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Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs?
so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is
a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good
conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying
and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This
wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every
evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable,
gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness
is sown in peace of them that make peace. From whence come wars
and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your
lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire
to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because
ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may
consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know
ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore
will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the
scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud,
but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw
nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your
hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let
your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the
end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus
Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the
former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy,
so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be
ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect
of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your
sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation
received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood
of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was
foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these
last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from
the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit
unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another
with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for
ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the
flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which
by the gospel is preached unto you. Wherefore laying aside all malice,
and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As
newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers,
they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God
in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for
the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors,
as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and
for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with
well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free,
and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as
the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear
God. Honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters
with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure
grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be
buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do
well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable
with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered
for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did
no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled,
reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself
to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his
own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but
are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another,
love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering
evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing
that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he
that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from
evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do
good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are
over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but
the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is
he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and
if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid
of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your
hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man
that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers,
they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well
doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins,
the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death
in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached
unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once
the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was
a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The
like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the
putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience
toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven,
and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being
made subject unto him. Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in
the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath
suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live
the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the
will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have
wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts,
excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein
they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess
of riot, speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to him that
is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For for this cause was the gospel
preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according
to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. But the end
of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity
shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without
grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister
the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man
minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that
God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise
and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Beloved, think it not strange concerning
the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened
unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings;
that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding
joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for
the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil
spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer
as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a
busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian,
let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the
time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if
it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them
that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved,
where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that
suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to
him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. The elders which are
among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings
of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed
the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof,
not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready
mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples
to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive
a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves
unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be
clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to
the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that
he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth
for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a
roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast
in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your
brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called
us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered
a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To
him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that
have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you
through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine
power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,
through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby
are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these
ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance;
and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness
brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things
be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be
barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he
that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten
that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give
diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things,
ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness,
and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they
are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater
in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the
Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed,
speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish
in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness,
as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they
are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while
they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease
from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous
practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are
gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved
the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb
ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These
are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom
the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling
words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through
much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in
error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants
of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought
in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world
through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again
entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than
the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way
of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the
holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according
to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and
the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment
which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which
ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto
you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past,
and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth
his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother
abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But
he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and
knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for
his name's sake.
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear,
we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If
ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness
is born of him.
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because
it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet
appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall
be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this
hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth
sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is
no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not
seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he
that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that
committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the
works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his
seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In
this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever
doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should
love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew
his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil,
and his brother's righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate
you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love
the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever
hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal
life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because
he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives
for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother
have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how
dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in
word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that
we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our
heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward
God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments,
and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment,
That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one
another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments
dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us,
by the Spirit which he hath given us.
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