Murdock - I Peter

Chapter 1

1:1  PETER, a legate of Jesus the Messiah, to the elect and sojourners, who are dispersed in Pontus and in Galatia, and in Cappadocia, and in Asia, and in Bithynia,

1:2  to them who have been chosen, by the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto the obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus the Messiah: May grace and peace abound towards you.

1:3  Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, who in his great mercy hath begotten us anew, by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, to the hope of life,

1:4  and to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading, which is prepared for you in heaven;

1:5  while ye are kept, by the power of God and by faith, for the life that is prepared and will be revealed in the last times;

1:6  wherein ye will rejoice for ever, notwithstanding ye at the present time are pressed a little, by the various trials that pass over you;

1:7  so that the proof of your faith may appear more precious than refined gold that is tested by fire, unto glory and honor and praise, at the manifestation of Jesus the Messiah:

1:8  whom having not seen, ye love; and in the faith of whom ye rejoice, with joy that is glorious and ineffable,

1:9  that ye may receive the recompense of your faith, the life of your souls;

1:10  that life namely, about which the prophets inquired, when they were prophesying of the grace which was to be given to you.

1:11  And they searched for the time which the Spirit of the Messiah dwelling in them did show and testify, when the sufferings of the Messiah were to occur, and his subsequent glory.

1:12  And it was revealed to them, in regard to all they were searching, that, not for themselves were they inquiring, but for us they were prophesying of those things, which are now manifested to you by means of the things we have announced to you, by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven; which things the angels also desire to look into.

1:13  Wherefore, gird up the loins of your minds. and be awake perfectly, and wait for the joy, which will come to you at the revelation of our Lord Jesus the Messiah,

1:14  as obedient children: and be ye not conversant again with those former lusts, with which ye lusted when without knowledge.

1:15  But be ye holy in all your conduct, as he is holy who hath called you.

1:16  Because it is written: Be ye holy, even as I am holy.

1:17  And if so be ye call on the Father, with whom is no respect of persons, and who judgeth every one according to his deeds, pass the time of your sojournment with fear;

1:18  since ye know, that neither with perishable silver, nor with gold, ye were redeemed from your vain doings, which ye had by tradition from your fathers;

1:19  but with the precious blood of that Lamb in which is no spot nor blemish, namely, the Messiah:

1:20  who was predestined to this, before the foundation of the world; and was manifested at the termination of the times, for your sakes;

1:21  who, by means of him, have believed in God, who raised him from the dead and conferred glory on him; that your faith and hope might be in God,

1:22  while your minds became sanctified, by obedience to the truth; and ye be full of love, without respect of persons, so that ye love one another out of a pure and perfect heart;

1:23  like persons born again, not of seed that perisheth, but of that which doth not perish, by the living word of God, who abideth for ever.

1:24  Because all flesh is as grass, and all its beauty like the flower of the field. The grass drieth up, and the flower withereth away;

1:25  but the word of our God abideth for ever: and this is the word that is announced to you.

Chapter 2

2:1  Therefore, cease ye from all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisy, and envy, and backbiting.

2:2  And be like infant children; and crave the word, as being the pure spiritual milk by which ye are nourished up to life;

2:3  if ye have tasted and seen that the Lord is good:

2:4  to whom ye have come, because he is a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but with God elect and precious.

2:5  And ye also, as living stones, are builded and become spiritual temples, and holy priests, for the offering of spiritual sacrifices, acceptable before God, through Jesus the Messiah.

2:6  For it is said in the scripture, Behold, in Zion I lay a chosen and precious stone, for the head of the corner; and whoever believeth in him, will not be ashamed.

2:7  On you therefore who believe, is this honor conferred: but to them who believe not,

2:8  he is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence. And they stumble at it, because they believe not the word: whereto they were appointed.

2:9  But ye are an elect race, officiating as priests of the kingdom; a holy people, a redeemed congregation; that ye should proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness to his precious light:

2:10  who formerly were not accounted a people, but now are the people of God; and also, there were once no mercies on you, but now mercies are poured out upon you.

