Bible (Bishops')/1 Peter

Chapter 1

¹Peter, an Apostle of Iesus Christ, to them that dwell here and there as straungers, throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia:

²Elect accordyng to the foreknoweledge of God the father, vnto the sanctifiyng of the spirite, through obedience & sprinklyng of ye blood of Iesus Christ: Grace & peace be multiplied vnto you.

³Blessed be God the father of our Lorde Iesus Christe, which accordyng to his aboundaunt mercie begat vs agayne vnto a lyuely hope, by that that Iesus Christe rose agayne from death,

⁴To an inheritaunce immortall, and vndefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserued in heauen for you,

⁵Which are kept by the power of God through fayth vnto saluation, which is prepared alredie to be shewed in the last tyme.

⁶In the which ye reioyce, though nowe for a season (yf nede require) ye are in heauinesse through manifolde temptations:

⁷That the triall of your fayth, beyng much more precious then golde that perisheth, though it be tried with fyre, myght be founde vnto laude, glorie, and honour, at the appearyng of Iesus Christe,

⁸Whom ye haue not seene, and yet loue hym, in whom euen nowe though ye see hym not, yet do you beleue, & reioyce with ioy vnspeakeable and glorious:

⁹Receauyng the ende of your fayth, euen the saluation of your soules.

¹⁰Of which saluation haue ye prophetes enquired & searched, which prophesied of the grace that should come vnto you:

¹¹Searchyng when or at what tyme the spirite of Christ which was in them, shoulde signifie, which spirite testified before, the passions that should happen vnto Christe, and the glorie that shoulde folowe after.

¹²Unto which prophetes it was also declared, that not vnto them selues, but vnto vs, they shoulde minister ye thinges which are nowe shewed vnto you of them, which by the holy ghost sent downe from heauen, haue in the Gospell preached vnto you, the thynges which the Angels desire to beholde.

¹³Wherfore girde vp the loynes of your mynde, be sober, and trust perfectly on the grace that is brought vnto you, by the reuelation of Iesus Christe:

¹⁴As obedient chyldren, not fashionyng your selues vnto the former lustes of your ignoraunce:

¹⁵But as he which called you is holy, euen so be ye holy also in all maner of conuersation:

¹⁶Because it is written, be ye holy, for I am holy.

¹⁷And yf so be that ye call on the father, which without respect of person iudgeeth accordyng to euery mans worke, see that ye passe the tyme of your dwellyng here, in feare:

¹⁸Forasmuch as ye knowe, howe that ye were not redeemed with corruptible thynges, as siluer and golde, from your vayne conuersation which ye receaued by the tradition of the fathers:

¹⁹But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lambe vndefiled, & without spot:

²⁰Which was ordeyned beforehande, euen before the worlde was made, but was declared in the last tymes for your sakes:

²¹Which by his meanes do beleue on God that raysed hym vp from death, and glorified hym, that ye might haue fayth and hope towarde God:

²²Euen ye which haue purified your soules through the spirite in obeying the trueth, with brotherly loue vnfayned, see that ye loue one another with a pure heart feruentlye:

²³For ye are borne a newe, not of mortal seede: but of immortal, by the worde of God, which lyueth and lasteth for euer.

²⁴For all fleshe is as grasse, and all the glorie of man, is as the flowre of grasse. The grasse withereth, and the flowre falleth away:

²⁵But the worde of the Lorde endureth euer. And this is the worde, which by the Gospell was preached vnto you.

Chapter 2

¹Wherefore lay asyde all maliciousnesse, and all guile, and faynednesse, and enuie, and all backbityng,

²And as newe borne babes, desire ye ye milke of the worde, which is without deceipt: that ye may growe therby [vnto saluatio]

³If so be that ye haue tasted howe gratious the Lorde is:

⁴To whom ye come, as vnto a lyuyng stone, disalowed of men, but chosen of God and precious:

⁵And ye as lyuely stones, be you made a spirituall house, an holy priesthood, for to offer vp spirituall sacrifices, acceptable to God by Iesus Christe.

⁶Wherefore it is conteyned also in the scripture: beholde, I put in Sion a stone to be laide in the chiefe corner, elect and precious, and he that beleueth on hym, shall not be confounded.

⁷Unto you therfore which beleue, he is precious: but vnto them whiche beleue not, the stone which the buylders refused, the same is made the head of the corner:

⁸And a stone that men stumble at, and a rocke wherat they be offended, whiche stumble at the worde, and beyng disobedient, vnto the whiche thing they were euen ordeyned.

⁹But ye are a chosen generation, a royall priesthood, an holy nation, a peculier people: that ye should shewe foorth the vertues of hym that called you out of darknesse into his marueylous lyght.

