1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. To God’s ·chosen [elect] people who are ·away from their homes [exiles; temporary residents; refugees; foreigners] ·and are scattered [^Lof the Diaspora/Dispersion; ^Can analogy to the Jewish people scattered around the known world since the Babylonian exile] all around Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia [^Call located in Asia Minor, present-day Turkey]. ² God the Father ·planned long ago to choose you [^Lchose you according to his foreknowledge] ·by making you his holy people, which is the Spirit’s work [or by the sanctifying/purifying work of the Spirit; or by setting you apart by means of the Spirit]. God wanted you to obey him and to be ·made clean [^Lsprinkled] by the blood of the death of Jesus Christ. [^CIn the OT blood from animal sacrifices was sprinkled on persons and objects to indicate purification or forgiveness of sins; Ex. 24:3–8.]

Grace and peace be ·yours more and more [^Lmultiplied to you].

We Have a Living Hope

³ ·Praise be to [^LBlessed be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In God’s ·great [abundant] mercy he has caused us to be born ·again [anew; John 3:5–8] into a living hope, ·because Jesus Christ rose [or by means of the resurrection of Jesus Christ] from the dead. ⁴ ·Now we hope for [or This new birth provides us with] ·the blessings God has for his children [^Lan inheritance]. ·These blessings [or This inheritance], which cannot be destroyed or be ·spoiled [corrupted; defiled] or lose their beauty, ·are [is] kept in heaven for you [Matt. 6:19–21; Luke 12:33]. ⁵ God’s power protects you through your faith until ·salvation is shown to you [or the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed] ·at the end of [in the last] time. ⁶ ·This makes you very happy [or Rejoice in this], even though now for a short time ·different kinds of troubles may make you sad [you have had to suffer various kinds of trials/testings]. ⁷ These ·troubles [trials; testings] come ·to prove that your faith is pure [to test and prove the authenticity of your faith; ^Ca test that proves the genuineness of a valuable metal]. This ·purity of faith [or tested and proven authenticity] is ·worth more [more precious; more valuable] than gold, which can be ·proved to be pure [tested and proven authentic] by fire [Ps. 66:10; Prov. 17:3; 27:21; Zech. 13:9; Mal. 3:3] but ·can [or will] be destroyed. But the ·purity [tested and proven authenticity] of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honor ·when Jesus Christ is shown to you [^Lat the revelation of Jesus Christ]. ⁸ You have not seen ·Christ [^Lhim], but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. So you ·are filled [rejoice] with ·a joy that cannot be explained, a joy full of glory [an inexpressible and glorious joy]. ⁹ ·And you are receiving [or …because you are receiving] the ·goal [outcome; purpose] of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰ The prophets [^Cof the Old Testament] searched carefully and ·tried to learn [diligently inquired/investigated] about this salvation. They prophesied about the grace that was coming to you. ¹¹ The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets, ·telling [witnessing; testifying] in advance about the sufferings of Christ and about the glory that would follow those sufferings [Luke 24:25–27, 45–49]. The prophets ·tried to learn [inquired; investigated] about what the Spirit was showing them, ·when those things would happen, and what the world would be like at that time [about the circumstances and time; or about the person and time]. ¹² It was ·shown [revealed to] them that their service was not for themselves but for you, when they ·told about [announced] the truths [^Lthings] you have now heard. Those who preached the ·Good News [Gospel] to you ·told you [announced] those things with the help of the Holy Spirit who was sent from heaven—things into which angels desire to look.

A Call to Holy Living

¹³ ·So [Therefore; For this reason] ·prepare your minds for service [prepare your minds for action; or, be alert; ^Lgird the loins of your mind] and ·have self-control [be disciplined]. ·All your hope should be for [Focus all your hope on] the gift of grace that will be ·yours [brought/given to you] ·when Jesus Christ is shown to you [^Lat the revelation of Jesus Christ]. ¹⁴ ·Now that you are [As; or Like] obedient ·children of God [^Lchildren] ·do not live as you did in the past. You did not understand, so you did the evil things you wanted [^Ldo not be shaped by the desires/lusts of your former ignorance]. ¹⁵ But be holy in all ·you do [your behavior/conduct], just as ·God, the One [^Lthe One] who called you, is holy. ¹⁶ [^LFor; Because] It is written in the Scriptures: “You must be holy, because I am holy [Lev. 11:45; 19:2; 20:7].”

¹⁷ ·You pray to God and call him Father, and he [^LSince you address as Father the one who] judges each person’s ·work [deeds] ·equally [impartially; without prejudice]. So while you are ·here on earth [living as exiles/strangers/sojourners], you should live with ·respect [fear] for God [Prov. 1:7]. ¹⁸ [^LFor] You know that in the past you were living in a ·worthless [meaningless; futile; vain; Eccl. 1:2] way, a way passed down from ·the people who lived before you [your ancestors]. But you were saved [ransomed; redeemed] from that useless life. You were ·bought [ransomed; redeemed; ^Clike a slave whose freedom was purchased by a payment], not with something that ·ruins [perishes; spoils] like silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ [Is. 52:3], who was like ·a pure and perfect lamb [a lamb without defect or blemish; Lev. 1:3]. ²⁰ Christ was ·chosen [destined; ^Lforeknown] before ·the world was made [^Lthe foundation/creation of the world], but he was ·shown to the world [revealed] in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through Christ you ·believe [have faith/trust] in God, who raised Christ from the dead and gave him glory. So your faith and your hope are in God.

