The New Testament

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1 Peter 1

1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen sojourners of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the Spirit's making you holy, for obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4into an inheritance that cannot perish, be defiled, or fade, kept in heaven for you, 5who are being guarded by God's power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time. 6In this you rejoice greatly, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though tested by fire—may be found to bring praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with joy beyond words and filled with glory, 9receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace meant for you searched and investigated carefully, 11seeking to know what time or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he testified beforehand to the sufferings destined for Christ and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were serving you, not themselves, in these things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you the good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.

13Therefore, belt up the loins of your mind, stay sober, and set your hope fully on the grace being brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As children of obedience, do not be shaped by the desires you had before, in your ignorance. 15Instead, as the one who called you is holy, become holy yourselves in all your conduct, 16because it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.”

17And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each person's work, conduct yourselves in fear during your time as resident foreigners, 18knowing that you were ransomed from the futile conduct handed down by your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19but with precious blood, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot—the blood of Christ. 20He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but revealed at the end of the times for your sake. 21Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

22Having purified your souls by obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from the heart. 23You have been given new birth, not from perishable seed but imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withered, and the flower fell, 25but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this is the word that was brought to you as good news.

Translation notes 6

1:1–2 — Chosen sojourners. The language of dispersion and living away from home describes the readers' identity. It need not mean that every recipient was ethnically Jewish or legally an alien. “The Spirit's making you holy” interprets a phrase also expressible as “sanctification of the Spirit.” The blood-sprinkling image is retained without supplying a ritual explanation.

1:7–9 — Faith and souls. “Proven character” concerns faith as tested and found genuine. “Souls” can refer to people in their whole life before God, rather than only a separable immaterial part. The text does not limit salvation to escape from the body.

1:11 — What time. The Greek can be understood as asking “what time or what kind of time,” as here, or “what person or what time.” The time reading takes both questions with the noun “time”; the person reading takes the first interrogative independently.

1:13–17 — Loins, obedience, and fear. Belting up the loins prepared a person for action; here the explicit image concerns the mind. “Children of obedience” means children characterized by obedience. Fear retains the passage's seriousness before an impartial judge, rather than reducing it to courtesy. “Fully” can alternatively be attached to staying sober.

1:18–20 — Ransom and foreknowledge. The purchase-and-release image and the lamb's blood remain distinct parts of the expression. “Foreknown” follows the Greek without replacing it with a complete account of predestination.

1:22–25 — Heart, seed, and word. The Greek base has “from the heart”; another reading adds “pure.” New birth from imperishable seed continues the birth language in verse 3. The quotation follows Isaiah 40:6–8 as given here, including “all flesh.” “Brotherly love” addresses the whole community, including women.