Isaiah 36-37
New Living Translation
Assyria Invades Judah
36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign,[a] King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack the fortified towns of Judah and conquered them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent his chief of staff[b] from Lachish with a huge army to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.[c]
3 These are the officials who went out to meet with them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian.
Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem
4 Then the Assyrian king’s chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah:
“This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? 5 Do you think[d] that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Who are you counting on, that you have rebelled against me? 6 On Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is completely unreliable!
7 “But perhaps you will say to me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God!’ But isn’t he the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn’t Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem?
8 “I’ll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them! 9 With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master’s troops, even with the help of Egypt’s chariots and charioteers? 10 What’s more, do you think we have invaded your land without the Lord’s direction? The Lord himself told us, ‘Attack this land and destroy it!’”
11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Assyrian chief of staff, “Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don’t speak in Hebrew,[e] for the people on the wall will hear.”
12 But Sennacherib’s chief of staff replied, “Do you think my master sent this message only to you and your master? He wants all the people to hear it, for when we put this city under siege, they will suffer along with you. They will be so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own dung and drink their own urine.”
13 Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, “Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria! 14 This is what the king says: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you. 15 Don’t let him fool you into trusting in the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian king!’
16 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me—open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well. 17 Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one—a land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards.
18 “Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will rescue us!’ Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria? 19 What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power? 20 What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that the Lord can rescue Jerusalem from me?”
21 But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them, “Do not answer him.”
22 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes in despair, and they went in to see the king and told him what the Assyrian chief of staff had said.
Hezekiah Seeks the Lord’s Help
37 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, all dressed in burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble, insults, and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver the baby. 4 But perhaps the Lord your God has heard the Assyrian chief of staff,[f] sent by the king to defy the living God, and will punish him for his words. Oh, pray for those of us who are left!”
5 After King Hezekiah’s officials delivered the king’s message to Isaiah, 6 the prophet replied, “Say to your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers. 7 Listen! I myself will move against him,[g] and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword.’”
8 Meanwhile, the Assyrian chief of staff left Jerusalem and went to consult the king of Assyria, who had left Lachish and was attacking Libnah.
9 Soon afterward King Sennacherib received word that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia[h] was leading an army to fight against him. Before leaving to meet the attack, he sent messengers back to Hezekiah in Jerusalem with this message:
10 “This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don’t let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria. 11 You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different? 12 Have the gods of other nations rescued them—such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar? My predecessors destroyed them all! 13 What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”
14 After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: 16 “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. 17 Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.
18 “It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. 19 And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. 20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.[i]”
Isaiah Predicts Judah’s Deliverance
21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you prayed about King Sennacherib of Assyria, 22 the Lord has spoken this word against him:
“The virgin daughter of Zion
despises you and laughs at you.
The daughter of Jerusalem
shakes her head in derision as you flee.
23 “Whom have you been defying and ridiculing?
Against whom did you raise your voice?
At whom did you look with such haughty eyes?
It was the Holy One of Israel!
24 By your messengers you have defied the Lord.
You have said, ‘With my many chariots
I have conquered the highest mountains—
yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars
and its finest cypress trees.
I have reached its farthest heights
and explored its deepest forests.
25 I have dug wells in many foreign lands[j]
and refreshed myself with their water.
With the sole of my foot,
I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt!’
26 “But have you not heard?
I decided this long ago.
Long ago I planned it,
and now I am making it happen.
I planned for you to crush fortified cities
into heaps of rubble.
27 That is why their people have so little power
and are so frightened and confused.
They are as weak as grass,
as easily trampled as tender green shoots.
They are like grass sprouting on a housetop,
scorched[k] before it can grow lush and tall.
28 “But I know you well—
where you stay
and when you come and go.
I know the way you have raged against me.
29 And because of your raging against me
and your arrogance, which I have heard for myself,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth.
I will make you return
by the same road on which you came.”
