Who, through the purpose of God, have been made holy by the Spirit, disciples of Jesus, made clean by his blood: May you have grace and peace in full measure.

Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant and boundless mercy has caused us to be born again [that is, to be reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose] to an ever-living hope and confident assurance through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

to an inheritance imperishable, undefiled and unfading, which has been reserved in Heaven for you,

by the power of God, having been kept through faith to a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time;

Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials,

whom having not seen, you love; in whom not yet seeing, but believing in Him you exult with unspeakable joy, and having been glorified,

To whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they minister these things, which now have been announced unto you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven; which things angel desire to look into.

because it hath been written, 'Become ye holy, because I am holy;'

knowing that ye have been redeemed, not by corruptible things, as silver or gold, from your vain conversation handed down from your fathers,

foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but who has been manifested at the end of times for your sakes,

having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth.

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass; the grass withers, and its flower fails away: but the word of the Lord abides forever: and this is the word which has been preached as gospel to you.

but the word of the Lord endures {forever}." And this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

to whom coming -- a living stone -- by men, indeed, having been disapproved of, but with God choice, precious,

To you believers, therefore, that honour belongs; but for unbelievers-- "A Stone which the builders rejected has been made the Cornerstone,"

and a stone of stumbling and rock of offence; who stumble at the word, being disobedient to which also they have been appointed.

In the past you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; then there was no mercy for you, but now mercy has been given to you.

or to governors, as those having been sent out by him unto the condemnation of evil doers, and the praise of those doing good;

For to this have ye been called; for Christ also has suffered for you, leaving you a model that ye should follow in his steps:

who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, in order that, being dead to sins, we may live to righteousness: by whose stripes ye have been healed.

Having been permitted to behold your reverently chaste behaviour, -

not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but on the contrary, blessing others, because ye have been called to this, that ye should inherit blessing.

because also Christ once for sin did suffer -- righteous for unrighteous -- that he might lead us to God, having been put to death indeed, in the flesh, and having been made alive in the spirit,

who once were disobedient, when the great patience of God was waiting in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons [Noah’s family], were brought safely through the water.

who is at the right hand of God, having gone on to heaven -- messengers, and authorities, and powers, having been subjected to him.

Therefore, Christ having suffered for us in the flesh, also you arm yourselves with the same thought, that he suffering in the flesh has been made to rest from sin,

For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the pagans choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry.

For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.

Making distribution among one another of whatever has been given to you, like true servants of the unmeasured grace of God;

So I exhort the Elders among you--I who am their fellow Elder and have been an eye-witness of the sufferings of the Christ, and am also a sharer in the glory which is soon to be revealed.

And the chief Shepherd having been manifested, ye shall be attired with an unfading crown of glory.

I have been writing to you briefly by the hand of Silas, our true-hearted Brother (for so I regard him), to urge upon you, and to bear my testimony, that in what I have written is to be found the true love of God. On that take your stand.

Your sister [church] here in Babylon, [also] chosen [by God], as you have been, sends her greetings along with my [spiritual] son Mark.