¹⁰Which in time past were not a people, but are nowe the people of God: which sometime had not obteyned mercy, but nowe haue obteyned mercy.

¹¹Dearely beloued, I beseche you as straugers and pilgrimes, abstaine from fleshly lustes, whiche fight agaynst the soule:

¹²And see that ye haue honest conuersation among the gentiles: that where as they backbite you as euyll doers, they may by your good workes whiche they shall see, prayse God in the day of visitation.

¹³Submit your selues therfore vnto al maner ordinaunce of ma for the Lordes sake: whether it be vnto the king, as hauyng the preeminence:

¹⁴Other vnto rulers, as vnto them that are sent of hym for the punyshment of euyll doers, but for the laude of them that do well.

¹⁵For so is the wyll of God, that with well doyng, ye may stoppe the mouthes of foolishe and ignoraunt men:

¹⁶As free, and not as hauyng the libertie for a cloke of maliciousnes, but euen as the seruauntes of God.

¹⁷Honour all men. Loue brotherly felowship. Feare God. Honour the kyng.

¹⁸Seruauntes, obey your maisters with all feare, not only yf they be good & curteous, but also though they be frowarde.

¹⁹For it is thanke worthy, yf a man for coscience toward god, endure griefe, and suffer wrong vndeserued.

²⁰For what prayse is it, yf when ye be buffeted for your faultes, ye take it paciently? But yf when ye do well ye suffer wrong, & take it paciently, then is there thanke with God.

²¹For herevnto veryly were ye called, for Christe also suffered for vs, leauyng vs an ensample, that ye should folowe his steppes.

²²Which did no sinne, neyther was there guyle founde in his mouth.

²³Whiche when he was reuiled, reuiled not agayne: when he suffred, he threatned not, but committed the vengeaunce to him that iudgeth righteously.

²⁴Which his owne selfe bare our sinnes in his body on the tree, that we beyng deliuered from sinne, shoulde liue vnto ryghteousnes: By whose strypes ye were healed.

²⁵For ye were as sheepe goyng astray: but are nowe turned vnto the sheephearde and Byshop of your soules.

Chapter 3

¹Likewise ye wyues, be in subiectio to your husbandes, that euen they whiche obey not the word, may without the word, be wonne by the couersation of ye wiues,

²Whyle they beholde your chaste conuersation coupled with feare.

³Whose apparel shal not be outward with brayded heere, & hanging on of gold, eyther in putting on of gorgeous apparel.

⁴But let the hid man whiche is in the heart, be without all corruption, so that the spirite be at rest and quiet, whiche [spirite] is before god a thing much set by.

⁵For after this maner in the olde tyme dyd the holy women, whiche trusted in God, tyre them selues, and were obedient vnto theyr husbandes.

⁶Euen as Sara obeyed Abraham, and called hym Lorde, whose daughters ye are as long as ye do well, and are not afrayde for any terrour.

⁷Lykewyse ye husbandes dwell with them accordyng to knowledge, geuyng honour vnto the wyfe, as vnto the weaker vessell, and as vnto them that are heires also of the grace of lyfe, that your prayers be not hyndered.

⁸In conclusion, be ye all of one minde, of one heart, loue as brethren, be pitiful, be curteous,

⁹Not rendryng euyl for euyll, or rebuke for rebuke: but contrarywyse blesse, knowyng that ye are therevnto called, euen that ye shoulde be heyres of the blessyng.

¹⁰For he that doeth long after lyfe, and loueth to see good dayes, let hym refrayne his tongue from euyll, and his lippes, that they speake no guyle.

¹¹Let hym eschewe euyll and do good, let hym seke peace and ensue it.

¹²For the eyes of the Lorde are ouer the ryghteous, and his eares are open vnto their prayers: Againe, the face of the Lorde is ouer them that do euyll.

¹³Moreouer, who is it that wyll harme you, yf ye folowe that which is good?

¹⁴Yea, happy are ye if any trouble happen vnto you for ryghteousnes sake: Be not ye afrayde for any terrour of them, neither be ye troubled:

¹⁵But sanctifie the Lorde God in your heartes. Be redy alwayes to geue an aunswere to euery man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you,

¹⁶And that with mekenesse and feare, hauyng a good conscience: that where as they backebite you as euyll doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conuersation in Christe.

¹⁷For it is better, yf the wyll of God be so, that ye suffer for wel doyng, then for euyll doyng.

¹⁸Forasmuch as Christe hath once suffered for sinnes, the iust for the vniust to bryng vs to God, and was kylled as parteynyng to the fleshe, but was quickened in the spirite.

