I Peter 1

1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus,

Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to

the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the

Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great

mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never

perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are

shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to

be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a

little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These

have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even

though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory

and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you

love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are

filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the

goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was

to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to

find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them

was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that

would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving

themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told

you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent

from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

I Peter 1

22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you

have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the

heart. 23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of

imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For,

"All men are like grass,

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

25but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that

was preached to you.

I Peter 2

1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy,

and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk,

so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted

that the Lord is good.

I Peter 2

7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not

believe,

"The stone the builders rejected

has become the capstone," 8and,

"A stone that causes men to stumble

and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey

the message—which is also what they were destined for.

9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people

belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out

of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now

you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have

received mercy.

I Peter 2

24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to

sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

I Peter 3

17It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing

evil. 18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the

unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made

alive by the Spirit, 19through whom also he went and preached to the spirits

in prison 20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of

Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all,

were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves

you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good

conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

22who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels,

authorities and powers in submission to him.

I Peter 4

17For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it

begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the

gospel of God? 18And,

"If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"

19So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit

themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.