1 Peter 2

1 Therefore, set aside all malice and all deceitfulness, as well as falseness and envy and every detraction.

2 Like newborn infants, desire the milk of reasonableness without guile, so that by this you may increase unto salvation,

3 if it is true that you have tasted that the Lord is sweet.

4 And approaching him as if he were a living stone, rejected by men, certainly, but elect and honored by God,

5 be also yourselves like living stones, built upon him, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, so as to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

6 Because of this, Scripture asserts: “Behold, I am setting in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious. And whoever will have believed in him will not be confounded.”

7 Therefore, to you who believe, he is honor. But to those who do not believe, the stone which the builders have rejected, the same has been made into the head of the corner,

8 and a stone of offense, and a rock of scandal, to those who are offended by the Word; neither do they believe, though they also have been built upon him.

9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, an acquired people, so that you may announce the virtues of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

10 Though in past times you were not a people, yet now you are the people of God. Though you had not obtained mercy, yet now you have obtained mercy.

11 Most beloved, I beg you, as new arrivals and sojourners, to abstain from carnal desires, which battle against the soul.

12 Keep your behavior among the Gentiles to what is good, so that, when they slander you as if you were evildoers, they may, by the good works that are seen in you, glorify God on the day of visitation.

13 Therefore, be subject to every human creature because of God, whether it is to the king as preeminent,

14 or to leaders as having been sent from him for vindication over evildoers, it is truly for the praise of what is good.

15 For such is the will of God, that by doing good you may bring about the silence of imprudent and ignorant men,

16 in an open manner, and not as if cloaking malice with liberty, but like servants of God.

17 Honor everyone. Love brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and meek, but also to the unruly.

19 For this is grace: when, because of God, a man willingly endures sorrows, suffering injustice.

20 For what glory is there, if you sin and then suffer a beating? But if you do well and suffer patiently, this is grace with God.

21 For you have been called to this because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in his footsteps.

22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

23 And when evil was spoken against him, he did not speak evil. When he suffered, he did not threaten. Then he handed himself over to him who judged him unjustly.

24 He himself bore our sins in his body upon the tree, so that we, having died to sin, would live for justice. By his wounds, you have been healed.

25 For you were like wandering sheep. But now you have been turned back toward the Pastor and the Bishop of your souls.

1 Peter 3

1 Similarly also, wives should be subject to their husbands, so that, even if some do not believe the Word, they may benefit without the Word, through the behavior of these wives,

2 as they consider with fear your chaste behavior.

3 For you, there should be no unnecessary adornment of the hair, or surrounding with gold, or the wearing of ornate clothing.

4 Instead, you should be a hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptibility of a quiet and a meek spirit, rich in the sight of God.

5 For in this way, in past times also, holy women adorned themselves, hoping in God, being subject to their own husbands.

6 For so Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You are her daughters, well-behaved and unafraid of any disturbance.

7 Similarly, you husbands should live with them in accord with knowledge, bestowing honor on the female as the weaker vessel and as co-heirs of the life of grace, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

8 And finally, may you all be of one mind: compassionate, loving brotherhood, merciful, meek, humble,

9 not repaying evil with evil, nor slander with slander, but, to the contrary, repaying with blessings. For to this you have been called, so that you may possess the inheritance of a blessing.

10 For whoever wants to love life and to see good days should restrain his tongue from evil, and his lips, so that they utter no deceit.

11 Let him turn away from evil, and do good. Let him seek peace, and pursue it.

12 For the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and his ears are with their prayers, but the countenance of the Lord is upon those who do evil.

13 And who is it who can harm you, if you are zealous in what is good?

14 And yet, even when you suffer something for the sake of justice, you are blessed. So then, do not be afraid with their fear, and do not be disturbed.

15 But sanctify Christ the Lord in your hearts, being always ready to give an explanation to all who ask you the reason for that hope which is in you.

16 But do so with meekness and fear, having a good conscience, so that, in whatever matter they may slander you, they shall be confounded, since they falsely accuse your good behavior in Christ.

17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if it is the will of God, than for doing evil.

18 For Christ also died once for our sins, the Just One on behalf of the unjust, so that he might offer us to God, having died, certainly, in the flesh, but having been enlivened by the Spirit.

19 And in the Spirit, he preached to those who were in prison, going to those souls

20 who had been unbelieving in past times, while they waited for the patience of God, as in the days of Noah, when the ark was being built. In that ark, a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.

21 And now you also are saved, in a similar manner, by baptism, not by the testimony of sordid flesh, but by the examination of a good conscience in God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

22 He is at the right hand of God, devouring death, so that we may be made heirs to eternal life. And since he has journeyed to heaven, the Angels and powers and virtues are subject to him.