30 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Here is the proof that what I say is true:
“This year you will eat only what grows up by itself,
and next year you will eat what springs up from that.
But in the third year you will plant crops and harvest them;
you will tend vineyards and eat their fruit.
31 And you who are left in Judah,
who have escaped the ravages of the siege,
will put roots down in your own soil
and grow up and flourish.
32 For a remnant of my people will spread out from Jerusalem,
a group of survivors from Mount Zion.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
33 “And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
“‘His armies will not enter Jerusalem.
They will not even shoot an arrow at it.
They will not march outside its gates with their shields
nor build banks of earth against its walls.
34 The king will return to his own country
by the same road on which he came.
He will not enter this city,’
says the Lord.
35 ‘For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David,
I will defend this city and protect it.’”
36 That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians[l] woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. 37 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there.
38 One day while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. They then escaped to the land of Ararat, and another son, Esarhaddon, became the next king of Assyria.
Footnotes
- 36:1 The fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign was 701 B.c.
- 36:2a Or the rabshakeh; also in 36:4, 11, 12, 22.
- 36:2b Or bleached.
- 36:5 As in Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kgs 18:20); Masoretic Text reads Do I think.
- 36:11 Hebrew in the dialect of Judah; also in 36:13.
- 37:4 Or the rabshakeh; also in 37:8.
- 37:7 Hebrew I will put a spirit in him.
- 37:9 Hebrew of Cush.
- 37:20 As in Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kgs 19:19); Masoretic Text reads you alone are the Lord.
- 37:25 As in Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kgs 19:24); Masoretic Text lacks in many foreign lands.
- 37:27 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and some Greek manuscripts (see also 2 Kgs 19:26); most Hebrew manuscripts read like a terraced field.
- 37:36 Hebrew When they.
Isaiah 36-37
New American Standard Bible
Sennacherib Invades Judah
36 (A)Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, (B)Sennacherib king of Assyria marched against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. 2 And the (C)king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. And he stood by the (D)conduit of the upper pool on the road to the [a]fuller’s field. 3 Then (E)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and (F)Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to him.
4 And (G)Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: “What is this confidence that you have? 5 I say, ‘Your plan and strength for the war are only [b]empty words.’ Now on whom have you relied, that (H)you have revolted against me? 6 Behold, you have relied on the (I)staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his [c]hand and pierce it. (J)So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. 7 But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He (K)whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’? 8 Now then, come make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 9 How then can you [d]drive back even one [e]official of the least of my master’s servants and [f](L)rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 And have I now come up [g]without the Lord’s approval against this land to destroy it? (M)The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”
11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in (N)Aramaic, for we [h]understand it; and do not speak to us in [i](O)Judean [j]so that the people who are on the wall hear you.” 12 But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”
13 Then Rabshakeh stood and (P)called out with a loud voice in Judean and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 This is what the king says: ‘Do not let Hezekiah (Q)deceive you, for he will not be able to save you; 15 and do not let Hezekiah lead you to (R)rely on the Lord, saying, “The Lord will certainly save us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria!” 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘[k]Surrender to me and come out to me, and eat, each one, of his (S)vine and each of his fig tree, and each drink of the (T)waters of his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you, saying, “(U)The Lord will save us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations saved his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of (V)Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of (W)Sepharvaim? And when have they (X)saved Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the (Y)gods of these lands have saved their land from my hand, that the (Z)Lord would save Jerusalem from my hand?’”
