1 Peter 1 - 2 — Legacy Standard Bible

A Living Hope

1^aPeter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as ^bexiles, ^cscattered throughout ^dPontus, ^eGalatia, ^fCappadocia, ^gAsia, and ^hBithynia, who are chosen ²according to the ^aforeknowledge of God the Father, ^bby the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to the ^cobedience of Jesus Christ and the ^dsprinkling of His blood: ^eMay grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³^aBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who ^baccording to His great mercy ^chas caused us to be born again to ^da living hope through the ^eresurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to obtain an ^ainheritance incorruptible and undefiled and ^bunfading, having been ^ckept in heaven for you, ⁵who are ^aprotected by the power of God ^bthrough faith for ^ca salvation ready ^dto be revealed in the last time. ⁶^aIn this you greatly rejoice, even though now ^bfor a little while, ^cif necessary, you have been grieved by ^dvarious ¹trials, ⁷so that the ¹^,^aproof of your faith, being more precious than gold which ²is perishable, ^beven though tested by fire, ^cmay be found to result in praise and glory and honor at ^dthe revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸And ^athough you have not seen Him, you ^blove Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and ¹full of glory, ⁹receiving as ^athe outcome of your faith the salvation of ¹your souls.

¹⁰^aConcerning this salvation, the prophets, who ^bprophesied of the ^cgrace that would come to you, made careful searches and inquiries, ¹¹¹inquiring to know what time or what kind of time ^athe Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He was ^bpredicting the sufferings of Christ and the glories ²to follow. ¹²It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been declared to you through those who ^aproclaimed the gospel to you by ^bthe Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which ^cangels long to ¹look.

¹³Therefore, having ¹^,^agirded your minds for action, ²^,^bbeing sober in spirit, fix your ^chope completely on the ^dgrace ³to be brought to you at ^ethe revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴As ¹^,^aobedient children, not ²^,^bbeing conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ^cignorance, ¹⁵but ¹^,^alike the Holy One who called you, ²^,^bbe holy yourselves also ^cin all your conduct; ¹⁶because it is written, “^aYou shall be holy, for I am holy.”

¹⁷And if you ^aaddress as Father the One who ^bimpartially ^cjudges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves ¹^,^din fear during the time of your ^esojourn, ¹⁸knowing that you were not ¹^,^aredeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your ^bfutile conduct inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹but with precious ^ablood, as of a ^blamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. ²⁰He was ^aforeknown before ^bthe foundation of the world, but ^cappeared ¹in these last times ^dfor the sake of you ²¹who through Him are ^abelievers in God, who raised Him from the dead and ^bgave Him glory, so that your faith and ^chope are in God.

²²Since you have ^ain obedience to the truth ^bpurified your souls for a love of the brothers ^cwithout hypocrisy, fervently love one another from ¹the heart, ²³for you have been ^aborn again ^bnot of corruptible seed but incorruptible, that is, through the living and enduring ^cword of God. ²⁴For, “^aAll flesh is like grass,And all its glory like the flower of grass.The grass withers,And the flower falls off,

²⁵^aBut the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is ^bthe word which was ¹proclaimed to you as good news.

As Living Stones, God’s Chosen Family

2Therefore, ^alaying aside all ¹malice and all deceit and ²hypocrisy and ³envy and all ⁴^,^bslander, ²^alike newborn babies, long for the ¹^,^bpure ²milk of the word, so that by it you may ^cgrow ³in respect to salvation, ³if you have ^atasted ¹^,^bthe kindness of the ²Lord.

⁴And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been ^arejected by men, but is ¹choice and precious in the sight of God, ⁵^ayou also, as living stones, ¹are being built up as a ^bspiritual house for a holy ^cpriesthood, to ^doffer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For this is contained in ¹Scripture: “^aBehold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a ^bprecious corner stone,And he who believes upon ²Him will not be put to shame.”

⁷^aThis precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “^bThe stone which the builders ^crejected,This has become the chief corner stone,”

⁸and, “^aA stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” ^bThey stumble because they are disobedient to the word, ^cand to this stumbling they were also appointed.

⁹But you are ^aa chosen family, a royal ^bpriesthood, a ^choly nation, ^da people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you ^eout of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰^afor you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹^aBeloved, ^bI urge you as ^csojourners and exiles to abstain from ^dfleshly lusts which wage ^ewar against the soul, ¹²^aby keeping your conduct excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing which they ^bslander you as evildoers, they may ¹because of your good works, as they observe them, ^cglorify God ^din the day of ²visitation.

Be Subject to Authority

¹³^aBe subject for the sake of the Lord to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, ¹⁴or to governors as sent ¹by him ^afor the punishment of evildoers and the ^bpraise of those who do good. ¹⁵For ¹^,^asuch is the will of God that by doing good you may ^bsilence the ignorance of foolish men. ¹⁶Act as ^afree people, and ¹do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as ^bslaves of God. ¹⁷^aHonor all people, ^blove the ¹brethren, ^cfear God, ^dhonor the ²king.

¹⁸^aServants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to those who are good and ^bconsiderate, but also to those who are ¹crooked. ¹⁹For this finds ¹favor, if for the sake of ^aconscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unrighteously. ²⁰For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure? But if ^awhen you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this finds favor with God.

Christ, Our Example

²¹For to this ^ayou have been called, ^bsince Christ also suffered for you, leaving you ^can example that you should follow in His steps, ²²who ^adid no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; ²³who being ^areviled, was not reviling in return; while suffering, He was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. ²⁴Who Himself ¹^,^abore our sins in His body on the ^btree, so that ^chaving died to ²sin, we might live to righteousness; ^dby His ³wounds you were ^ehealed. ²⁵For you were ^acontinually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the ^bShepherd and Overseer of your souls.