1 Peter – Legacy Edition — 2001 Translation of the Bible

Written from the area of Babylon for Peter (the Apostle to the Jews) by the noteworthy Christian Scribe Silvanus, probably in Aramaic, sometime before 66-CE.

Chapter 1

¹ Peter, an Apostle of Jesus the Anointed One, to the elected ones among the scattered (Jews) that are living in Pontus, Galatia, CappaDokia, Asia Minor, and Bithynia, ² who by the foreknowledge of The God and Father and by the holiness of [His] Breath are obedient and sprinkled with the blood of Jesus the Anointed One;
May loving care and peace be multiplied among you.

³ Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, who according to His great mercy fathered within us the hope of life by resurrecting Jesus the Anointed One from the dead, ⁴ so that an undying, incorruptible, and enduring inheritance will be reserved for you in the heavens.
⁵ Yes, you who are being guarded by faith through the power of God for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in this final season, ⁶ and in which you are rejoicing.

So although you are currently being grieved by various trials, ⁷ understand that these things are happening to you to prove your faith, which is something that is much more valuable than gold that is refined and proven by fire, and so that you will be found to be a reason for praise, honor, and glory at the revealing of Jesus the Anointed One.
⁸ For though you’ve never seen him, you’ve loved him; and though you can’t see him, you’ve believed in him and are rejoicing with an unspeakable and glorified joy.
⁹ For it’s by this that you are carrying off for yourselves the reward of the hope that is bringing salvation to your lives!

¹⁰ And when it comes to this salvation; understand that the Prophets (those who prophesied that this loving-kindness would be shown to you) used to seek and search, ¹¹ trying (through the spirit of the anointing that was in them) to determine the exact time and circumstances of the sufferings of the Anointed One and of his being glorified…
Yes, they knew about this even back then!
¹² However, it wasn’t revealed to them as it has been to you, for they were just servants of the things that have now been revealed to you by those that proclaimed the good news to you through the Holy Breath that was sent from heaven.
Yes [at that time], even the messengers [of God] wanted to see these things!

¹³ As the result, prepare your minds to understand, and become perfectly sober when it comes to your hope of the loving kindness that will be manifested in you at the revelation of Jesus the Anointed One.
¹⁴ And as obedient children, don’t go back to being what you used to be by desiring ignorant things.
¹⁵ Rather, like the Holy One that called you, become holy in all of your ways.
¹⁶ For it is written:
‘You must be holy, because I am holy!’

¹⁷ So if you are calling this One your Father (someone that doesn’t discriminate but judges each person by the things that they do), you should be living your lives in fear!
¹⁸ For you must recognize that the ransom, which was paid to release you from the worthless way of life that you learned from your fathers, wasn’t paid for with things that waste away like silver or gold.
¹⁹ Rather, it was paid for with the precious blood of a spotless and perfect lamb, the Anointed One.
²⁰ And though he was known before the founding of the cosmos, he has finally been revealed for your sakes during this period, ²¹ so that through him you could come to believe in The God that raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so that you could put all your faith and hope in that God.

²² Then, after you have purified your lives by [learning how to] obey the truth, you must also learn to love each other intensely…
Yes, develop a sincere brotherly love for each other out of a pure heart!
²³ For you weren’t born again as seeds that are planted [in the ground] and will perish, but as something that through the enduring Word of the living God is now imperishable.
²⁴ [As it is written]:
‘All flesh is like grass
And its glory is like the flowers in a field.
But though grass dries up and its flowers will drop,
²⁵ God’s Word lasts through the ages.’

Yes, these are the words that we have preached to you as good news.

Chapter 2

¹ As the result, you must now get rid of all your badness, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slandering.
² Then like newborn babies, develop a taste for the pure milk of the Word, which will help you to grow to salvation…
³ That is, if you have indeed tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴ Yes, you must approach him as though he’s a living block of stone that was for a fact rejected by men, but has been chosen as something precious by God.
⁵ Because, it’s upon him that you are being built as living blocks into a Spiritual [Temple] and as a Holy Priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus the Anointed One.
⁶ For the Scripture says:
‘{Look!} I am laying in Zion a select and precious cornerstone, and all that put faith in it will never be shamed.’

⁷ Therefore, you have put faith in this precious thing in which others don’t believe…
The block that the builders rejected but which has become the head of the corner…
⁸ The stumbling block and snare to those that stumble over the words because of the disobedient ways to which they’ve been appointed.

⁹ And now you’ve become a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people that were specially selected to announce the virtues of the One that called you out of darkness and into His wonderful light.
¹⁰ So, though you haven’t always been a nation (gr. laos or people), you’re now a nation of God.
And though you once knew no mercy, you’re the ones that are now being shown mercy.