1 Peter 4

1 Since Christ has suffered in the flesh, you also should be armed with the same intention. For he who suffers in the flesh desists from sin,

2 so that now he may live, for the remainder of his time in the flesh, not by the desires of men, but by the will of God.

3 For the time that has passed is sufficient to have fulfilled the will of the Gentiles, those who have walked in luxuries, lusts, intoxication, feasting, drinking, and the illicit worship of idols.

4 About this, they wonder why you do not rush with them into the same confusion of indulgences, blaspheming.

5 But they must render an account to him who is prepared to judge the living and the dead.

6 For because of this, the Gospel was also preached to the dead, so that they might be judged, certainly, just like men in the flesh, yet also, so that they might live according to God, in the Spirit.

7 But the end of everything draws near. And so, be prudent, and be vigilant in your prayers.

8 But, before all things, have a constant mutual charity among yourselves. For love covers a multitude of sins.

9 Show hospitality to one another without complaining.

10 Just as each of you has received grace, minister in the same way to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

11 When anyone speaks, it should be like words of God. When anyone ministers, it should be from the virtue that God provides, so that in all things God may be honored through Jesus Christ. To him is glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

12 Most beloved, do not choose to sojourn in the passion which is a temptation to you, as if something new might happen to you.

13 But instead, commune in the Passion of Christ, and be glad that, when his glory will be revealed, you too may rejoice with exultation.

14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you will be blessed, because that which is of the honor, glory, and power of God, and that which is of his Spirit, rests upon you.

15 But let none of you suffer for being a murderer, or a thief, or a slanderer, or one who covets what belongs to another.

16 But if one of you suffers for being a Christian, he should not be ashamed. Instead, he should glorify God in that name.

17 For it is time that judgment begin at the house of God. And if it is first from us, what shall be the end of those who do not believe the Gospel of God?

18 And if the just man will scarcely be saved, where will the impious and the sinner appear?

19 Therefore, too, let those who suffer according to the will of God commend their souls by good deeds to the faithful Creator.

1 Peter 5

1 Therefore, I beg the elders who are among you, as one who is also an elder and a witness of the Passion of Christ, who also shares in that glory which is to be revealed in the future:

2 pasture the flock of God that is among you, providing for it, not as a requirement, but willingly, in accord with God, and not for the sake of tainted profit, but freely,

3 not so as to dominate by means of the clerical state, but so as to be formed into a flock from the heart.

4 And when the Leader of pastors will have appeared, you shall secure an unfading crown of glory.

5 Similarly, young persons, be subject to the elders. And infuse all humility among one another, for God resists the arrogant, but to the humble he gives grace.

6 And so, be humbled under the powerful hand of God, so that he may exalt you in the time of visitation.

7 Cast all your cares upon him, for he takes care of you.

8 Be sober and vigilant. For your adversary, the devil, is like a roaring lion, traveling around and seeking those whom he might devour.

9 Resist him by being strong in faith, being aware that the same passions afflict those who are your brothers in the world.

10 But the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself perfect, confirm, and establish us, after a brief time of suffering.

11 To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

12 I have written briefly, through Sylvanus, whom I consider to be a faithful brother to you, begging and testifying that this is the true grace of God, in which you have been established.

13 The Church which is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you, as does my son, Mark.

14 Greet one another with a holy kiss. Grace be to all of you who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

James 1

1 James, servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes of the dispersion, greetings.

2 My brothers, when you have fallen into various trials, consider everything a joy,

3 knowing that the proving of your faith exercises patience,

4 and patience brings a work to perfection, so that you may be perfect and whole, deficient in nothing.

5 But if anyone among you is in need of wisdom, let him petition God, who gives abundantly to all without reproach, and it shall be given to him.

6 But he should ask with faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave on the ocean, which is moved about by the wind and carried away;

7 then a man should not consider that he would receive anything from the Lord.

8 For a man who is of two minds is inconstant in all his ways.

9 Now a humble brother should glory in his exaltation,

10 and a rich one, in his humiliation, for he will pass away like the flower of the grass.

11 For the sun has risen with a scorching heat, and has dried the grass, and its flower has fallen off, and the appearance of its beauty has perished. So also will the rich one wither away, according to his paths.

12 Blessed is the man who suffers temptation. For when he has been proven, he shall receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him.

13 No one should say, when he is tempted, that he was tempted by God. For God does not entice toward evils, and he himself tempts no one.

14 Yet truly, each one is tempted by his own desires, having been enticed and drawn away.

15 Thereafter, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. Yet truly sin, when it has been consummated, produces death.

16 And so, do not choose to go astray, my most beloved brothers.

17 Every excellent gift and every perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor any shadow of alteration.

18 For by his own will he produced us through the Word of truth, so that we might be a kind of beginning among his creatures.

19 You know this, my most beloved brothers. So let every man be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to anger.

