¹Peter, an  ²apostle of Jesus Christ, to the  ³sojourners of the  ⁴dispersion of  ⁵Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

 ¹Chosen  ²according to the  ³foreknowledge of God the Father  ⁴in the  ⁵sanctification of the Spirit  ⁶unto the  ⁷obedience and  ⁸sprinkling of the  ⁹blood of Jesus Christ:  ¹⁰Grace to you and  ¹¹peace be  ¹²multiplied.

 ¹Blessed be the  ²God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great  ³mercy has  ⁴regenerated us  ⁵unto a  ⁶living hope  ⁷through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

 ¹Unto an  ²inheritance,  ³incorruptible and undefiled and unfading,  ⁴kept in the heavens for you,

Who are being  ¹guarded  ²by the power of God  ³through faith  ⁴unto a  ⁵salvation ready to be revealed at the  ⁶last time;

In which  ¹time you exult, though for a little while at present, if it must be, you have been made sorrowful by various  ²trials,

So that the  ¹proving of your faith,  ²much more  ³precious than of gold which perishes though it is proved by fire, may be found  ⁴unto praise and glory and honor at the  ⁵revelation of Jesus Christ;

Whom having not seen, you  ¹love;  ²into whom though not seeing Him at present, yet  ³believing, you exult with  ⁴joy that is unspeakable and full of glory,

 ¹Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your  ²souls.

Concerning this salvation the  ¹prophets, who prophesied concerning the  ²grace that was to come unto you, sought and searched diligently,

 ¹Searching into  ²what time or what manner of time the Spirit  ³of Christ in them was making clear, testifying beforehand of the  ⁴sufferings  ⁵of Christ and the  ⁶glories after these.

To them it was revealed that not to themselves but to you they ministered  ¹these things, which have now been announced to you through those who  ²preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, which things angels long to  ³look into.

 ¹Therefore girding up the loins of your mind and being  ²sober, set your  ³hope perfectly on the  ⁴grace being brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

As children of obedience, do not be  ¹fashioned according to the former lusts in your ignorance;

But according to the  ¹Holy One who called you, you yourselves also  ²be holy in all your manner of life;

Because it is written, “You shall be holy because I am holy.”

And if you call as  ¹Father the One who without respect of persons  ²judges according to each one's  ³work, pass the time of your sojourning in  ⁴fear,

Knowing that it was not with corruptible things, with  ¹silver or gold, that you were redeemed from your  ²vain manner of life handed down from your fathers,

But with  ¹precious blood, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot, the blood of Christ;

Who was  ¹foreknown before the foundation of the world but has been manifested in the  ²last of times for your sake,

Who  ¹through Him believe into God, who raised Him from the dead and  ²gave Him glory, so that your  ³faith and hope are in God.

Since you have  ¹purified your  ²souls by your obedience to the  ³truth unto unfeigned  ⁴brotherly love, love one another  ⁵from a pure heart fervently,

 ¹Having been regenerated not of corruptible  ²seed but of incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God.

For "all  ¹flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass has withered, and the flower has fallen off,

But the  ¹word of the  ²Lord abides forever.” And this is the word which has been announced to you as the  ³gospel.

 ¹Therefore putting away all  ²malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envyings and all evil speakings,

As  ¹newborn babes, long for the  ²guileless milk  ³of the word in order that by it you may  ⁴grow  ⁵unto salvation,

If you have  ¹tasted that the Lord is  ²good.

Coming to Him, a  ¹living stone, rejected by men but with God chosen and  ²precious,

You yourselves also, as  ¹living stones, are being  ²built up as a  ³spiritual  ⁴house  ⁵into a  ⁶holy  ⁷priesthood to offer up  ⁸spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For it is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a  ¹cornerstone,  ²chosen and  ³precious; and he who believes on Him shall by no means be put to shame.”

To you therefore who believe is the  ¹preciousness; but to the unbelieving, “The stone which the  ²builders rejected, this has  ³become the head of the corner,”

And, “A stone of  ¹stumbling and a rock of offense”; who stumble at  ²the word, being disobedient, to  ³which also they were appointed.