¹¹ My loved ones;
I want to encourage you that are [living as] foreigners and exiles not to indulge in the things that your bodies might crave and which fight a battle against the person that you are on the inside.
¹² Yes, while you’re [living] among the gentiles, behave yourselves, so that when they condemn you and say bad things about you, they can see the good things that you’re doing and then glorify The God in the Day that He arrives for His inspection.

¹³ Also, you must obey every office that men have created through the Lord, regardless of whether the one that is over you is a king, ¹⁴ or [just] a governor that has been sent [by the king] to punish criminals and to praise those that are doing good things.
¹⁵ Because, it’s God’s Will for you to do good things, so that you can put a muzzle on the ignorant accusations of unreasonable men.

¹⁶ And though you’re a free people;
As slaves of God, don’t use your freedom as a cover-up for doing bad things!
¹⁷ Rather, be respectful to everyone, love your brothers, fear God, and show special respect for the king.

¹⁸ Those of you that are household servants should obey and fear your masters… and not just those that are good and reasonable, but also those that are hard to please.
¹⁹ For if a person with a Godly conscience has to put up with the grief of having to suffer for something he didn’t do, it shows a lot of inner strength.

²⁰ So if you are being slapped for something that you didn’t do wrong and you [choose to] put up with suffering when you’ve only done good things, this shows your inner strength to God.

²¹ And for a fact, this is the [course] to which you were called.
Because, the Anointed One suffered on your behalf as an example, so that you would follow in his tracks.
²² For though he wasn’t guilty of any sin and his mouth didn’t speak any lies; ²³ when they shouted bad things at him, he didn’t shout back, and when he was suffering, he didn’t threaten anyone.
He just left himself [in the hands of] the One that judges righteously.

²⁴ Then he bore our sins on his body when he was hung on the tree… and that’s when the sins died so that we could thereafter be counted as righteous.
For,
‘By his wounds, you were healed.’

²⁵ And though you were once sheep that had strayed, you have now returned to the shepherd that is watching over your lives.

Chapter 3

¹ Also, you women should obey your [husbands], so that those that aren’t obeying the Word can be won over without words through your fine conduct ² when they see the fear that you’re showing by being pure.

³ Don’t let your beauty come from fancy hairstyles, gold jewelry, or the way you arrange your clothes, ⁴ but from what is hidden in your hearts…
Let it be the type of clean, quiet, and mild personality that is valuable in the eyes of God.

⁵ Indeed, this is how holy women in the past who put their hope in God have been beautifying themselves… by obeying their [husbands].
⁶ So, just as Sarah used to obey AbraHam, calling him ‘Lord;’ you should become her children in doing good things, so you’ll have nothing to fear.

⁷ And you men should be wise when it comes to living with [your wives]…
Treat them as you would a delicate vase, and show them the type of honor that should be shown to women that are fellow heirs of the gift of life, so it doesn’t affect your prayers.

⁸ And finally, you should all share the same attitude when it comes to being sympathetic, loving your brothers, caring for each other, being humble, ⁹ and by not trying to get even or by trading insults.
Rather, you should bestow blessings, since you were called to the Way so as to inherit blessings.

¹⁰ Yes, may those of you that love life and want to see good days keep your tongues from saying bad things and your lips from telling lies…
¹¹ Turn away from what’s bad and do what’s good, as you search for and chase after peace!
¹² [For it’s written]:
‘Jehovah watches out for the righteous,
And He listens when they are crying to Him…
But He opposes those that are doing what’s bad.’

¹³ Therefore, who will treat you badly if you’re zealously doing what’s righteous?
¹⁴ And even if you should have to suffer for doing something righteous, you’ll be blest!

So, don’t be afraid or even be bothered by such things!
¹⁵ Rather, make the Anointed One the Holy Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to make a defense before anyone that demands to know why you have this hope.
However, do it calmly and with [Godly] fear.

¹⁶ Yes, keep a clean conscience so that anyone that may accuse you and speak out against you will be shamed by your fine conduct.

¹⁷ And remember that it’s better for you to suffer for doing something good (if that’s God’s will) than for doing something that’s bad.

¹⁸ For even the Anointed One died (once and for all time) over sins as someone who is righteous on behalf of those who are unrighteous, so as to lead you to God.
And then, though his flesh was in fact destroyed, he was brought to life as a spirit.

¹⁹ Thereafter, he preached to the spirits that had been imprisoned ²⁰ because of their disobedience during the time that God was patiently waiting for Noah to build the chest in which a few people (just eight souls) were saved through the water.

