Book of Common Prayer

1 I am Peter. I am an apostle of Jesus Christ. I send this letter to God's chosen people. You are like people on a journey. You live in the countries of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. But you do not belong there.

² God the Father chose you as he planned to do long ago. You were made holy by the Spirit. You were chosen to obey Jesus Christ and to be made clean by the blood of his death. May you have much blessing and peace.

³ Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He was very kind to us, and made us his children. So we have a new hope. This hope is a living hope because Jesus Christ was raised from death.

⁴ Because we are God's children, one day we shall receive special blessings. They cannot be spoiled in any way, and they will last for ever. They are kept safe in heaven for you.

⁵ You are saved by God's power because you believe. You will then be fully saved. The way is ready and you will see it when the end of time comes.

⁶ This makes you very glad, even though now maybe you are sad because you have troubles of many kinds. They are only for a short time.

⁷ To believe is worth more than to have gold. Gold can spoil, but it is tested by fire to show that it is good. So troubles test you to prove that you believe. Then, because you really believe, you will be praised and made great and have honour when Jesus Christ comes again.

⁸ You love him even though you have not seen him. You trust him even though you do not see him. And so you are very happy. No words can tell how happy you are. Your joy is very great.

⁹ God will reward you because you have believed. You will then be fully saved.

¹⁰ The prophets of God long ago told about this way of being saved. They tried to find out about it and asked much about it. They spoke words from God telling about the blessing God would give you.

¹¹ The Spirit of Christ in them showed them that Christ would have troubles and after that he would be great. They tried to find out when these things would happen or how things would be when they did happen.

¹² The Spirit showed them that they told these things not for themselves, but for you. And now the men who told you the good news have told you these same things. They spoke by the power of the Holy Spirit who was sent from heaven. Even the angels wanted very much to know about these things.

19 When Jesus had finished this talk, he left Galilee. He went away to the part of Judea that is on the other side of the Jordan River.

² Many people followed him. He healed them there.

³ The Pharisees came to Jesus to test him. They asked, `Is it right for a man to send his wife away from him for any reason?'

⁴ Jesus answered, `Have you not read this? From the time God first made people, he made them a man and a woman.

⁵ God said, "A man must leave his father and mother and must stay with his wife. The two of them will be like one person."

⁶ So they are not two people any more, but they are one person. Man must not separate what God has joined together.'

⁷ They said to Jesus, `Then why did Moses make this law? He said that a man may give his wife a paper to show that he does not want her any more. Then he may send her away.'

⁸ Jesus said to them, `Moses wrote that law because your hearts are so hard. That is why he let you send your wives away. But in the beginning it was not that way.

⁹ But I tell you this. No man may send his wife away unless she has committed adultery. If he does, and if he marries another woman, he commits adultery. And if a man marries a woman who has been sent away by her husband, he commits adultery.'

¹⁰ The disciples said to him, `If a man and woman are like that, then it is better not to marry.'

¹¹ Jesus said, `Not everyone can agree to that. But God has chosen some not to be married.

¹² Some men cannot marry because they were born that way. Some were made that way by men. Others said, "I will not marry, for the sake of the kingdom of heaven." `Anyone who can do this, should do it.'