1 Peter 1

1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. To God's chosen people who are living as strangers, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

2God the Father chose you, just as God planned long ago. The Spirit has made you holy, so that you would obey Jesus Christ and be made clean by his blood. May God give you more and more grace and peace.

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In God's great mercy God has given us new birth into a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death.

4God has given us an inheritance that can never spoil, be ruined, or fade away. It is kept in heaven for you,

5Who are guarded by God's power through faith, until the salvation that is ready to be shown at the last time.

6So you are full of joy, even though right now, for a little while, you may have to suffer many kinds of trouble.

7These troubles come to prove that your faith is real. Your faith is worth far more than gold, which is tested by fire even though it does not last. When your faith is proven, it will bring praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ appears.

8You have not seen Christ, yet you love him. You do not see him now, yet you believe in him, and you are filled with a joy too great for words, a glorious joy,

9Because you are receiving the goal of your faith: the salvation of your souls.

10The prophets searched carefully into this salvation. They spoke about the grace that was coming to you.

11They tried to find out the time and situation the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing to, when the Spirit told ahead of time about the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow.

12It was shown to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told to you. These things were told by those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even the angels long to look into these things.

13So get your minds ready for action. Keep clear heads. Set your hope fully on the grace that will be given to you when Jesus Christ appears.

14As obedient children, do not shape your lives by the wrong desires you had when you did not know any better.

15Instead, be holy in everything you do, just as the One who called you is holy.

16For the Scripture says: Be holy, because I am holy.

17You call on God as Father, and God judges each person's work fairly, without favoring anyone. So live with deep respect for God during your time here as strangers.

18For you know that you were set free from the empty way of life you learned from your ancestors. You were not set free with things that do not last, like silver or gold.

19You were set free by the precious blood of Christ, a lamb with no fault or flaw.

20Christ was chosen before the world was made, but Christ was shown to the world in these last times, for your sake.

21Through Christ you believe in God, who raised Christ from death and gave Christ glory. So your faith and hope are in God.

22You have made yourselves clean by obeying the truth, so that you truly love your brothers and sisters. So love one another deeply, from a pure heart.

23You have been born again — not from seed that dies, but from seed that lasts forever, through the living and lasting word of God.

24For the Scripture says: All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass dries up and the flowers fall,

25But the word of the Lord lasts forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.