²¹ And this is the same type of thing that’s saving you now…
[I’m talking about] baptism, the purpose of which isn’t to get rid of the filth of the flesh, but to ask God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus the Anointed One, ²² who is currently at God’s right hand in the heavens, where all of [God’s] messengers and all the authorities and powers must now obey him.

Chapter 4

¹ So, since the Anointed One had to suffer in the flesh, you had best start thinking about fighting that same battle.
For someone that has suffered in the flesh has stopped sinning ² and doesn’t live for human desires anymore, but to do the will of The God for the rest of his life in the flesh.

³ For a fact;
Enough time has elapsed for you to have resolved the types of things that the gentiles desire, as they go their own immoral ways, following their desires, drinking too much wine, partying, getting drunk, and worshiping disgusting idols.
⁴ Then, because you don’t go along with them and follow them into the same deadly course down into the sewer, they slander you.

⁵ However, they will have to answer to the One that is ready to judge both the living and the dead.
⁶ Indeed, this is why we are preaching the good news to those who are the dead… so that, though they may be judged in the flesh, they can now start living to God in the spirit!

⁷ Therefore, since the end of everything has drawn closer, you should become more sensible and sober-minded when it comes to prayer.

⁸ And more than anything else, you should be reaching out to each other in love, because love covers a multitude of sins.

⁹ Yes, be hospitable to each other without grumbling;
¹⁰ And as each of you has received a gift, use [that gift] to serve each other as good managers of the abundant loving kindnesses of God, ¹¹ so that whenever anyone speaks the Word of God, or whenever anyone serves through the strength that is supplied by The God, He may be glorified by it all through Jesus the Anointed One…
May He have glory and power through ages of ages…
May it be so.

¹² Loved ones;
You shouldn’t think it strange that there’s a fire blazing among you and testing you, as though what’s happening to you is something that’s very unusual.
¹³ Rather, as you [find yourselves] sharing in the sufferings of the Anointed One, rejoice!
Because, when his glory is revealed, you will once again be happy and cry out in joy!
¹⁴ For if you’re being slandered over the name of the Anointed One, you are truly blest, because [this proves that] God’s glory and Breath has come to rest upon you.

¹⁵ So, although none of you should ever have to suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or for not minding your own business.
¹⁶ But if you’re suffering because of being a Christian, you should never be ashamed of it!
Rather, you should keep on glorifying God in that name.

¹⁷ For the time of judgment has arrived…
And it’s starting with the House of God.
So if it’s starting with us first; how will those that don’t obey the good news of God end up?
¹⁸ For if the righteous are just barely being saved; where will those that are godless and the sinners make a showing?

¹⁹ Therefore, let those who are (by God’s will) suffering, gladly entrust their lives to the faithful Creator by doing whatever is good.

Chapter 5

¹ I encourage the elders among you (my fellow elders and witnesses of the sufferings of the Anointed One who will share in the glory that’s soon to be revealed) ² to shepherd the flock of God that has been entrusted to you.

Don’t do this because you have to, but because you want to!
No, don’t do it to make a lot of money, but because you want to help!
³ And don’t [set yourselves up as] rulers over those that have been entrusted to your care; rather, become examples to the flock.
⁴ Then when the Chief Shepherd is revealed, you’ll walk away with the enduring garland of glory!

⁵ And the same [is true] for you younger men;
Obey the elders!
All of you should be humble before each other.
In fact, tie humility around yourselves with knots!
For God opposes those that think too much of themselves, while He’s kind to those that are humble.

⁶ Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God so that He can eventually raise you to a higher position.
⁷ Yes, throw all your worries upon Him, because He really cares about you!

⁸ Also, be serious and stay alert, because your accuser the Slanderer is roaming about like a roaring lion that is looking for someone to swallow down.
⁹ Oppose him by taking a solid stand for the faith, and realize that the things you’re suffering in this system of things are also happening throughout the entire brotherhood…
¹⁰ And that the God of all loving kindness will call you to age-long glory in the Anointed Jesus.

For after you have suffered a little while, on His behalf, He will prepare you, establish you, strengthen you, and firmly set your foundation!
¹¹ Yes, to Him be the power through the ages… may it be so!

¹² I’m sending what I consider these few words that I wrote through Silvanus (a faithful brother) to encourage you and to testify to the fact that you are standing in the true loving-care of The God.

¹³ I send you greetings from the woman that was chosen along with you, and from Mark (my son), from Babylon.
¹⁴ Greet each other with a kiss of love!

Peace to all of you in the Anointed One.

Books

The Ancient Scriptures of Israel

The Christian Era Scriptures

Note that this is the legacy version of the translation last updated in December 2020. You can also see the latest version.

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