1 Peter 1
Lexham English Bible
Greeting
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen[a] who are residing temporarily in the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and for sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
A New Birth to a Living Hope
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 into an inheritance imperishable and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for you 5 who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time, 6 in which you rejoice greatly, although[b] now for a short time, if necessary,[c] you are distressed by various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith, more valuable than gold that is passing away, but is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom, although you[d] have not seen, you love; in whom now you believe, although you[e] do not see him, and you rejoice greatly with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining the goal of your faith, the salvation of your[f] souls.
10 Concerning this[g] salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace meant for you sought and made careful inquiry, 11 investigating for what person or which time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he[h] testified beforehand to the sufferings with reference to Christ and the glories after these things, 12 to whom it was revealed that they were serving not themselves but you with reference to the same things which now have been announced to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which[i] angels desire to look.
Be Holy in All Your Conduct
13 Therefore, when you have prepared your minds for action[j] by[k] being self-controlled, put your hope completely in the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former desires you used to conform to[l] in your ignorance, 15 but as the one who called you is holy, you yourselves be holy in all your conduct, 16 for it is written, “You will be holy, because I am[m] holy.”[n][o] 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves with fear during the time of your temporary residence, 18 because you[p] know that you were redeemed from your futile way of life inherited from your ancestors not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb 20 who was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has been revealed in these last times for you 21 who through him are believing in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love, love one another fervently from the heart,[q] 23 because you[r] have been born again, not from perishable seed but imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For
“all flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the grass.
The grass withers and the flower falls off,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever[s].”[t]
And this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 1:1 Or “elect”
- 1 Peter 1:6 Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“are distressed”) which is understood as concessive
- 1 Peter 1:6 Some manuscripts have “if it is necessary”
- 1 Peter 1:8 Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“seen”) which is understood as concessive
- 1 Peter 1:8 Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“see”) which is understood as concessive
- 1 Peter 1:9 This is an understood repetition of the previous “your”
- 1 Peter 1:10 Literally “which”
- 1 Peter 1:11 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“testified beforehand”) which is understood as temporal
- 1 Peter 1:12 Literally “into which things”
- 1 Peter 1:13 Literally “having girded up the loins of your mind”
- 1 Peter 1:13 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“being self-controlled”) which is understood as means
- 1 Peter 1:14 This is an understood repetition of the earlier verb “be conformed to”
- 1 Peter 1:16 Here the verb is understood in Greek and is supplied in the translation
- 1 Peter 1:16 A quotation from Lev 19:2
- 1 Peter 1:16 Some manuscripts explicitly state “I am holy”
- 1 Peter 1:18 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“know”) which is understood as causal
- 1 Peter 1:22 Some manuscripts have “from a pure heart”
- 1 Peter 1:23 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“have been born again”) which is understood as causal
- 1 Peter 1:25 Literally “for the age”
- 1 Peter 1:25 A quotation from Isa 40:6, 8
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.
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