings intended for Christ and the subsequent glory.^{(H) 12} It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look!^(I)

Teaching about Divorce

19 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.^{(A) 2} Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there.^(B)

³ Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?”^{(C) 4} He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’^{(D) 5} and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?^{(E) 6} So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” ⁷ They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?”^{(F) 8} He said to them, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”^[a](G)

¹⁰ The^[b] disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹ But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given.^{(H) 12} For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”