Born Again to a Living Hope

³gBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! hAccording to his great mercy, ihe has caused us to be born again to a living hope jthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to kan inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and lunfading, mkept in heaven for you, ⁵who by God's power are being guarded nthrough faith for a salvation oready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by pvarious trials, ⁷so that qthe tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes rthough it is tested by sfire—may be found to result in tpraise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸uThough you have not seen him, you love him. vThough you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹obtaining wthe outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰Concerning this salvation, xthe prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹inquiring ywhat person or time1 zthe Spirit of Christ in them was indicating awhen he predicted bthe sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ¹²cIt was revealed to them that dthey were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you eby the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, fthings into which angels long to look.

Called to Be Holy

¹³Therefore, gpreparing your minds for action,2 and hbeing sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴As obedient children, ido not be conformed to the passions jof your former ignorance, ¹⁵but kas he who called you is holy, you also be holy lin all your conduct, ¹⁶since it is written, m“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷And if you ncall on him as Father who ojudges pimpartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves qwith fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸knowing that you rwere ransomed from sthe futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹but twith the precious blood of Christ, like that of ua lamb vwithout blemish or spot. ²⁰He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but wwas made manifest xin the last times for the sake of you ²¹ywho through him are believers in God, zwho raised him from the dead and agave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²²Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for ba sincere brotherly love, clove one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³dsince you have been born again, enot of perishable seed but of imperishable, through fthe living and abiding word of God; ²⁴for

g“All flesh is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

and the flower falls,

²⁵hbut the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word iis the good news that was preached to you.

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A Living Stone and a Holy People

¹jSo put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ²kLike newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual lmilk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³if indeed you have mtasted that the Lord is good.

⁴As you come to him, a living stone nrejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵oyou yourselves like living stones are being built up as pa spiritual house, to be qa holy priesthood, rto offer spiritual sacrifices sacceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For it stands in Scripture:

t“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,

a cornerstone chosen and precious,

uand whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

⁷So the honor is for you who vbelieve, but for those who vdo not believe,

w“The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone,”1

⁸and

x“A stone of stumbling,

and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, yas they were destined to do.

⁹But you are za chosen race, aa royal bpriesthood, ca holy nation, da people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you eout of darkness into fhis marvelous light. ¹⁰gOnce you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹Beloved, I urge you has sojourners and exiles ito abstain from the passions of the flesh, jwhich wage war against your soul. ¹²kKeep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, lthey may see your good deeds and glorify God on mthe day of visitation.

Submission to Authority

¹³nBe subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,2 whether it be to the emperor3 as supreme, ¹⁴or to governors as sent by him oto punish those who do evil and pto praise those who do good. ¹⁵For this is the will of God, qthat by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ¹⁶rLive as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but sliving as servants4 of God. ¹⁷tHonor everyone. uLove the brotherhood. vFear God. Honor the emperor.

¹⁸wServants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.5 ¹⁹For this is a gracious thing, when, xmindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. ²⁰For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But yif when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. ²¹For zto this you have been called, ybecause Christ also suffered for you, aleaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. ²²bHe committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. ²³cWhen he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, dbut continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴eHe himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we fmight die to sin and glive to righteousness. hBy his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For iyou were straying like sheep, but have now returned to jthe Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

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Wives and Husbands

¹Likewise, wives, kbe subject to your own husbands, so that leven if some do not obey the word, mthey may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, ²when they see your nrespectful and pure conduct. ³oDo not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴but let your adorning be pthe hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. ⁵For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, ⁶as Sarah obeyed Abraham, qcalling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and rdo not fear anything that is frightening.

⁷Likewise, shusbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker tvessel, since they are heirs with you1 of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Suffering for Righteousness' Sake

⁸Finally, all of you, uhave unity of mind, sympathy, vbrotherly love, wa tender heart, and xa humble mind. ⁹yDo not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, zbless, for ato this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. ¹⁰For

b“Whoever desires to love life

and see good days,

let him keep his tongue from evil

and his lips from speaking deceit;

¹¹let him turn away from evil and do good;

let him seek peace and pursue it.

¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

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