your brothers: Here, the Greek word adelphoi refers to people, both male and female, who are members of the same family.
throughout the world: Persecution was not limited to the churches in Asia Minor. Christians faced persecution in many places, in different ways and with different levels of intensity, wherever the good news about Jesus Christ was preached. Peter reminds his audience of this to comfort them and to encourage them to follow the example of those who had already endured suffering with faith.