Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of ^athe Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles, scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,

according to ^bthe foreknowledge of God the Father, ^cin the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and ^dfor sprinkling with his blood:

May ^egrace and ^fpeace be multiplied to you.

who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

^gBlessed 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,

Praise 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,

to ^kan inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and ^lunfading, ^mkept in heaven for you,

and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,

who by God’s power are being guarded ⁿthrough faith for a salvation ^oready to be revealed in the last time.

who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by ^pvarious trials,

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

so 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.

These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.

^uThough 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,

Though 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,

obtaining ^wthe outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Concerning this salvation, ^xthe prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,

inquiring ^ywhat person or time ^zthe Spirit of Christ in them was indicating ^aawhen he predicted ^abthe sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.

^acIt was revealed to them that ^adthey 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 ^aeby the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, ^afthings into which angels long to look.

It 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.

Therefore, ^agpreparing your minds for action, ▼

▼Greek girding up the loins of your mind

and ^aibeing sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

As obedient children, ^ajdo not be conformed to the passions ^akof your former ignorance,

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

but ^alas he who called you is holy, you also be holy ^amin all your conduct,

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;

since it is written, ^an“You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ ▼

▼Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2

And if you ^apcall on him as Father who ^aqjudges ^arimpartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves ^aswith fear throughout the time of your exile,

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

knowing that you ^atwere ransomed from ^authe futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,

but ^avwith the precious blood of Christ, like that of ^awa lamb ^axwithout blemish or spot.

but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but ^aywas made manifest ^azin the last times for the sake of you

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

^bawho through him are believers in God, ^bbwho raised him from the dead and ^bcgave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for ^bda sincere brotherly love, ^belove one another earnestly from a pure heart,

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. ▼

▼Some early manuscripts from a pure heart

^bgsince you have been born again, ^bhnot of perishable seed but of imperishable, through ^bithe living and abiding word of God;

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

for

^bj“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,

For,

‘All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,

^bkbut the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word ^blis the good news that was preached to you.

but the word of the Lord endures for ever.’ ▼

▼Isaiah 40:6-8 (see Septuagint)

And this is the word that was preached to you.