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11 Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God; whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,(A) to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.[a]

IV. Advice to the Persecuted

Trial of Persecution.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 4:11 Some scholars feel that this doxology concludes the part of the homily addressed specifically to the newly baptized, begun in 1 Pt 1:3; others that it concludes a baptismal liturgy. Such doxologies do occur within a New Testament letter, e.g., Rom 9:5. Some propose that 1 Pt 4:11 was an alternate ending, with 1 Pt 4:12–5:14 being read in places where persecution was more pressing. But such doxologies usually do not occur at the end of letters (the only examples are 2 Pt 3:18, Jude 25, and Rom 16:27, the last probably a liturgical insertion).
  2. 4:12–19 The suffering to which the author has already frequently referred is presented in more severe terms. This has led some scholars to see these verses as referring to an actual persecution. Others see the heightening of the language as only a rhetorical device used at the end of the letter to emphasize the suffering motif.

11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.(A) If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides,(B) so that in all things God may be praised(C) through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.(D)

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