I Peter 1

¹To the people of God who are living abroad, dispersed throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Roman Asia, and Bithynia,

²and who were chosen in accordance with the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the consecration of the Spirit, to learn obedience, and to be purified by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. May blessing and peace be yours in ever increasing measure. The Christian’s Hope of Salvation

³Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has, in his great mercy, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

⁴given us the new life of undying hope, that promises an inheritance, imperishable, stainless, unfading, which has been reserved for you in heaven –

⁵for you who, through faith, are being guarded by the power of God, awaiting a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last days.

⁶At the thought of this you are full of exultation, though (if it has been necessary) you have suffered for the moment somewhat from various trials;

⁷that the genuineness of your faith – a thing far more precious than gold, which is perishable, yet has to be tested by fire – may win praise and glory and honor at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

⁸Though you have never seen him, yet you love him; though you do not even now see him, yet you believe in him, and exalt with a triumphant happiness too great for words,

⁹as you receive the reward of your faith in the salvation of your souls!

¹⁰It was this salvation that the prophets, who spoke long ago of the blessing intended for you, sought, and strove to comprehend;

¹¹as they strove to discern what that time could be, to which the Spirit of Christ within them was pointing, when foretelling the sufferings that Christ would have to endure, and the glories that would follow.

¹²And it was revealed to them that it was not for themselves, but for you, that they were acting as Ministers of the truths which have now been told to you, by those who, with the help of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, have brought you the good news – truths into which even angels long to look. The Christian’s Character

¹³Therefore concentrate your minds, with the strictest self-control, and fix your hopes on the blessing that is coming for you at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

¹⁴Be like obedient children; do not let your lives be shaped by the passions which once swayed you in the days of your ignorance,

¹⁵but in your whole life show yourselves to be holy, after the pattern of the Holy One from whom you received your call.

¹⁶For scripture says – ‘You will be holy, because I am holy.’

¹⁷And since you call on him as ‘Father,’ who judges everyone impartially by what he has done, let respectful awe be the spirit of your lives during the time of your stay on earth.

¹⁸For you know that it was not by perishable things, such as silver and gold, that you were ransomed from the aimless way of living which was handed down to you from your ancestors,

¹⁹but by precious blood, as it were of a lamb, unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

²⁰Destined for this before the beginning of the world, he has been revealed in these last days for your sakes,

²¹who, through him, are faithful to God who raised him from the dead and gave him honor, so that your faith and hope are now in God.

²²Now that, by your obedience to the truth, you have purified your lives, so that there is growing up among you a genuine affection, love one another earnestly with all your hearts;

²³since your new life has come, not from perishable, but imperishable, seed, through the message of the Everliving God.

²⁴For – ‘All earthly life is but as grass, and all its splendor as the flower of grass. The grass fades, its flower falls,

²⁵but the teaching of the Lord remains for ever.’ And that is the teaching of the good news which has been told to you.

I Peter 1

¹Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers dispersed through Pontus, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, elect,

²According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, unto the sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace unto you and peace be multiplied.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy hath regenerated us unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead:

⁴Unto an inheritance, incorruptible, and undefiled and that cannot fade, reserved in heaven for you,

⁵Who, by the power of God, are kept by faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

⁶Wherein you shalt greatly rejoice, if now you must be for a little time made sorrowful in divers temptations:

⁷That the trial of your faith (much more precious than gold which is tried by the fire) may be found unto praise and glory and honour at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

⁸Whom having not seen, you love: in whom also now though you see him not, you believe and, believing, shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorified;

⁹Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and diligently searched, who prophesied of the grace to come in you.

¹¹Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them did signify, when it foretold those sufferings that are in Christ and the glories that should follow.

¹²To whom it was revealed that, not to themselves but to you, they ministered those things which are now declared to you by them that have preached the gospel to you: the Holy Ghost being sent down from heaven, on whom the angels desire to look.

¹³Wherefore, having the loins of your mind girt up, being sober, trust perfectly in the grace which is offered you in the revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹⁴As children of obedience, not fashioned according to the former desires of your ignorance,

¹⁵But according to him that hath called you, who is holy, be you also in all manner of conversation holy:

¹⁶Because it is written: You shall be holy, for I am holy.

¹⁷And if you invoke as Father him who, without respect of persons, judgeth according to every one's work: converse in fear during the time of your sojourning here.

¹⁸Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as gold or silver, from your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers:

¹⁹But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled

²⁰Foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but manifested in the last times for you:

²¹Who through him are faithful in God who raised him up from the dead and hath given him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God.

²²Purifying your souls in the obedience of charity, with a brotherly love, from a sincere heart love one another earnestly:

²³Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, by the word of God who liveth and remaineth for ever.

²⁴For all flesh is as grass and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass is withered and the flower thereof is fallen away.

²⁵But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel hath been preached unto you.