21 But they were silent and did not (AA)answer him so much as a word; for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then (AB)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and (AC)Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Help
37 Now (AD)when King Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent (AE)Eliakim, who was in charge of the household, with (AF)Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to (AG)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This day is a (AH)day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation; for (AI)children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to [l]deliver them. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to (AJ)taunt the living God, and will avenge the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for (AK)the remnant that is left.’”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “This is what you shall say to your master: ‘This is what the Lord says: “(AL)Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Behold, I am going to put a spirit in him so that he will (AM)hear news and (AN)return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”
8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against (AO)Libnah, for he had heard that [m]the king had left (AP)Lachish. 9 Now he (AQ)heard them say regarding Tirhakah king of [n](AR)Cush, “He has come out to fight against you,” and when he heard it he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “This is what you shall say to Hezekiah king of [o]Judah: ‘(AS)Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 (AT)Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved? 12 Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: (AU)Gozan, (AV)Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer in the Temple
14 Then Hezekiah took the [p]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and [q]spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying, 16 “Lord of armies, God of Israel, (AW)who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the (AX)God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. (AY)You made heaven and earth. 17 (AZ)Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and (BA)listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to (BB)taunt the living God. 18 Truly, Lord, the (BC)kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries and their lands, 19 and have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but only the (BD)work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have (BE)destroyed them. 20 But now Lord, our God, (BF)save us from his hand, so that (BG)all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, [r]Lord, are God.”
God Answers through Isaiah
21 Then (BH)Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:
“She has shown contempt for you and derided you,
The (BI)virgin (BJ)daughter of Zion;
The daughter of Jerusalem has (BK)shaken her head behind you!
23 Whom have you (BL)taunted and blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice
And [s]haughtily (BM)raised your eyes?
Against the (BN)Holy One of Israel!
24 Through your servants you have taunted the Lord,
And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of (BO)Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall (BP)cedars and its choice junipers.
And I will come to its [t]highest peak, its thickest (BQ)forest.
25 I dug wells and drank waters,
And (BR)with the sole of my feet I dried up
All the canals of [u]Egypt.’
26 (BS)Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it,
From ancient times I (BT)planned it.
Now (BU)I have brought it about
That (BV)you would turn fortified cities into (BW)ruined heaps.
27 Therefore their inhabitants were [v]powerless,
They were shattered and put to shame;
They were like the (BX)vegetation of the field and the green grass,
Like (BY)grass on the housetops [w]that is scorched before it has grown.
28 But I (BZ)know your sitting down,
Your going out, your coming in,
And your raging against Me.
29 Because of your raging against Me
And because your (CA)complacency has come up to My ears,
I will put My (CB)hook in your nose
And My (CC)bridle in your lips,
And I will turn you back (CD)by the way that you came.
30 “Then this shall be the sign for you: [x]you will eat this year what (CE)grows of itself, in the second year what grows from the same, and in the third year sow, harvest, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 The (CF)survivors that are (CG)left of the house of Judah will again (CH)take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem a (CI)remnant will go, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The (CJ)zeal of the Lord of armies will perform this.”’
33 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield, nor heap up an (CK)assault ramp against it. 34 (CL)By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he will not come to this city,’ declares the Lord. 35 ‘For I will (CM)protect this city to save it (CN)for My own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.’”
Assyrians Destroyed
36 Then the (CO)angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of [y]the 185,000 were [z]dead. 37 So Sennacherib the king of Assyria departed and [aa]returned home and lived in (CP)Nineveh. 38 Then it came about, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped to the land of (CQ)Ararat. And his son (CR)Esarhaddon became king in his place.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 36:2 I.e., launderer’s
- Isaiah 36:5 Lit a word of lips
- Isaiah 36:6 Lit palm
- Isaiah 36:9 Lit turn away the face of
- Isaiah 36:9 Or governor
- Isaiah 36:9 Lit rely on for yourself
- Isaiah 36:10 Lit without the Lord
- Isaiah 36:11 Lit hear
- Isaiah 36:11 I.e., Hebrew
- Isaiah 36:11 Lit in the ears of...wall
- Isaiah 36:16 Lit Make with me a blessing
- Isaiah 37:3 Lit give birth
- Isaiah 37:8 Lit he
- Isaiah 37:9 Or Ethiopia
- Isaiah 37:10 Lit Judah, saying
- Isaiah 37:14 Lit letters
- Isaiah 37:14 Lit Hezekiah spread
- Isaiah 37:20 As in DSS and 2 Kin 19:19; MT are the Lord
- Isaiah 37:23 Lit on high
- Isaiah 37:24 Lit farthest height
- Isaiah 37:25 Or the besieged place
- Isaiah 37:27 Lit short of hand
- Isaiah 37:27 As in DSS and 2 Kin 19:26; MT and as a terraced field
- Isaiah 37:30 Lit eating
- Isaiah 37:36 Lit them
- Isaiah 37:36 Lit dead bodies
- Isaiah 37:37 Lit went and returned
Psalm 76
New Living Translation
Psalm 76
For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph. A song to be accompanied by stringed instruments.
