Outline
1 Peter 1 NLT
1 This letter is from Peter, an apostle
of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as
foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia.
2 God the Father knew you and chose you
long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him
and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and
more grace and peace.
3 All praise to God, the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again,
because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great
expectation,
4 and we have a priceless
inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled,
beyond the reach of change and decay.
5 And through your faith, God is
protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to
be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful
joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.
7 These trials will show that your
faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though
your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains
strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor
on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
8 You love him even though you have
never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice
with a glorious, inexpressible joy.
9 The reward for trusting him will be
the salvation of your souls.
10 This salvation was something even the
prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious
salvation prepared for you.
11 They wondered what time or situation
the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance
about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.
12They were told that their messages were not
for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you
by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is
all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things
happen.
13 So prepare your minds for action and
exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will
come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
14 So you must live as God’s obedient
children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own
desires. You didn’t know any better then.
15 But now you must be holy in
everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.
16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be
holy because I am holy.”
17And remember that the heavenly Father to
whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what
you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as
“temporary residents.”
18 For you know that God paid a ransom
to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was
not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.
19 It was the precious blood of Christ,
the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
20 God chose him as your ransom long
before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for
your sake.
21 Through Christ you have come to trust
in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ
from the dead and gave him great glory.
22 You were cleansed from your sins when
you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as
brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.
23 For you have been born again, but not
to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it
comes from the eternal, living word of God.
24 As the Scriptures say, “People are
like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and
the flower fades.
25 But the word of the
Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.
1 Peter 2 NLT
1 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be
done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.
2 Like newborn babies, you must crave
pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation.
Cry out for this nourishment,
3 now that you have had a taste of the
Lord’s kindness.
4 You are coming to Christ, who is the
living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was
chosen by God for great honor.
5 And you are living stones that God is
building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.
Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that
please God.
6As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a
cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”
7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the
honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the
builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”
8 And, “He is the stone that makes
people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do
not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
9 But you are not like that, for you
are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own
possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called
you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
10 “Once you had no identity as a
people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have
received God’s mercy.”
11 Dear friends, I warn you as
“temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that
wage war against your very souls.
12 Be careful to live properly among
your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they
will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he
judges the world.
13 For the Lord’s sake, submit to all
human authority—whether the king as head of state,
14 or the officials he has appointed.
For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who
do right.
15 It is God’s will that your honorable
lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against
you.
16 For you are free, yet you are God’s
slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.
17 Respect everyone, and love the family
of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.
18 You who are slaves must submit to
your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind
and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.
19 For God is pleased when, conscious of
his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment.
20 Of course, you get no credit for
being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing
good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.
21 For God called you to do good, even
if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and
you must follow in his steps.
22 He never sinned, nor ever deceived
anyone.
23 He did not retaliate when he was
insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands
of God, who always judges fairly.
24 He personally carried our sins in his
body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By
his wounds you are healed.
25 Once you were like
sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian
of your souls.
1 Peter 3 NLT
1 In the same way, you wives must
accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the
Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be
won over
2 by observing your pure and reverent
lives.
3 Don’t be concerned about the outward
beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.
4 You should clothe yourselves instead
with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and
quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
5 This is how the holy women of old
made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the
authority of their husbands.
6 For instance, Sarah obeyed her
husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do
what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.
7 In the same way, you husbands must
give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live
together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in
God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be
hindered.
8 Finally, all of you should be of one
mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be
tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.
9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t
retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a
blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his
blessing.
10 For the Scriptures say, “If you want
to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and
your lips from telling lies.
11 Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
12 The eyes of the LORD watch over those
who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the LORD turns his
face against those who do evil.”
13 Now, who will want to harm you if you
are eager to do good?
14 But even if you suffer for doing what
is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.
15 Instead, you must worship Christ as
Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be
ready to explain it.
16 But do this in a gentle and
respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you,
they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong
to Christ.
17Remember, it is better to suffer for doing
good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!
18 Christ suffered for our sins once for
all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to
God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.
19 So he went and preached to the
spirits in prison—
20those who disobeyed God long ago when God
waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved
from drowning in that terrible flood.
21 And that water is a picture of
baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a
response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
22 Now Christ has gone
to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels
and authorities and powers accept his authority.
1 Peter 4 NLT
1 So then, since Christ suffered
physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be
ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have
finished with sin.
2 You won’t spend the rest of your
lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of
God.
3 You have had enough in the past of
the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their
feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of
idols.
4 Of course, your former friends are
surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive
things they do. So they slander you.
5 But remember that they will have to
face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the
dead.
6 That is why the Good News was
preached to those who are now dead —so although they were destined to die like
all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit.
7The end of the world is coming soon.
Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.
8 Most important of all, continue to
show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
9 Cheerfully share your home with those
who need a meal or a place to stay.
10 God has given each of you a gift from
his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
11 Do you have the gift of speaking?
Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the
gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God
supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.
All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at
the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening
to you.
13 Instead, be very glad—for these
trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have
the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the
world.
14 If you are insulted because you bear
the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests
upon you.
15 If you suffer, however, it must not
be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s
affairs.
16 But it is no shame to suffer for
being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his
name!
17 For the time has come for judgment,
and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what
terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?
18 And also, “If the righteous are
barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?”
19 So if you are
suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust
your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.
1 Peter 5 NLT
1 And now, a word to you who are elders
in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ.
And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As
a fellow elder, I appeal to you:
2 Care for the flock that God has
entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will
get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.
3 Don’t lord it over the people
assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.
4 And when the Great Shepherd appears,
you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.
5In the same way, you who are younger must
accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in
humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives
grace to the humble.”
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty
power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.
7 Give all your worries and cares to
God, for he cares about you.
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great
enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to
devour.
9 Stand firm against him, and be strong
in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is
going through the same kind of suffering you are.
10 In his kindness God called you to
share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered
a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place
you on a firm foundation.
11 All power to him forever! Amen.
12I have written and sent this short letter
to you with the help of Silas, whom I commend to you as a faithful brother. My
purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are
experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this
grace.
13 Your sister church here in Babylon
sends you greetings, and so does my son Mark.
14Greet each other with a
kiss of love. Peace be with all of you who are in Christ.