2:11  My beloved, I entreat you as strangers and pilgrims, separate yourselves from all lusts of the body; for they war against the soul.

2:12  And let your behavior be decorous before all men; so that they who utter evil speeches against you, may see your good actions, and may praise God in the day of trial.

2:13  And be ye submissive to all the sons of men, for God's sake; to kings, on account of their authority;

2:14  and to judges, because they are sent by him for the punishment of offenders, and for the praise of them that do well.

2:15  For so is the pleasure of God, that by your good deeds ye may stop the mouth of the foolish, who know not God:

2:16  as free men, yet not like men who make their freedom a cloak for their wickedness, but as the servants of God.

2:17  Honor all men; love your brethren; fear God; and honor kings.

2:18  And those among you who are servants, be subject to your masters, with reverence; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh and morose.

2:19  For there is favor before God for them who, for the sake of a good conscience, endure sorrows that come upon them wrongfully.

2:20  But they who endure afflictions on account of their offences, what praise have they? But if, when ye do well, they vex you, and ye endure it; then great is your praise with God.

2:21  For unto this were ye called; because the Messiah also died for us, and left us this pattern, that ye should walk in his steps.

2:22  He did no sin; neither was guile found in his mouth.

2:23  When he was reviled, be reviled not; and he suffered and threatened not, but committed his cause to the Judge of righteousness.

2:24  And he took away all our sins, and, in his body, lifted them to the cross; that we, when dead to sin, might live by his righteousness: for by his wounds, ye are healed.

2:25  For ye, once went astray, like sheep; but ye have now returned to the Shepherd and Curator of your souls.

Chapter 3

3:1  So also ye wives, be ye subject to your husbands; that, by your pleasing behavior, ye may gain over, without difficulty, those who obey not the word,

3:2  when they see, that ye conduct yourselves with reverence and chastity.

3:3  And adorn not yourselves with the external ornaments of curls of the hair, or of golden trinkets, or of costly garments.

3:4  But adorn yourselves in the hidden person of the heart, with a mild and uncorrupted spirit, an ornament that is precious before God.

3:5  For so also the holy women of old, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, and were subject to their husbands:

3:6  just as Sarah was subject to Abraham, and called him, My lord: whose daughters ye are, by good works, while ye are not terrified by any fear.

3:7  And ye husbands, likewise, dwell with your wives according to knowledge, and hold them in honor, as the feebler vessels; because they also will inherit with you the gift of eternal life: and let not your prayers be hindered.

3:8  The summing up, is, that ye all be in harmony, that ye be sympathetic with them who suffer, and affectionate one to another, and be merciful and kind.

3:9  And that ye recompense to no one evil for evil, neither railing for railing; but, in contrariety to these, that ye bless: for to this were ye called, that ye might inherit a blessing.

3:10  Therefore, whoever chooseth life, and desireth to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile;

3:11  let him turn away from evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and follow after it.

3:12  Because the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears ready to hear them: but the face of the Lord is against the wicked.

3:13  And who will do you harm, if ye are zealous of good works?

3:14  But if it should occur, that ye suffer on account of righteousness, happy are ye. And be not terrified, by those who would terrify you, nor be agitated:

3:15  but sanctify the Lord the Messiah, in your hearts. And be ye ready for a vindication, before every one who demandeth of you an account of the hope of your faith,

3:16  in meekness and respect, as having a good conscience; so that they who speak against you as bad men, may be ashamed, for having calumniated your good conduct in the Messiah.

3:17  For it is profitable to you, that ye suffer evil while ye do good deeds, if this should be the pleasure of God; and not, while ye do evil deeds.

3:18  For the Messiah also once died for our sins, the righteous for sinners; that he might bring you to God. And he died in body, but lived in spirit.

3:19  And he preached to those souls, which were detained in Hades,

3:20  which were formerly disobedient, in the days of Noah, when the long suffering of God commanded an ark to be made, in hope of their repentance; and eight souls only entered into it, and were kept alive in the waters.