1 God is honored in Judah;
his name is great in Israel.
2 Jerusalem[a] is where he lives;
Mount Zion is his home.
3 There he has broken the fiery arrows of the enemy,
the shields and swords and weapons of war. Interlude
4 You are glorious and more majestic
than the everlasting mountains.[b]
5 Our boldest enemies have been plundered.
They lie before us in the sleep of death.
No warrior could lift a hand against us.
6 At the blast of your breath, O God of Jacob,
their horses and chariots lay still.
7 No wonder you are greatly feared!
Who can stand before you when your anger explodes?
8 From heaven you sentenced your enemies;
the earth trembled and stood silent before you.
9 You stand up to judge those who do evil, O God,
and to rescue the oppressed of the earth. Interlude
10 Human defiance only enhances your glory,
for you use it as a weapon.[c]
11 Make vows to the Lord your God, and keep them.
Let everyone bring tribute to the Awesome One.
12 For he breaks the pride of princes,
and the kings of the earth fear him.
Psalm 76
New American Standard Bible
The Victorious Power of the God of Jacob.
For the music director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.
76 God is (A)known in Judah;
His name is (B)great in Israel.
2 His [a](C)tabernacle is in (D)Salem;
His (E)dwelling place also is in Zion.
3 There He (F)broke the [b]flaming arrows,
The shield, the sword, and the [c]weapons of war. Selah
4 You are resplendent,
[d]More majestic than the mountains of prey.
5 The (G)stouthearted were plundered,
[e]They sank into sleep;
And none of the [f]warriors could use his hands.
6 At Your (H)rebuke, God of Jacob,
Both [g](I)rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.
7 You, You indeed are (J)to be feared,
And (K)who may stand in Your presence, [h]once You are angry?
8 You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;
The earth (L)feared and was still
9 When God (M)arose to judgment,
To save all the humble of the earth. Selah
10 For the [i](N)wrath of mankind shall praise You;
You will encircle Yourself with a remnant of wrath.
11 (O)Make vows to the Lord your God and (P)fulfill them;
All who are around Him are to (Q)bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.
12 He will cut off the spirit of princes;
He is [j](R)feared by the kings of the earth.
Footnotes
- Psalm 76:2 Lit shelter
- Psalm 76:3 Lit fiery shafts of the bow
- Psalm 76:3 Lit battle
- Psalm 76:4 Or Majestic from the mountains
- Psalm 76:5 Lit They slumbered their sleep
- Psalm 76:5 Lit men of might have found their hands
- Psalm 76:6 Lit chariot
- Psalm 76:7 Lit since Your anger
- Psalm 76:10 Lit wraths
- Psalm 76:12 Lit awesome to
1 Peter 1
New Living Translation
Greetings from Peter
1 This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.[a] 2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more grace and peace.
The Hope of Eternal Life
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6 So be truly glad.[b] There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.
12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
A Call to Holy Living
13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”[c]
17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” 18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.
21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters.[d] Love each other deeply with all your heart.[e]
23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. 24 As the Scriptures say,
“People are like grass;
their beauty is like a flower in the field.
The grass withers and the flower fades.
25 But the word of the Lord remains forever.”[f]
And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.