But you are a chosen  ¹race, a  ²royal priesthood, a  ³holy nation, a people acquired for a possession, so that you may  ⁴tell out the  ⁵virtues of Him who has called you out of  ⁶darkness into His marvelous  ⁶light;

 ¹Who once were not a people but now are the people of God; who had not previously been shown mercy but have now been shown mercy.

Beloved, I entreat you as strangers and sojourners to abstain from  ¹fleshly lusts, which war against the  ¹soul,

Having your  ¹manner of life  ²excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the matter concerning which they speak against you as evildoers they may, by your good works, as they see them with their own eyes, glorify God in the day of His  ³visitation.

 ¹Be subject to every human  ²institution  ³for the Lord's sake, whether to a king as being supreme,

Or to governors as being sent by him for vengeance on evildoers and praise of those who do good.

For so is the will of God, that by doing good you would muzzle the ignorance of  ¹foolish men;

As free, and yet not having freedom as a covering for evil, but as slaves of God.

Honor all men. Love the  ¹brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

Household servants, be subject in all  ¹fear to your masters, not only to the good and forbearing but also to the crooked.

For this is  ¹grace, if anyone,  ²because of a consciousness of God, bears sorrows by suffering  ³unjustly.

For what  ¹glory is it if, while sinning and being buffeted, you endure? But if, while doing good and suffering, you endure, this is grace with God.

For to  ¹this you were called, because Christ also suffered on your behalf, leaving you a  ²model so that you may follow in His steps;

Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth;

Who being reviled did not revile in return; suffering, He did not threaten but kept committing  ¹all to Him who  ²judges righteously;

Who Himself  ¹bore up our sins in His body on the  ²tree, in order that we,  ³having died to sins, might  ⁴live  ⁵to righteousness; by whose  ⁶bruise you were  ⁷healed.

For you were like sheep being led astray, but you have now  ¹returned to the  ²Shepherd and Overseer of your  ³souls.

In  ¹like manner, wives, be subject to your own husbands, that even if any disobey the  ²word, they will be gained without the word through the manner of life of their wives,

Seeing with their own eyes your  ¹pure manner of life  ²in  ³fear.

Let your adorning not be the outward  ¹plaiting of hair and putting on of gold or clothing with garments,

But the  ¹hidden man of the heart in the incorruptible adornment of a meek and quiet spirit, which is very costly in the sight of God.

For in this manner formerly the holy women also, who hoped in God, adorned themselves, being subject to their own husbands,

As Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord; whose children you have become, if you do good and do not fear any  ¹terror.

Husbands, in like manner dwell together with them  ¹according to knowledge, as with the  ²weaker, female  ³vessel,  ⁴assigning honor to them as also to fellow heirs of the  ⁵grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

And finally be all of the same mind, sympathetic, loving the brothers, tenderhearted, humble-minded;

Not rendering evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary  ¹blessing one another, because you were called  ²to this, that you might inherit blessing.

For "he who desires to love life and see  ¹good days, let him cause his tongue to cease from evil and his lips to speak no guile.

And let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it;

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears incline to their petition; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

And who will harm you if you become zealous for what is good?

But even if you suffer because of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not be afraid with fear from them, nor be troubled,

But  ¹sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, being always ready for a defense to everyone who asks of you an account concerning the  ²hope which is in you,

Yet with meekness and  ¹fear, having a good  ²conscience, so that in the matter in which you are spoken against, those who revile your good manner of life  ³in Christ may be put to shame.

For it is better, if the will of God should will it, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

For Christ also has suffered once for  ¹sins, the Righteous  ²on behalf of the unrighteous, that He might bring you to God, on the one hand being put to death in the flesh, but on the other, made alive in the  ³Spirit;

In  ¹which also He went and  ²proclaimed to the  ³spirits in  ⁴prison,

 ¹Who had formerly disobeyed when the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared; entering into which, a few, that is, eight souls, were  ²brought safely through  ³by water.