²² Now that your obedience to the truth has purified your ·souls [or lives], you can have ·true [genuine; sincere] love for your Christian brothers and sisters. So love each other ·deeply [earnestly] ·with all your [^Lfrom the] heart.^{[a] 23} You have been born ·again [or anew], and this new life did not come from ·something that dies [^La perishable seed], but from ·something that cannot die [^Lan imperishable seed]. You were born ·again [or anew] through ·God’s living message that continues forever [^Lthe living and abiding/enduring word of God]. ²⁴ ·The Scripture says [^LFor; Therefore],

And this is the word that was ·preached [or proclaimed as Good News/Gospel] to you.

1 From ·Simon [^LSimeon; ^Ca version of Simon closer to the Hebrew name] Peter, a ·servant [slave] and apostle of Jesus Christ.

To ·you [^Lthose] who have received a faith as ·valuable [precious; privileged] as ours, ·because our God and Savior Jesus Christ does what is right [or through the righteousness/justice of our God and Savior Jesus Christ].

² [May] Grace and peace be ·given to you more and more [lavished upon you; multiplied to you], ·because you truly know [or as you grow in your knowledge; ^Lthrough/in the knowledge of] God and Jesus our Lord.

God Has Given Us Blessings

³ ·Jesus has the power of God, by which he has given us [^LHis divine power has given us] everything we need ·to live and to serve God [or to live a godly life; ^Lfor life and godliness]. We have these things ·because we know [or as we better come to know; ^Lthrough the knowledge of] ·Jesus, who called us [^Lthe one who called us; ^Cmay refer to Jesus or God the Father] by his glory and ·goodness [virtue; moral excellence]. ⁴ Through these he gave us the very great and precious promises. [^L…so that] With these gifts you can ·share in [partake of; participate in] ·God’s nature [^Lthe divine nature; ^Cwhich enables us to live forever], ·and the world will not ruin you with its evil desires [or having escaped the world’s decay that was caused by its evil desires].

⁵ ·Because you have these blessings [^LFor this very reason; ^Cthe reasons stated in vv. 3–4], ·do your best [make every effort; strive] to ·add these things to [or increase these things in] your lives: to your faith, add ·goodness [virtue; moral excellence]; and to your ·goodness [virtue; moral excellence], add knowledge; ⁶ and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add ·patience [or perseverance]; and to your ·patience [or perseverance], add ·service for God [devotion; piety; godliness]; ⁷ and to your ·service for God [devotion; piety; godliness], add ·kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ [affection for fellow believers; ^Lbrotherly love/affection; ^CGreek: philadelphia]; and to ·this kindness [affection; ^Lbrotherly love/affection], add love [^CGreek: agapē]. ⁸ If all these things are in you and are ·growing [increasing], they will ·help you to be useful and productive [^Lkeep you from being ineffective/idle and unfruitful/unproductive] in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ ·But [or For] anyone who does not have these things ·cannot see clearly [is nearsighted]. He is blind [1 John 2:11; Rev. 3:17] ·and [or because he] has forgotten that he was made clean from his past sins.

¹⁰ [^LTherefore] My brothers and sisters, ·try hard [make every effort; strive] to ·be certain that you really are called and chosen by God [^Lconfirm your calling and election]. [^LFor] If you do all these things, you will never ·fall [stumble]. ¹¹ ·And [For in this way] you will be given a very ·great [rich; lavish] ·welcome [entrance; arrival] into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹² You know these things, and you are ·very strong [established] in the truth [that has come to you; that you now have], but I will always ·help you remember [remind you of] them. ¹³ I think it is right for me to ·help you remember [^Larouse you with a reminder] as long as I am in this ·body [^Ltent; ^Ca metaphor for the transitory earthly body]. ¹⁴ I know I must soon ·leave this body [^Lput off my tent; ^Cdie; 1:13; 2 Cor. 5:1, 4], as our Lord Jesus Christ ·has shown [made clear to] me [John 21:18]. ¹⁵ I will ·try my best [make every effort; strive] so that you may be able [^Lalways] to remember these things even after ·I am gone [^Lmy departure; ^CPeter’s death].

We Saw Christ’s Glory

¹⁶ [^LFor] When we ·told [made known to] you about the ·powerful coming [or power and coming] of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not ·telling [following; repeating] ·just clever stories that someone invented [or cleverly-concocted myths]. But we ·saw the greatness of Jesus with our own eyes [^Lwere eyewitness of his majesty]. ¹⁷ [^LFor] ·Jesus heard the voice of God, the Greatest Glory [^LWhen that voice came to him from the Majestic Glory], when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice said, “This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him [^Ca reference to the Transfiguration; Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35].” ¹⁸ We heard that voice from heaven while we were with Jesus on the ·holy [sacred] mountain.

¹⁹ ·This makes us more sure about the message the prophets gave [or And we also have a reliable message from the prophets; ^LAnd we have the prophetic word confirmed; ^Cprobably referring to the Old Testament]. ·It is good for you [You do well] to follow closely what they said as you would follow a ·light [^Llamp] shining in a dark place, until the day ·begins [^Ldawns] and the morning star rises in your hearts [Num. 24:17; Rev. 22:16; ^Cthe planet Venus as seen before sunrise, here symbolizing Christ]. ²⁰ ·Most [First] of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures ·ever comes from the prophet’s own interpretation [or is a matter of one’s own interpretation]. ²¹ No prophecy ever came from ·what a person wanted to say [^Lhuman will/intention], but people ·led [carried; moved] by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God. [^CTrue prophecy originates with God, not with the prophet.]