Give a shepherd’s care to God’s flock among you, exercising oversight not merely as a duty but willingly under God’s direction, not for shameful profit but eagerly.

for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.”

Show hospitality to one another without complaining.

You once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul,

Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

For what credit is it if you sin and are mistreated and endure it? But if you do good and suffer and so endure, this finds favor with God.

Be subject to every human institution for the Lord’s sake, whether to a king as supreme

And he must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

Then when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.

Therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, and set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

So you who believe see his value, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless others because you were called to inherit a blessing.

For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the Lord’s face is against those who do evil.

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, who is the Spirit of God, rests on you.