1 Peter 1
Amplified Bible
A Living Hope, and a Sure Salvation
1 Peter, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Jesus Christ,
To those [elect—both Jewish and Gentile believers] who live as exiles, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia [Minor], and Bithynia, who are chosen(A) 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace [that special sense of spiritual well-being] be yours in increasing abundance [as you walk closely with God].(B)
3 Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant and boundless mercy has caused us to be born again [that is, to be reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose] to an ever-living hope and confident assurance through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,(C) 4 [born anew] into an inheritance which is imperishable [beyond the reach of change] and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are being protected and shielded by the power of God through your faith for salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice greatly, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith, which is much more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested and purified by fire, may be found to result in [your] praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not even see Him now, you believe and trust in Him and you greatly rejoice and delight with inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 receiving as the result [the outcome, the consummation] of your faith, the salvation of [a]your souls.
10 Regarding this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace [of God] that was intended for you, searched carefully and inquired [about this future way of salvation], 11 seeking to find out what person or what time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories [destined] to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that their services [their prophecies regarding grace] were not [meant] for themselves and their time, but for you, in these things [the death, resurrection, and glorification of Jesus Christ] which have now been told to you by those who preached the gospel to you by the [power of the] Holy Spirit [who was] sent from heaven. Into these things even the angels long to look.
13 So prepare your minds for action, be completely sober [in spirit—steadfast, self-disciplined, spiritually and morally alert], fix your hope completely on the grace [of God] that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 [Live] as obedient children [of God]; do not be conformed to the evil desires which governed you in your ignorance [before you knew the requirements and transforming power of the good news regarding salvation]. 15 But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your conduct [be set apart from the world by your godly character and moral courage]; 16 because it is written, “You shall be holy (set apart), for I am holy.”(D)
17 If you address as Father, the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in [reverent] fear [of Him] and with profound respect for Him throughout the time of your stay on earth. 18 For you know that you were not redeemed from your useless [spiritually unproductive] way of life inherited [by tradition] from your forefathers with perishable things like silver and gold, 19 but [you were actually purchased] with precious blood, like that of a [sacrificial] lamb unblemished and spotless, the priceless blood of Christ.(E) 20 For He was [b]foreordained (foreknown) before the foundation of the world, but has appeared [publicly] in these last times for your sake 21 and through Him you believe [confidently] in God [the heavenly Father], who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are [centered and rest] in God.
22 Since by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves for a sincere love of the believers, [see that you] love one another from the heart [always unselfishly seeking the best for one another], 23 for you have been born again [that is, reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose] not of seed which is perishable but [from that which is] imperishable and immortal, that is, through the living and everlasting word of God. 24 For,
“All flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers
And the flower falls off,
25
But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word [the good news of salvation] which was preached to you.(F)
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 1:9 One early ms does not contain your.
- 1 Peter 1:20 The Son of God always existed and it was always known that He would be the Redeemer of mankind.
1 Peter 1
Easy-to-Read Version
1 Greetings from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
To God’s chosen people who are away from their homes—people scattered all over the areas of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 2 God planned long ago to choose you and to make you his holy people, which is the Spirit’s work. God wanted you to obey him and to be made clean by the blood sacrifice[a] of Jesus Christ.
I pray that you will enjoy more and more of God’s grace and peace.
A Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. This new life brings us a living hope through Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death. 4 Now we wait to receive the blessings God has for his children. These blessings are kept for you in heaven. They cannot be ruined or be destroyed or lose their beauty.
5 God’s power protects you through your faith, and it keeps you safe until your salvation comes. That salvation is ready to be given to you at the end of time. 6 I know the thought of that is exciting, even if you must suffer through different kinds of troubles for a short time now. 7 These troubles test your faith and prove that it is pure. And such faith is worth more than gold. Gold can be proved to be pure by fire, but gold will ruin. When your faith is proven to be pure, the result will be praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ comes.
