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Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

A reading plan that walks through the entire New Testament in 24 weeks of daily readings.

Duration: 168 days

1 Peter 3:8-5:14

Mutual Love.^[a] ⁸Finally, all of you should be united in spirit, sympathetic, filled with love for one another, compassionate, and humble. ⁹Do not repay evil with evil or abuse with abuse. On the contrary, repay with a blessing. This is what you were called to do, so that you might inherit a blessing. ¹⁰For:

“If anyone wishes to love life
    and to experience good days,
he must restrain his tongue from evil
    and his lips from deceitful speech.
¹¹He must turn away from evil and do good,
    seek peace and pursue it.
¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer.
However, the face of the Lord
    is set against those who do evil.”

Christian Conduct in Suffering and Persecution

¹³The Blessings of Suffering for Righteousness.^[b] Now who is going to harm you if you are eager to do what is right? ¹⁴Yet even if you should suffer for doing what is right, you are thereby blessed. Have no fear of others, and refuse to be intimidated by them. ¹⁵Rather, revere Christ as Lord in your hearts.

Always be prepared to offer an explanation to anyone who asks you to justify the hope that is in you. However, do so with gentleness and respect ¹⁶and with a clean conscience so that those who slander you for your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing what is right, if such is the will of God, than for doing what is wrong.

¹⁸Christ’s Victory and Descent to the Netherworld, and Christian Baptism.^[c] For Christ also suffered for our sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but raised to life in the spirit.

¹⁹In the spirit^[d] also he went to preach to the spirits in prison, ²⁰those who had refused to obey long ago while God waited patiently in the days of Noah during the building of the ark. In it only a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water.

²¹This water prefigured Baptism, which now saves you. It does so not by the washing away of dirt from the body but by the pledge of a good conscience given to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. ²²He has entered heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Chapter 4

¹Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, you should arm yourselves also with the same intention. For anyone who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin ²and for the remainder of life on earth must be ruled not by human passions but by the will of God.

³You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, pursuing a life of debauchery, licentiousness, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and sacrilegious idolatry. ⁴They are surprised that you no longer join them in a life of dissipation, and they revile you as a result. ⁵However, they will have to render an account to him who stands ready to judge^[e] the living and the dead.

⁶And this is the reason why the gospel was preached even to the dead, so that, although they might be judged in the flesh like men, they might enjoy the life of God in the spirit.

Qualities of a Christian Community Waiting for Christ.^[f] ⁷The end of all things is near. Therefore, lead disciplined lives and be watchful in prayer. ⁸Above all, maintain the fervor of your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

⁹Be hospitable to one another without complaining. ¹⁰Like good stewards of the varied graces of God, use whatever gift each one of you has received to serve one another.

¹¹Whoever speaks should do so as one who is speaking the very words of God. Whoever serves should do so with the strength that God provides. In all things, let God be glorified through Jesus Christ, for to him belong all glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

¹²Courage and Joy in Suffering.^[g] Beloved, do not be surprised that you are being tested by a fiery ordeal,^[h] as though it were something extraordinary. ¹³But rejoice insofar as you are sharing in the sufferings of Christ, so that your joy will be without limit when his glory is revealed.

¹⁴If you are reviled for the name of Christ, consider yourself blessed, for upon you rests the Spirit of glory^[i] and of God. ¹⁵^[j]However, let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, or any other kind of criminal, or as one who meddles in another person’s business. ¹⁶Let it be because you are a Christian,^[k] not considering it a disgrace, but glorifying God because you bear this name.

¹⁷The time has come for the judgment of the household of God to begin. If it begins with us, how will it end for those who refuse to obey the gospel of God?

¹⁸And:

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the godless and those who are sinners?”

¹⁹And so, those who suffer in accordance with God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.

Chapter 5

Faithful and Humble Leadership.^[l] ¹I now exhort the presbyters^[m] among you, as a fellow presbyter myself and a witness to the sufferings of Christ, and as one who has shared in the glory that is to be revealed. ²Be shepherds of the flock of God that has been entrusted to your care. Watch over it, not as a duty, but willingly in accord with the will of God, not for sordid gain, but because you are eager to do so.

³Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. ⁴Then, when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.

Humility and Firm Faith.^[n] ⁵In the same way, you who are younger must be submissive to those who are older. And all of you should clothe yourselves with humility in your relationships with one another, for

“God opposes the proud,
but he gives grace to the humble.”

⁶Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you. ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares about you.

⁸Remain sober and alert, for your enemy the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹Resist him and be firm in your faith, for you are well aware that your brethren throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

¹⁰Promise of Strength and Vindication. After you have suffered for a brief period, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and support you. ¹¹All power belongs to him forever and ever. Amen.

Conclusion

¹²Final Greetings.^[o] I have written this brief letter to you through Silvanus, whom I regard as a faithful brother, in order to exhort you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.