¹⁹In which spirite, he also went & preached vnto the spirites that were in pryson,

²⁰Which sometime had ben disobedient, when once the long sufferyng of God abode in ye dayes of Noe, whyle the Arke was a preparyng, wherein fewe, that is to say eyght soules, were saued in the water:

²¹To the which also the figure agreeth that nowe saueth vs, euen baptisme, not the puttyng away of the fylth of the fleshe, but in that a good conscience maketh request to God, by the resurrection of Iesus Christe:

²²Which is on the ryght hande of God, and is gone into heauen, angels, powers, and myght subdued vnto hym.

Chapter 4

¹For as muche then as Christ hath suffered for vs in the fleshe, arme ye your selues lykewise with the same mynde: for he which suffereth in the fleshe, ceasseth from sinne:

²That he hence forwarde shoulde lyue, as much tyme as remayneth in ye fleshe, not after the lustes of men, but after the wyll of God.

³For it is sufficient for vs that we haue spent the tyme that is paste of the lyfe, after the wyll of the gentiles, walkyng in wantonnesse, lustes, in excesse of wynes, in excesse of eatyng, in excesse of drynkyng, and abominable idolatrie.

⁴And it seemeth to them an inconuenient thyng, that ye runne not also with them vnto the same excesse of riote, and therefore speake they euyll of you:

⁵Whiche shall geue accomptes to hym that is redy to iudge quicke and dead.

⁶For vnto this purpose veryly was the Gospel peached also vnto ye dead, that they shoulde be iudged lyke other men in the fleshe, but should lyue before God in the spirite.

⁷The ende of all thynges is at hande. Be ye therefore sober, and watche vnto prayer.

⁸But aboue all thynges, haue feruent loue among your selues: For loue shall couer the multitude of sinnes.

⁹Be ye harberous one to another, without grudgyng.

¹⁰As euery man hath receaued the gyft, eue so minister the same one to another, as good ministers of the manifold grace of God.

¹¹If any man speake, [let hym talke] as the wordes of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the abilitie which God ministreth vnto hym, that God in all thinges may be glorified through Iesus Christe, to whom be prayse and dominion for euer and euer. Amen.

¹²Dearely beloued, thinke it not straunge concerning the fierie triall, which thing is to trye you, as though some straunge thyng happened vnto you.

¹³But reioyce, in as much as ye are partakers of Christes passions: that when his glory appeareth, ye maye be mery and glad.

¹⁴Yf ye be rayled vpon for the name of Christe, happy are ye. For the spirite of glory and of God, resteth vpon you: On their part he is euyll spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

¹⁵See that none of you be punished as a murtherer, or as a thiefe, or an euyll doer, or as a busie body in other mens matters.

¹⁶Yf any [man suffer] as a Christian man, let hym not be ashamed, but let him glorifie God on this behalfe.

¹⁷For the tyme is [come] that iudgement must begin at the house of God. Yf it first [begin] at vs, what shall the ende be of them whiche beleue not the Gospell of God?

¹⁸And if the ryghteous scacely be saued, where shall the vngodly and the sinner appeare?

¹⁹Wherefore, let them that are troubled accordyng to the wyll of God, commit their soules to him with well doyng, as vnto a faythfull creatour.

Chapter 5

¹The elders which are among you, I exhort, whiche am also an elder, & a wytnesse of the afflictions of Christe, and also a partaker of the glory that shalbe opened:

²Feede you God his flocke, whiche is committed vnto you, takyng the ouersight of them not as compelled therto, but wyllyngly, not for the desyre of fylthy lucre, but of a good mynde:

³Not as though ye were Lordes ouer God his heritage: but that ye be an ensample to the flocke.

⁴And when the chiefe shephearde shall appeare, ye shall receaue an incorruptible crowne of glory.

⁵Likewise ye younger, submit your selues vnto the elder: Submit your selues euery man one to another, decke your selues inwardly in lowlynes of mynde: For God resisteth the proude, and geueth grace to the humble.

⁶Submit your selues therfore vnder the mightie hande of God, that he may exalt you when the tyme is come.

⁷Cast all your care vpon hym, for he careth for you.

⁸Be sober, & watche, for your aduersarie the deuyll, as a roaryng Lion walketh about seking who he may deuour:

⁹Whom resist stedfast in the fayth, knowyng that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the worlde.

¹⁰But the God of all grace whiche hath called vs vnto his eternall glory by Christe Iesus, shal his owne selfe, after that ye haue suffred a litle affliction, make you perfite, setle, strength, and stablyshe you.

¹¹To hym be glory and dominion, for euer and euer. Amen.

¹²By Syluanus a faythfull brother, vnto you, as I suppose, haue I wrytten briefly, exhortyng and testifiyng, howe that this is the true grace of God, wherin ye stande.

¹³The Churche that is at Babylon elected together with you, saluteth you, and so doeth Marcus my sonne.

¹⁴Greete ye one another with the kysse of loue. Peace be with you all which are in Christe Iesus. Amen.