8 You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You can’t see him now, but you believe in him. You are filled with a wonderful and heavenly joy that cannot be explained. 9 Your faith has a goal, and you are reaching that goal—your salvation.
10 The prophets studied carefully and tried to learn about this salvation. They spoke about the grace that was coming to you. 11 The Spirit of Christ was in those prophets. And the Spirit was telling about the sufferings that would happen to Christ and about the glory that would come after those sufferings. The prophets tried to learn about what the Spirit was showing them—when it would happen and what the world would be like at that time.
12 It was made clear to them that their service was not for themselves. They were serving you when they told about the things you have now heard. You heard them from those who told you the Good News with the help of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even the angels would like very much to know more about these things you were told.
A Call to Holy Living
13 So prepare your minds for service. With complete self-control put all your hope in the grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ comes. 14 In the past you did not have the understanding you have now, so you did the evil things you wanted to do. But now you are children of God, so you should obey him and not live the way you did before. 15 Be holy in everything you do, just as God is holy. He is the one who chose you. 16 In the Scriptures God says, “Be holy, because I am holy.”[b]
17 You pray to God and call him Father, but he will judge everyone the same way—by what they do. So while you are visiting here on earth, you should live with respect for God. 18 You know that in the past the way you were living was useless. It was a way of life you learned from those who lived before you. But you were saved from that way of living. You were bought, but not with things that ruin like gold or silver. 19 You were bought with the precious blood of Christ’s death. He was a pure and perfect sacrificial Lamb. 20 Christ was chosen before the world was made, but he was shown to the world in these last times for you. 21 You believe in God through Christ. God is the one who raised him from death and gave honor to him. So your faith and your hope are in God.
22 You have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. Now you can have true love for your brothers and sisters. So love each other deeply—with all your heart. 23 You have been born again. This new life did not come from something that dies. It came from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s life-giving message that lasts forever. 24 The Scriptures say,
“Our lives are like the grass of spring,
and any glory we enjoy is like the beauty of a wildflower.
The grass dries up and dies,
and the flower falls to the ground.
25 But the word of the Lord lasts forever.” (A)
And that word is the Good News that was told to you.
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 1:2 made clean … sacrifice Or “sprinkled with the blood,” which probably compares the beginning of the new agreement by the blood sacrifice of Christ (Mk. 14:24) with Moses’ sprinkling the blood of animal sacrifices on the people of Israel to seal the agreement God made with them (Ex. 24:3-8). See also Heb. 9:15-26.
- 1 Peter 1:16
Quote from Lev. 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7.
1 Peter 1
J.B. Phillips New Testament
1 1-2 Peter, messenger of Jesus Christ, sends this letter to the exiles of the dispersed tribes (in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia), whom God the Father knew and chose long ago to be made holy by his Spirit, that they might obey Jesus Christ and be cleansed by his blood: may you know more and more of God’s grace and peace.
Your faith is being tested, but your future is magnificent
3-5 Thank God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that in his great mercy we men have been born again into a life full of hope, through Christ’s rising again from the dead! You can now hope for a perfect inheritance beyond the reach of change and decay, “reserved” in Heaven for you. And in the meantime you are guarded by the power of God operating through your faith, till you enter fully into the salvation which is all ready for the d?nouement of the last day.
6-9 This means tremendous joy to you, I know, even though you are temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials and temptations. This is no accident—it happens to prove your faith, which is infinitely more valuable than gold, and gold, as you know, even though it is ultimately perishable, must be purified by fire. This proving of your faith is planned to bring you praise and honour and glory in the day when Jesus Christ reveals himself. And though you have never seen him, yet I know that you love him. At present you trust him without being able to see him, and even now he brings you a joy that words cannot express and which has in it a hint of the glories of Heaven; and all the time you are receiving the result of your faith in him—the salvation of your own souls.