20 For the anger of man does not accomplish the justice of God.

21 Because of this, having cast away all uncleanness and an abundance of malice, receive with meekness the newly-grafted Word, which is able to save your souls.

22 So be doers of the Word, and not listeners only, deceiving yourselves.

23 For if anyone is a listener of the Word, but not also a doer, he is comparable to a man gazing into a mirror upon the face that he was born with;

24 and after considering himself, he went away and promptly forgot what he had seen.

25 But he who gazes upon the perfect law of liberty, and who remains in it, is not a forgetful hearer, but instead a doer of the work. He shall be blessed in what he does.

26 But if anyone considers himself to be religious, but he does not restrain his tongue, but instead seduces his own heart: such a one’s religion is vanity.

27 This is religion, clean and undefiled before God the Father: to visit orphans and widows in their tribulations, and to keep yourself immaculate, apart from this age.

James 2

1 My brothers, within the glorious faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, do not choose to show favoritism toward persons.

2 For if a man has entered your assembly having a gold ring and splendid apparel, and if a poor man has also entered, in dirty clothing,

3 and if you are then attentive to the one who is clothed in excellent apparel, so that you say to him, “You may sit in this good place,” but you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit below my footstool,”

4 are you not judging within yourselves, and have you not become judges with unjust thoughts?

5 My most beloved brothers, listen. Has not God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that God has promised to those who love him?

6 But you have dishonored the poor. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you through power? And are not they the ones who drag you to judgment?

7 Are not they the ones who blaspheme the good name which has been invoked over you?

8 So if you perfect the regal law, according to the Scriptures, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” then you do well.

9 But if you show favoritism to persons, then you commit a sin, having been convicted again by the law as transgressors.

10 Now whoever has observed the whole law, yet who offends in one matter, has become guilty of all.

11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not kill.” So if you do not commit adultery, but you kill, you have become a transgressor of the law.

12 So speak and act just as you are beginning to be judged, by the law of liberty.

13 For judgment is without mercy toward him who has not shown mercy. But mercy exalts itself above judgment.

14 My brothers, what benefit is there if someone claims to have faith, but he does not have works? How would faith be able to save him?

15 So if a brother or sister is naked and daily in need of food,

16 and if anyone of you were to say to them: “Go in peace, keep warm and nourished,” and yet not give them the things that are necessary for the body, of what benefit is this?

17 Thus even faith, if it does not have works, is dead, in and of itself.

18 Now someone may say: “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works! But I will show you my faith by means of works.

19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. But the demons also believe, and they tremble greatly.

20 So then, are you willing to understand, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

21 Was not our father Abraham justified by means of works, by offering his son Isaac upon the altar?

22 Do you see that faith was cooperating with his works, and that by means of works faith was brought to fulfillment?

23 And so the Scripture was fulfilled which says: “Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.” And so he was called the friend of God.

24 Do you see that a man is justified by means of works, and not by faith alone?

25 Similarly also, Rahab, the harlot, was she not justified by works, by receiving the messengers and sending them out through another way?

26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

James 3

1 My brothers, not many of you should choose to become teachers, knowing that you shall receive a stricter judgment.

2 For we all offend in many ways. If anyone does not offend in word, he is a perfect man. And he is then able, as if with a bridle, to lead the whole body around.

3 For so we put bridles into the mouths of horses, in order to submit them to our will, and so we turn their whole body around.

4 Consider also the ships, which, though they are great and may be driven by strong winds, yet they are turned around with a small rudder, to be directed to wherever the strength of the pilot might will.

5 So also the tongue certainly is a small part, but it moves great things. Consider that a small fire can set ablaze a great forest.

6 And so the tongue is like a fire, comprising all iniquity. The tongue, stationed in the midst of our body, can defile the entire body and inflame the wheel of our nativity, setting a fire from Hell.

7 For the nature of all beasts and birds and serpents and others is ruled over, and has been ruled over, by human nature.

8 But no man is able to rule over the tongue, a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9 By it we bless God the Father, and by it we speak evil of men, who have been made in the likeness of God.

10 From the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so!

11 Does a fountain emit, out of the same opening, both sweet and bitter water?

12 My brothers, can the fig tree yield grapes? Or the vine, figs? Then neither is salt water able to produce fresh water.

13 Who is wise and well-taught among you? Let him show, by means of good conversation, his work in the meekness of wisdom.

14 But if you hold a bitter zeal, and if there is contention in your hearts, then do not boast and do not be liars against the truth.

15 For this is not wisdom, descending from above, but rather it is earthly, beastly, and diabolical.

16 For wherever envy and contention is, there too is inconstancy and every depraved work.

17 But within the wisdom that is from above, certainly, chastity is first, and next peacefulness, meekness, openness, consenting to what is good, a plenitude of mercy and good fruits, not judging, without falseness.

