1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ: To the temporary residents of the Dispersion in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen
2. according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and set apart by the Spirit for obedience and [for the] sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4. and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
5. who are being protected by God's power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
6. You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to be distressed by various trials
7. so that the genuineness of your faith-- more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire-- may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8. You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy,
9. because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated.
11. They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when He testified in advance to the messianic sufferings and the glories that would follow.
12. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you concerning things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Angels desire to look into these things.
13. Therefore, get your minds ready for action, being self-disciplined, and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
14. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance
15. but, as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct;
16. for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.
17. And if you address as Father the One who judges impartially based on each one's work, you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during this time of temporary residence.
18. For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things, like silver or gold,
19. but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.
20. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the times for you
21. who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22. By obedience to the truth, having purified yourselves for sincere love of the brothers, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
23. since you have been born again-- not of perishable seed but of imperishable-- through the living and enduring word of God.
24. For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower drops off,
25. but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word that was preached as the gospel to you.