3:21  And ye also, by a like figure, are made alive by baptism, (not when ye wash your bodies from filth, but when ye confess God with a pure conscience,) and by the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah;

3:22  who is taken up to heaven, and is on the right hand of God, and angels, and authorities, and powers, are subject to him.

Chapter 4

4:1  If then the Messiah hath suffered for you in the flesh, do ye also arm yourselves with the same mind: for every one that is dead in his body, hath ceased from all sins,

4:2  that he may no longer be alive to the lusts of men, while he is in the body, but only to do the pleasure of God.

4:3  For the time that is past was enough, when ye wrought the pleasure of the profane, in dissoluteness, and in ebriety, and in lasciviousness, and in revelling, and in the worship of demons.

4:4  And lo, they now wonder, and reproach you, because ye revel not with them in the same former dissoluteness;

4:5  who must give account to God, who is to judge the living and the dead.

4:6  For on this account the announcement is made also to the dead, that they may be judged as persons in the flesh, and may live according to God in the spirit.

4:7  But the end of all things approacheth: therefore be sober, and be wakeful for prayer.

4:8  And above all things, have fervent love one towards another; for love covereth a multitude of sins.

4:9  And be ye compassionate to strangers, without murmuring.

4:10  And let each of you minister to his associates the gift which he hath received from God; as being good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

4:11  Whoever will speak, let him speak as the word of God: and whoever will minister, as of the ability that God hath given him: so that in all ye do, God may be glorified, through Jesus the Messiah; to whom belongeth glory, and honor, for ever and ever. Amen.

4:12  My beloved, be not dismayed at the trials that befall you, as if some strange thing had come upon you; for these things are for your probation.

4:13  But rejoice, that ye participate in the sufferings of the Messiah, that so ye may also rejoice and exult at the revelation of his glory.

4:14  And if ye are reproached on account of the name of the Messiah, happy are ye: for the glorious Spirit of God resteth upon you.

4:15  Only let none of you suffer, as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil-doer.

4:16  But if he suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on account of this name.

4:17  For it is the time when judgment will commence with the house of God: and if it commence with us, what will be the end of those who obey not the gospel of God?

4:18  And if the righteous scarcely liveth, where will the ungodly and the sinner be found!

4:19  Wherefore, let them who suffer according to the pleasure of God, commend their souls to him in well doing, as to a faithful Creator.

Chapter 5

5:1  And I, an Elder, your associate, and a witness of the sufferings of the Messiah, and a participator in his glory which is to be revealed, entreat the Elders who are among you:

5:2  Feed ye the flock of God which is committed to you: have care for it, spiritually; not from compulsion, but voluntarily; not for base gain, but with all your heart;

5:3  not as lords of the flock, but so as to be a good example for them:

5:4  that when the chief shepherd shall be revealed, ye may receive from him a crown of glory that fadeth not.

5:5  And ye juniors submit yourselves to your seniors; and clothe yourselves, stringently, with lowliness of mind one towards another; because God resisteth them who exalt themselves, and giveth grace to the humble.

5:6  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the powerful hand of God: and it will exalt you in due time.

5:7  And cast all your solicitude upon God; for he careth for you.

5:8  Be sober and guarded, because Satan your adversary, like a lion, roareth, and goeth about, and seeketh whom he may devour.

5:9  Therefore resist him, being steadfast in the faith: and know ye, that the same sufferings befall your brethren that are in the world.

5:10  Now it is the God of grace, who hath called us to his eternal glory by Jesus the Messiah, that hath given us, while we sustain these light afflictions, to be strengthened, and confirmed, and established by him for ever:

5:11  to whom be glory, and power, and honor, for ever and ever. Amen.

5:12  These as I account them few things, I have written to you by Sylvanus, a faithful brother. And I would persuade, and would testify, that this is the true grace of God, this in which ye stand.

5:13  The elect church which is in Babylon, saluteth you; also Mark, my son.

5:14  Salute ye one another with a holy kiss. Peace be with you all, who are in the Messiah. Amen.