10-12 The prophets of old did their utmost to discover and obtain this salvation. They did not find it, but they prophesied of this grace that has now come to you. They tried hard to discover to what time and to what sort of circumstances the Spirit of Christ working in them was referring. For he foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow them. It was then made clear to them that they were dealing with matters not meant for themselves, but for you. It is these very matters which have been made plain to you by those who preached the Gospel to you by the same Spirit sent from Heaven—and these are facts to command the interest of the very angels!
Consider soberly what God has done for you
13-16 So brace up your minds, and, as men who know what they are doing, rest the full weight of your hopes on the grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ reveals himself. Live as obedient children before God. Don’t let your character be moulded by the desires of your ignorant days, but be holy in every department of your lives, for the one who has called you is himself holy. The scripture says: ‘Be holy, for I am holy’.
17-21 If you pray to a Father who judges men by their actions without the slightest favouritism, then you should spend the time of your stay here on earth with reverent fear. For you must realise all the time that you have been “ransomed” from the futile way of living passed on to you by your fathers’ traditions, not with some money payment of transient value, but by the costly shedding of blood. The price was in fact the life-blood of Christ, the unblemished and unstained lamb of sacrifice. It is true that God chose him to fulfil this part before the world was founded, but it was for your benefit that he was revealed in these last days—for you who found your faith in God through Christ. And God raised him from the dead and gave him unimaginable splendour, so that all your faith and hope might be centred in God.
Let your life match your high calling
22-25a Now that you have, by obeying the truth, made your souls clean enough for a genuine love of your fellows, see that you do love each other, fervently and from the heart. For you are the sons of God now; the live, permanent Word of the living God has given you his own indestructible heredity. It is true that: ‘All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures for ever’.
25b The Word referred to, as far as you are concerned, is the message of the Gospel that was preached to you.
1 Pedro 1
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Saludo
1 Pedro, apóstol de Jesucristo(A):
A los expatriados(B), de la dispersión(C) en el[a] Ponto(D), Galacia(E), Capadocia(F), Asia(G) y Bitinia(H), elegidos(I) 2 según el previo conocimiento de Dios Padre(J), por la obra santificadora del Espíritu(K), para obedecer a Jesucristo(L) y ser rociados con Su sangre[b](M): Que la gracia y la paz les sean multiplicadas(N) a ustedes.
La esperanza viva del cristiano
3 Bendito sea el Dios y Padre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo(O), quien según Su gran misericordia(P), nos ha hecho nacer de nuevo(Q) a una esperanza viva(R), mediante la resurrección de Jesucristo de entre los muertos(S), 4 para obtener una herencia(T) incorruptible, inmaculada, y que no se marchitará(U), reservada en los cielos para ustedes(V).
5 Mediante la fe(W) ustedes son protegidos por el poder de Dios(X), para la salvación(Y) que está preparada para ser revelada en el último tiempo(Z). 6 En lo cual ustedes se regocijan grandemente(AA), aunque ahora, por un poco de tiempo(AB) si es necesario(AC), sean afligidos con diversas pruebas[c](AD), 7 para que la prueba[d] de la fe de ustedes(AE), más preciosa que el oro que perece, aunque probado por fuego(AF), sea hallada que resulta en alabanza(AG), gloria y honor en la revelación de Jesucristo(AH); 8 a quien sin haber visto(AI), ustedes lo aman(AJ), y a quien ahora no ven, pero creen en Él, y se regocijan grandemente con gozo inefable y lleno de gloria[e], 9 obteniendo, como[f] resultado de su fe(AK), la salvación de sus[g] almas.
10 Acerca de esta salvación(AL), los profetas que profetizaron(AM) de la gracia que vendría a ustedes(AN), diligentemente inquirieron y averiguaron, 11 procurando saber[h] qué persona o tiempo indicaba el Espíritu de Cristo(AO) dentro de ellos, al predecir los sufrimientos de Cristo(AP) y las glorias que seguirían[i]. 12 A ellos les fue revelado que no se servían a sí mismos, sino a ustedes, en estas cosas que ahora les han sido anunciadas mediante los que les predicaron el evangelio(AQ) por el Espíritu Santo(AR) enviado del cielo; cosas a las cuales los ángeles anhelan mirar[j](AS).