18 And so the fruit of justice is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James 4

1 Where do wars and contentions among you come from? Is it not from this: from your own desires, which battle within your members?

2 You desire, and you do not have. You envy and you kill, and you are unable to obtain. You argue and you fight, and you do not have, because you do not ask.

3 You ask and you do not receive, because you ask badly, so that you may use it toward your own desires.

4 You adulterers! Do you not know that the friendship of this world is hostile to God? Therefore, whoever has chosen to be a friend of this world has been made into an enemy of God.

5 Or do you think that Scripture says in vain: “The spirit which lives within you desires unto envy?”

6 But he gives a greater grace. Therefore he says: “God resists the arrogant, but he gives grace to the humble.”

7 Therefore, be subject to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners! And purify your hearts, you duplicitous souls!

9 Be afflicted: mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your gladness into sorrow.

10 Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.

11 Brothers, do not choose to slander one another. Whoever slanders his brother, or whoever judges his brother, slanders the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge.

12 There is one lawgiver and one judge. He is able to destroy, and he is able to set free.

13 But who are you to judge your neighbor? Consider this, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into that city, and certainly we will spend a year there, and we will do business, and we will make our profit,”

14 consider that you do not know what will be tomorrow.

15 For what is your life? It is a mist that appears for a brief time, and afterwards will vanish away. So what you ought to say is: “If the Lord wills,” or, “If we live,” we will do this or that.

16 But now you exult in your arrogance. All such exultation is wicked.

17 Therefore, he who knows that he ought to do a good thing, and does not do it, for him it is a sin.

James 5

1 Act now, you who are wealthy! Weep and wail in your miseries, which will soon come upon you!

2 Your riches have been corrupted, and your garments have been eaten by moths.

3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be a testimony against you, and it will eat away at your flesh like fire. You have stored up wrath for yourselves unto the last days.

4 Consider the pay of the workers who reaped your fields: it has been misappropriated by you; it cries out. And their cry has entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts.

5 You have feasted upon the earth, and you have nourished your hearts with luxuries, unto the day of slaughter.

6 You led away and killed the Just One, and he did not resist you.

7 Therefore, be patient, brothers, until the advent of the Lord. Consider that the farmer anticipates the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently, until he receives the early and the late rains.

8 Therefore, you too should be patient and should strengthen your hearts. For the advent of the Lord draws near.

9 Brothers, do not complain against one another, so that you may not be judged. Behold, the judge stands before the door.

10 My brothers, consider the Prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of departing from evil, of labor, and of patience.

11 Consider that we beatify those who have endured. You have heard of the patient suffering of Job. And you have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is merciful and compassionate.

12 But before all things, my brothers, do not choose to swear, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor in any other oath. But let your word ‘Yes’ be yes, and your word ‘No’ be no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

13 Is any of you sad? Let him pray. Is he even-tempered? Let him sing psalms.

14 Is anyone ill among you? Let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

15 And a prayer of faith will save the infirm, and the Lord will alleviate him. And if he has sins, these will be forgiven him.

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be saved. For the unremitting prayer of a just person prevails over many things.

17 Elijah was a mortal man like us, and in prayer he prayed that it would not rain upon the earth. And it did not rain for three years and six months.

18 And he prayed again. And the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

19 My brothers, if anyone of you strays from the truth, and if someone converts him,

20 he ought to know that whoever causes a sinner to be converted from the error of his ways will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Hebrews 1

1 In many places and in many ways, in past times, God spoke to the fathers through the Prophets;

2 lastly, in these days, he has spoken to us through the Son, whom he appointed as the heir of all things, and through whom he made the world.

3 And since the Son is the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance, and is carrying all things by the Word of his virtue, thereby accomplishing a purging of sins, he sits at the right hand of Majesty on high.

4 And having been made so much better than the Angels, he has inherited a name so much greater than theirs.

5 For to which of the Angels has he ever said: “You are my Son; today have I begotten you?” Or again: “I will be a Father to him, and he shall be a Son to me?”

6 And again, when he brings the only-begotten Son into the world, he says: “And let all the Angels of God adore him.”

7 And about the Angels, certainly, he says: “He makes his Angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.”

8 But about the Son: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of equity.

9 You have loved justice, and you have hated iniquity. Because of this, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of exultation, above your companions.”

10 And: “In the beginning, O Lord, you founded the earth. And the heavens are the work of your hands.

11 These shall pass away, but you will remain. And all will grow old like a garment.

12 And you will change them like a cloak, and they shall be changed. Yet you are ever the same, and your years will not diminish.”

13 But to which of the Angels has he ever said: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool?”

14 Are they not all spirits of ministration, sent to minister for the sake of those who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?