Knox Bible

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Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect who dwell as foreigners up and down Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

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chosen in the foreknowledge of God the Father, to be sanctified by the Spirit, to give their allegiance to Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood; Grace and peace be yours abundantly.

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Blessed be that God, that Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has begotten us anew, making hope live in us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

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We are to share an inheritance that is incorruptible, inviolable, unfading. It is stored up for you in heaven;

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and meanwhile, through your faith, the power of God affords you safe conduct till you reach it, this salvation which is waiting to be disclosed at the end of time.

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Then you will be triumphant.✻ What if you have trials of many sorts to sadden your hearts in this brief interval? That must needs happen,

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so that you may give proof of your faith, a much more precious thing than the gold we test by fire; proof which will bring you praise, and glory, and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.

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You never saw him, but you learned to love him; you may not see him even now, but you believe in him;✻ and, if you continue to believe in him, how you will triumph! How ineffable your joy will be, and how sublime,

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when you reap the fruit of that faith of yours, the salvation of your souls!

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Salvation was the aim and quest of the prophets, and the grace of which they prophesied has been reserved for you.

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The Spirit of Christ was in them, making known to them the sufferings which Christ’s cause brings with it, and the glory that crowns them; when was it to be, and how was the time of it to be recognized?

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It was revealed to them that their errand was not to their own age, it was to you. And now the angels can satisfy their eager gaze; the Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven, and your evangelists have made the whole mystery plain, to you instead.

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Rid your minds, then, of every encumbrance, keep full mastery of your senses, and set your hopes on the gracious gift that is offered you when Jesus Christ appears.✻

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Obedience should be native to you now; you must not retain the mould of your former untutored appetites.

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No, it is a holy God who has called you, and you too must be holy in all the ordering of your lives;

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You must be holy, the scripture says, because I am holy.✻

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You appeal to God as your Father; yes, but he judges each man impartially by what he has done; look anxiously, then, to the ordering of your lives while your stay on earth lasts.

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What was the ransom that freed you from the vain observances of ancestral tradition? You know well enough that it was not paid in earthly currency, silver or gold;

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it was paid in the precious blood of Christ; no lamb was ever so pure, so spotless a victim.

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Before the beginning of the world, God had foreknown him, but it was only in these last days that he was revealed, for your sakes;

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through him you have learned to be faithful to God, who raised him from the dead and endowed him with glory; your faith and your hope are to be centred in God.

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Purify your souls with the discipline of charity, and give constant proof of your good will for each other, loving unaffectedly as brethren should,✻

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since you have all been born anew with an immortal, imperishable birth, through the word of God who lives and abides for ever.✻

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Yes, all mortal things are like grass, and all their glory like the bloom of grass; the grass withers, and its bloom falls,

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but the word of the Lord lasts for ever.✻ And this word is nothing other than the gospel which has been preached to you.