¹³Your sister Church^[p] in Babylon sends you greetings, as does my son Mark. ¹⁴Greet one another with a loving kiss.^[q]

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Footnotes

1 Peter 3:8 Mutual love of Christians is expressed in a new type of social relations and inner attitudes that lead up to evangelical behavior (see Lk 6:28; Rom 12:9-20).
1 Peter 3:13 Persecution must not come as a surprise to believers; it is their lot according to one of the Beatitudes of the Gospel (see Mt 5:10), almost repeated here word for word. Thus, Christians follow the example of Christ, ready to justify their hope but refusing to retaliate with hatred and violence. They are not enemies of society or other people, a crime that has apparently already been leveled at them.
1 Peter 3:18 The author presents the vision of a new world. Christ’s Death and Resurrection have been victorious over sin; the risen Lord dominates the universe and all the good or evil forces in it, e.g., angels, dominations, and powers. Christ truly died and was in the sojourn of the dead, as the New Testament more than once attests (see Mt 12:40; Acts 2:31; Rom 10:7; Eph 4:8-10).
The intent of this passage is probably to say that nothing human or cosmic can be excluded from the Redemption that Christ effected. It is in this sense that we are to understand the article of the Creed that speaks of Christ “descending into hell.” The story of Noah (see Gen 6:1—7:4) is interpreted as a saving of the righteous and a destruction of sin; it seems to be taken as a symbolic anticipation of Baptism, which at the time was received by immersion.
1 Peter 3:19 In the spirit. . . . In the spirit: another translation possible is: “by the Spirit . . . through which.”
1 Peter 4:5 Him who stands ready to judge: the New Testament assigns judgment to both the Father and the Son on the last day (see Jn 5:27; Acts 17:31). The living and the dead: i.e., those who are alive as well as those who have died when the last day arrives.
1 Peter 4:7 Living in expectation of the Lord’s Second Coming, Christian communities are characterized by a serious atmosphere, by relationships of responsibility and fraternity, and by concern for prayer and the Liturgy.
1 Peter 4:12 Hostility seems to be unleashed against the communities. We will always be astounded by the conviction of the first Christian generations in the face of persecution. They do not regard it as a strange fate but as something that indicates the arrival of a new age, that of the last times of history. It announces a change in the course of the things of the world. The destiny of Christ is not only an example to consider but a mystery to share in these conditions. However, the persecution in question must be a real one against the faith and not a reaction against the abuses committed by Christians themselves. Concerning the necessity of persecution and the meaning of the announcement of a change, see Mt 5:11-12; Lk 6:22-23; 21:12-19.
1 Peter 4:12 Fiery ordeal: literally, “fire for testing.” Suffering is a source of purification.
1 Peter 4:14 Spirit of glory: because the Spirit bestows glory after trials.
1 Peter 4:15 There is suffering that believers bring down upon themselves by their own sins and weaknesses and suffering that God allows to afflict them. In both instances, they should entrust themselves to God and offer their sufferings to him.
1 Peter 4:16 Christian: this word occurs only here and in Acts 11:26; 26:28 in the New Testament.
1 Peter 5:1 The presbyters (or elders) exercise responsibilities in the life of communities (see 1 Tim 5:17; Tit 1:5-9). However, authority always experiences the temptation to exercise power for its own profit. This should not be the case in a Christian group. We might recall the word of Jesus: “I am in your midst as one who serves” (Lk 22:27). On this subject, we could also read Paul’s reflection to the elders of the region of Ephesus (see Acts 20:28-35).
1 Peter 5:1 Presbyters: the official teachers of the Christian community (see 1 Tim 5:17f; Tit 1:5-8; Jas 5:14). Witness to the sufferings of Christ: Peter had been a witness of all the phases and aspects of Christ’s ministry, including his suffering (see Mt 26:58; Mk 14:54; Lk 22:60-62; Jn 18:10-11, 15-16).
1 Peter 5:5 Nothing is more opposed to the Gospel than pretense and pride; hence this Letter insists on attitudes of submissiveness. It also recommends that Christians remain steadfast in the spiritual combat—which is more difficult to do in this context of threats—in order to achieve true victory. It is from God himself that believers await the courage. You who are younger: these may simply be the faithful distinguished from their leaders.
1 Peter 5:12 The Letter is doubtless written at Rome, the “Babylon” of the age (see Introduction). Silvanus: one of Paul’s coworkers (see 1 Thes 1:1; 2 Thes 1:1; 2 Cor 1:19) also known by the name of “Silas” (see Acts 15:22; 17:4).
1 Peter 5:13 Your sister Church: literally, “Your chosen sister.” Mark: an occasional companion of Paul (see Acts 12:25; 2 Tim 4:11) and probably the author of the second Gospel.
1 Peter 5:14 Kiss: on the liturgical kiss, see 1 Cor 16:20. Peace to all of you who are in Christ: in concluding, the author stresses a basic theme of the Letter—the union of believers with Christ.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)