Exhortación a la santidad
13 Por tanto, preparen su entendimiento(AT) para la acción[k]. Sean[l] sobrios en espíritu(AU), pongan su esperanza(AV) completamente en la gracia(AW) que se les traerá[m] en la revelación[n] de Jesucristo(AX). 14 Como hijos obedientes[o](AY), no se conformen a los deseos(AZ) que antes tenían en su ignorancia(BA), 15 sino que así como Aquel que los llamó es Santo[p](BB), así también sean ustedes santos(BC) en toda su manera de vivir(BD). 16 Porque escrito está: «Sean santos, porque Yo soy santo(BE)». 17 Y si invocan como Padre(BF) a Aquel que imparcialmente(BG) juzga(BH) según la obra de cada uno, condúzcanse con temor[q](BI) durante el tiempo de su peregrinación(BJ).
18 Ustedes saben que no fueron redimidos[r](BK) de su vana manera de vivir heredada de sus padres(BL) con cosas perecederas como oro o plata, 19 sino con sangre preciosa(BM), como de un cordero sin tacha y sin mancha(BN): la sangre de Cristo. 20 Porque Él estaba preparado[s](BO) desde antes de la fundación del mundo(BP), pero se ha manifestado(BQ) en estos últimos tiempos por amor a ustedes(BR). 21 Por medio de Él son creyentes en Dios(BS), que lo resucitó de entre los muertos y le dio gloria(BT), de manera que la fe y esperanza de ustedes sean en Dios(BU).
Exhortación al amor fraternal
22 Puesto que en obediencia a la verdad(BV) ustedes han purificado sus almas[t](BW) para un amor sincero de hermanos(BX), ámense unos a otros entrañablemente, de corazón puro. 23 Pues han nacido de nuevo(BY), no de una simiente(BZ) corruptible, sino de una que es incorruptible, es decir, mediante la palabra de Dios que vive y permanece[u](CA). 24 Porque:
«Toda carne es como la hierba,
Y toda su gloria como la flor de la hierba.
Sécase la hierba,
Cáese la flor(CB),
25 Pero la palabra del Señor permanece para siempre(CC)».
Esa es la palabra que a ustedes les fue predicada[v](CD).
Footnotes
- 1 Pedro 1:1 Lit. del.
- 1 Pedro 1:2 Lit. para obediencia y rociamiento con la sangre de Jesucristo.
- 1 Pedro 1:6 O tentaciones.
- 1 Pedro 1:7 O genuinidad.
- 1 Pedro 1:8 Lit. glorioso.
- 1 Pedro 1:9 Lit. el.
- 1 Pedro 1:9 Algunos mss. no incluyen: sus.
- 1 Pedro 1:11 Lit. inquiriendo.
- 1 Pedro 1:11 Lit. después de estos.
- 1 Pedro 1:12 O alcanzar un vislumbre claro.
- 1 Pedro 1:13 Lit. los lomos de su mente.
- 1 Pedro 1:13 O consérvense.
- 1 Pedro 1:13 O que se anuncia.
- 1 Pedro 1:13 O la manifestación.
- 1 Pedro 1:14 Lit. hijos de obediencia.
- 1 Pedro 1:15 Lit. conforme al Santo que los llamó.
- 1 Pedro 1:17 O reverencia.
- 1 Pedro 1:18 O rescatados.
- 1 Pedro 1:20 Lit. era conocido de antemano.
- 1 Pedro 1:22 Algunos mss. posteriores agregan: mediante el Espíritu.
- 1 Pedro 1:23 Algunos mss. posteriores agregan: para siempre.
- 1 Pedro 1:25 Lit. anunciada como buenas nuevas.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.
Nueva Biblia de las Américas™ NBLA™ Copyright © 2005 por The Lockman Foundation