5
Shepherd the Flock of God
1 The elders who are among you I exhort, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed;
2 shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not by compulsion, but rather willingly, not in fondness for dishonest gain, but rather eagerly;
3 nor as being masters over the flock under your care, but rather being examples to the flock.
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Submit to God, Resist the Devil
5 Likewise, younger people, subject yourselves to the elders. And all of you be subject to one another, and be clothed with humility, because
“God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares about you.
8 Be sober, be watchful; your adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking someone he may devour.
9 Resist him, being steadfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
10 But may the God of all grace, the One having called you into His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, may He Himself make you complete—He will establish, strengthen, and firmly ground you.
11 To Him be the glory and the power, forever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
12 By Silvanus the faithful brother, as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying this to be the true grace of God in which you stand.
13 She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son.
14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.