Warning Against Worldliness

4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions¹ are at ^twar within you?² 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, ^ubecause you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask ^vwrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You ^wadulterous people!^{3 x}Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the ^yspirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ^z“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. ^aResist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 ^bDraw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you ^cdouble-minded. 9 ^dBe wretched and mourn and weep. ^eLet your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 ^fHumble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.⁴ The one who speaks against a brother or ^gjudges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one ^hlawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. ⁱBut who are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Come now, you who say, ^j“Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet ^kyou do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a ^lmist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, ^m“If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. ⁿAll such boasting is evil. 17 ^oSo whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Warning to the Rich

5 Come now, you ^prich, ^qweep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are ^rmoth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up ^streasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the ^twages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a ^uday of slaughter. 6 You have ^vcondemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

7 Be patient, therefore, brothers,¹ until the ^wcoming of the Lord. ^xSee how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the ^yearly and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, ^zfor the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, ^aso that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the ^bprophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those ^cblessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of ^dthe steadfastness of Job, and you have seen ^ethe purpose of the Lord, ^fhow the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

12 But above all, my brothers, ^gdo not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, ^hbut let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

The Prayer of Faith

13 ⁱIs anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? ^jLet him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, ^kanointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. ^lAnd if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. ^mThe prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.² 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and ⁿhe prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 ^oThen he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

19 My brothers, ^pif anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will ^qcover a multitude of sins.

1 Peter

Greeting

1 ^aPeter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of the ^bDispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the ^cforeknowledge of God the Father, in the ^dsanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for ^esprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Born Again to a Living Hope

3 ^fBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be ^gborn again to a living ^hhope ⁱthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an ^jinheritance that is ^kimperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ^lready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you ^mrejoice, though now ⁿfor a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the ^otested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the ^prevelation of Jesus Christ. 8 ^qThough you have not seen him, you love him. ^rThough you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours ^ssearched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time¹ the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he ^tpredicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent ^uglories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things ^vthat have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you ^wby the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, ^xthings into which angels long to look.

Called to Be Holy

13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action,² and being ^ysober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, ^zdo not be conformed to the ^apassions of your ^bformer ignorance, 15 but as he who ^ccalled you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, ^d“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges ^eimpartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your ^fexile, 18 knowing that you were ^gransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, ^hnot with perishable things such as ⁱsilver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a ^jlamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was ^kmade manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 ^lwho through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him ^mglory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a ⁿsincere brotherly love, ^olove one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of ^pimperishable, ^qthrough the ^rliving and abiding word of God; 24 for

And this word is ^tthe good news that was preached to you.

A Living Stone and a Holy People

2 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure ^uspiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have ^vtasted that the Lord is good.

4 As you come to him, a living stone ^wrejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being ^xbuilt up as a spiritual ^yhouse, to be a holy ^zpriesthood, to offer ^aspiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

8 and

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were ^fdestined to do.

9 But you are ^ga chosen race, ^ha royal priesthood, a holy nation, ⁱa people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^jout of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 ^kOnce you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11 Beloved, I urge you as ^lsojourners and ^mexiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, ⁿwhich wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and ^oglorify God on the day of visitation.

Submission to Authority

13 ^pBe subject for the Lord’s sake ^qto every human institution,² whether it be to the emperor³ as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, ^rthat by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but ^sliving as servants⁴ of God. 17 ^tHonor everyone. Love the ^ubrotherhood. ^vFear God. Honor the emperor.

18 ^wServants, ^xbe subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.⁵ 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while ^ysuffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, ^zwhen you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because ^aChrist also suffered for you, leaving you an ^bexample, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 ^cHe committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 ^dWhen he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but ^econtinued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 ^fHe himself bore our sins in his body on the ^gtree, that we might ^hdie to sin and ⁱlive to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were ^jstraying like sheep, but have now returned to the ^kShepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Wives and Husbands

3 Likewise, ^lwives, ^mbe subject to your own husbands, so that ⁿeven if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and ^opure conduct. 3 ^pDo not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the ^qhidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, ^rcalling him lord. And ^syou are ^ther children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

7 Likewise, ^uhusbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are ^vheirs with you¹ of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake

8 Finally, all of you, have ^wunity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a ^xtender heart, and a ^yhumble mind. 9 ^zDo not repay evil for evil or ^areviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that ^byou may obtain a blessing. 10 For

13 Now ^fwho is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be ^gblessed. ^hHave no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, ⁱalways being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, ^jso that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than ^kfor doing evil.

18 For ^lChrist also suffered² once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, ^mthat he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 ⁿin which³ he went and proclaimed⁴ to the spirits in prison, 20 because⁵ they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, ^owhile the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 ^pBaptism, which corresponds to this, ^qnow saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the ^rright hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.