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Now I{, Peter,} urge those among you who are elders {who lead the assemblies of believers}; {I am also} an elder. I personally witnessed the Messiah suffer, and I will share in his glorious nature that God will soon reveal. 2 {You elders,} take care of the believers with you as if you were shepherds who take care of their flocks of sheep. {Take care of them} not because you must do it, but because you really want to, as God desires. Do not {do this} in a greedy manner {to get money for doing it}, but do it enthusiastically. 3 Do not act like domineering bosses over the people whom God has assigned to you. Instead, be {good} examples to those believers {by how you conduct your lives}. 4 {If you do those things,} then when Jesus, who is like our ruling shepherd, appears, he will give each of you {leaders} a reward. {That reward will be} glorious {and will} last forever.5 In a similar way, you young men, obey the elders {who lead the assemblies of believers}. Now all of you {believers} should act humbly toward each other because {what Solomon wrote in the Scriptures is true:} “God opposes proud people, but he acts kindly toward humble people.”
6 Since that is true, humble yourselves before God, who has the power {to save and to punish people,} in order that he may honor you at the proper time. 7 Trust God to take care of everything that worries you because he cares about you.
8 Think clearly and alertly, {because} the devil is your enemy, and he is going around, looking for people to destroy. He is like a lion that roars as it searches for people to kill and eat. 9 Resist the devil by continuing to firmly trust {in the Messiah and his message}. {Do this} because you know that your fellow believers all over the world are suffering in similar ways. 10 But after you have suffered for a brief time, the God who acts kindly {toward you} in every way will himself restore {what you have lost} and will completely strengthen you in every way. God is the one who chose you to experience his glorious presence in heaven forever as you are joined to the Messiah. 11 I pray that he will rule powerfully forever. May it be so!
12 Silas has written this letter for me {as I have dictated it to him}. I consider him to be a faithful fellow believer. I have written this short letter to you in order to encourage you and to declare to you that what I have written is about the true and gracious message from God. Continue to firmly believe this message!
13 In {this city that we call} ‘Babylon,’ the believers, whom God has chosen {to belong to him} just like he chose you, send their regards to you. Mark, who is like a son to me, also {sends his regards to you}. 14 Affectionately greet each other with a kiss to show that you love each other. I pray that God will continue to make all you who are joined to the Messiah feel peaceful.