Footnotes
- 1:1 Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia were Roman provinces in what is now Turkey.
- 1:6 Or So you are truly glad.
- 1:16 Lev 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7.
- 1:22a Greek must have brotherly love.
- 1:22b Some manuscripts read with a pure heart.
- 1:24-25 Isa 40:6-8.
1 Peter 1
New American Standard Bible
A Living Hope and a Sure Salvation
1 (A)Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who reside as (B)strangers, (C)scattered throughout (D)Pontus, (E)Galatia, (F)Cappadocia, (G)Asia, and (H)Bithynia, (I)who are chosen 2 according to the (J)foreknowledge of God the Father, (K)by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, [a]to (L)obey Jesus Christ and be (M)sprinkled with His blood: (N)May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
3 (O)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who (P)according to His great mercy (Q)has caused us to be born again to (R)a living hope through the (S)resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an (T)inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and (U)will not fade away, (V)reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are (W)protected by the power of God (X)through faith for (Y)a salvation ready (Z)to be revealed in the last time. 6 (AA)In this you greatly rejoice, even though now (AB)for a little while, (AC)if necessary, you have been distressed by (AD)various [b]trials, 7 so that the [c](AE)proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes (AF)though tested by fire, (AG)may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at (AH)the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and (AI)though you have not seen Him, you (AJ)love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and [d]full of glory, 9 obtaining as (AK)the outcome of your faith, the salvation of [e]your souls.
10 (AL)As to this salvation, the prophets who (AM)prophesied of the (AN)grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11 [f]seeking to know what person or time (AO)the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He (AP)predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories [g]to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who (AQ)preached the gospel to you by (AR)the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which (AS)angels long to [h]look.
13 Therefore, [i](AT)prepare your minds for action, [j](AU)keep sober in spirit, set your (AV)hope completely on the (AW)grace to be brought to you at (AX)the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As [k](AY)obedient children, do not [l](AZ)be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your (BA)ignorance, 15 but [m](BB)like the Holy One who called you, [n](BC)be holy yourselves also (BD)in all your behavior; 16 because it is written: “(BE)You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
17 If you (BF)address as Father the One who (BG)impartially (BH)judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves (BI)in fear during the time of your (BJ)stay on earth; 18 knowing that you were not [o](BK)redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your (BL)futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious (BM)blood, as of a (BN)lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 20 For He was (BO)foreknown before (BP)the foundation of the world, but has (BQ)appeared [p]in these last times (BR)for the sake of you 21 who through Him are (BS)believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and (BT)gave Him glory, so that your faith and (BU)hope are in God.
22 Since you have (BV)purified your souls (BW)in obedience to the truth for a (BX)sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently love one another from [q]the heart, 23 for you have been (BY)born again (BZ)not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring (CA)word of God. 24 For,
“(CB)All flesh is like grass,
And all its glory is like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
And the flower falls off,
25 (CC)But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is (CD)the word which was [r]preached to you.
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 1:2 Lit unto obedience and sprinkling
- 1 Peter 1:6 Or temptations
- 1 Peter 1:7 Or genuineness
- 1 Peter 1:8 Lit glorified
- 1 Peter 1:9 One early ms does not contain your
- 1 Peter 1:11 Or inquiring
- 1 Peter 1:11 Lit after these
- 1 Peter 1:12 Or gain a clear glimpse
- 1 Peter 1:13 Lit belt up the waist of your mind
- 1 Peter 1:13 Lit be sober
- 1 Peter 1:14 Lit children of obedience
- 1 Peter 1:14 Or conform yourselves
- 1 Peter 1:15 Lit according to
- 1 Peter 1:15 Or become
- 1 Peter 1:18 Or ransomed
- 1 Peter 1:20 Lit at the end of the times
- 1 Peter 1:22 Two early mss a pure heart
- 1 Peter 1:25 Lit preached as good news to you
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