 ¹Which water, as the antitype, also now saves you, that is,  ²baptism,  ³not a putting away of the filth of the flesh but the  ⁴appeal of a good conscience unto God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

 ¹Who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being subjected to Him.

Since Christ therefore has suffered in the flesh, you also  ²arm yourselves with the  ³same mind (because he who has  ⁴suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin),

 ¹No longer to live the rest of the time in the flesh in the lusts of men, but in the will of God.

For the time which has passed is sufficient for you to have carried out the  ¹desire of the Gentiles, having gone on  ²in licentiousness, lusts, debaucheries, carousings, drinking bouts, and lawless idolatries.

In this they think it  ¹strange that you are not  ²running together with them into the same  ³flood of dissoluteness,  ⁴slandering you;

 ¹Who will  ²render an account to Him who is ready to  ³judge the living and the dead.

For unto this end the gospel was announced also to  ¹those who are now dead, that they might be  ²judged in the flesh according to men but live in the  ³spirit according to God.

But the  ¹end of all things has drawn near. Therefore  ²be sober-minded and  ³be sober unto prayers.

Above all, have fervent love among yourselves, because love covers a multitude of sins.

Be hospitable to one another without murmuring,

Each one, as he has received a gift,  ¹ministering it among yourselves as good stewards of the  ²varied grace of God.

If anyone speaks, as speaking  ¹oracles of God; if anyone ministers, as ministering out of the strength which God  ²supplies; that in all things God may be glorified  ³through Jesus Christ, to whom is the  ⁴glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.

Beloved, do not think that the  ¹fiery ordeal among you, coming to you for a  ²trial, is  ³strange, as if it were a  ³strange thing happening to you;

But inasmuch as you share in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice exultingly.

If you are reproached in the  ¹name of Christ, you are blessed, because  ²the Spirit of glory and of God  ³rests upon you.

For let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a  ¹meddler into others' affairs;

But if as a  ¹Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him  ²glorify God in this name.

For it is time for the  ¹judgment to begin from the  ²house of God; and if first from us,  ³what will be the end of those who  ⁴disobey the gospel of God?

And if the  ¹righteous man is  ²saved only with difficulty, where will the ungodly and the sinner  ³appear?

So then let those  ¹also who suffer according to the  ²will of God  ³commit their  ⁴souls in  ⁵well-doing to a faithful  ⁶Creator.

 ¹Therefore the  ²elders among you I exhort, who am a  ³fellow elder and  ⁴witness of the sufferings of Christ, who am also a  ⁵partaker of the glory to be revealed:

 ¹Shepherd the  ²flock of God among you,  ³overseeing not under compulsion but willingly,  ⁴according to God; not by seeking gain through base means but eagerly;

Nor as  ¹lording it over your  ²allotments but by  ³becoming patterns of the  ⁴flock.

And when the Chief Shepherd is manifested, you will receive the  ¹unfading crown of glory.

In like manner, younger men, be subject to  ¹elders; and all of you  ²gird yourselves with  ³humility toward one another, because God  ⁴resists the  ⁵proud but gives  ⁶grace to the  ⁷humble.

Therefore be  ¹humbled under the mighty hand of God that He may  ²exalt you in due time,

 ¹Casting  ²all your  ³anxiety on Him because  ⁴it matters to Him concerning you.

Be  ¹sober;  ²watch. Your  ³adversary, the  ⁴devil, as a  ⁵roaring lion,  ⁶walks about,  ⁷seeking someone to devour.

Him  ¹withstand, being firm in your  ²faith, knowing that the same  ³sufferings are being accomplished among your  ⁴brotherhood in the world.

 ¹But the God of  ²all grace, He who has called you  ³into His eternal glory  ⁴in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, will  ⁵Himself  ⁶perfect,  ⁷establish,  ⁸strengthen, and  ⁹ground you.

To Him be  ¹the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.

Through Silvanus, the faithful brother, as I account him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and  ¹testifying fully that this is the  ²true grace of God; enter into this grace and stand in it.

The  ¹co-chosen in  ²Babylon and  ³Mark my son greet you.

Greet one another with a kiss of love.  ¹Peace to you all who are  ²in Christ.