Greeting

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of ^(A)the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ² according to ^(B)the foreknowledge of God the Father, ^(C)in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and ^(D)for sprinkling with his blood:

May ^(E)grace and ^(F)peace be multiplied to you.

Born Again to a Living Hope

^3 (G)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ^(H)According to his great mercy, ^(I)he has caused us to be born again to a living hope ^(J)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to ^(K)an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and ^(L)unfading, ^(M)kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God's power are being guarded ^(N)through faith for a salvation ^(O)ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by ^(P)various trials, ⁷ so that ^(Q)the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes ^(R)though it is tested by ^(S)fire—may be found to result in ^(T)praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ^8 (U)Though you have not seen him, you love him. ^(V)Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining ^(W)the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, ^(X)the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹ inquiring ^(Y)what person or time^{[a] (Z)}the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating ^(AA)when he predicted ^(AB)the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ^12 (AC)It was revealed to them that ^(AD)they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you ^(AE)by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, ^(AF)things into which angels long to look.

Called to Be Holy

¹³ Therefore, ^(AG)preparing your minds for action,^[b] and ^(AH)being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, ^(AI)do not be conformed to the passions ^(AJ)of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but ^(AK)as he who called you is holy, you also be holy ^(AL)in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, ^(AM)“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷ And if you ^(AN)call on him as Father who ^(AO)judges ^(AP)impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves ^(AQ)with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸ knowing that you ^(AR)were ransomed from ^(AS)the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but ^(AT)with the precious blood of Christ, like that of ^(AU)a lamb ^(AV)without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but ^(AW)was made manifest ^(AX)in the last times for the sake of you ^21 (AY)who through him are believers in God, ^(AZ)who raised him from the dead and ^(BA)gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for ^(BB)a sincere brotherly love, ^(BC)love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ^23 (BD)since you have been born again, ^(BE)not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through ^(BF)the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴ for

And this word ^(BI)is the good news that was preached to you.

The New Heaven and the New Earth

21 Then I saw ^(A)a new heaven and a new earth, for ^(B)the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw ^(C)the holy city, ^(D)new Jerusalem, ^(E)coming down out of heaven from God, ^(F)prepared ^(G)as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, ^(H)the dwelling place^[a] of God is with man. He will ^(I)dwell with them, and they will be his people,^[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.^{[c] 4 (J)}He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and ^(K)death shall be no more, ^(L)neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵ And ^(M)he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I ^(N)am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for ^(O)these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶ And he said to me, ^(P)“It is done! ^(Q)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. ^(R)To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. ^7 (S)The one who conquers will have this heritage, and ^(T)I will be his God and ^(U)he will be my son. ^8 (V)But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, ^(W)their portion will be in ^(X)the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is ^(Y)the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

⁹ Then came ^(Z)one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of ^(AA)the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you ^(AB)the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ And ^(AC)he carried me away in the Spirit to ^(AD)a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, ^11 (AE)having the glory of God, ^(AF)its radiance ^(AG)like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹² It had a great, high wall, ^(AH)with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— ¹³ on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. ¹⁴ And the wall of the city had twelve ^(AI)foundations, and ^(AJ)on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵ And the one who spoke with me ^(AK)had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. ¹⁶ The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.^[d] Its length and width and height are equal. ¹⁷ He also measured its wall, 144 cubits^[e] by ^(AL)human measurement, which is also ^(AM)an angel's measurement. ¹⁸ The wall was built of ^(AN)jasper, while the city was pure gold, like ^(AO)clear glass. ^19 (AP)The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and ^(AQ)the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

²² And ^(AR)I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³ And the city ^(AS)has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for ^(AT)the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴ By its light ^(AU)will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth ^(AV)will bring their glory into it, ²⁵ and ^(AW)its gates will never be shut by day—and ^(AX)there will be no night there. ²⁶ They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷ But ^(AY)nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's ^(AZ)book of life.