1 Peter 1

English Standard Version Anglicised

Greeting

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of ^(A)the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ²according to ^(B)the foreknowledge of God the Father, ^(C)in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and ^(D)for sprinkling with his blood:

May ^(E)grace and ^(F)peace be multiplied to you.

Born Again to a Living Hope

³^(G)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ^(H)According to his great mercy, ^(I)he has caused us to be born again to a living hope ^(J)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to ^(K)an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and ^(L)unfading, ^(M)kept in heaven for you, ⁵who by God's power are being guarded ^(N)through faith for a salvation ^(O)ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by ^(P)various trials, ⁷so that ^(Q)the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes ^(R)though it is tested by ^(S)fire—may be found to result in ^(T)praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸^(U)Though you have not seen him, you love him. ^(V)Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹obtaining ^(W)the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰Concerning this salvation, ^(X)the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and enquired carefully, ¹¹enquiring ^(Y)what person or time ^(Z)the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating ^(AA)when he predicted ^(AB)the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ¹²^(AC)It was revealed to them that ^(AD)they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you ^(AE)by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, ^(AF)things into which angels long to look.

Called to Be Holy

¹³Therefore, ^(AG)preparing your minds for action,^[a] and ^(AH)being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴As obedient children, ^(AI)do not be conformed to the passions ^(AJ)of your former ignorance, ¹⁵but ^(AK)as he who called you is holy, you also be holy ^(AL)in all your conduct, ¹⁶since it is written, ^(AM)“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷And if you ^(AN)call on him as Father who ^(AO)judges ^(AP)impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves ^(AQ)with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸knowing that you ^(AR)were ransomed from ^(AS)the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹but ^(AT)with the precious blood of Christ, like that of ^(AU)a lamb ^(AV)without blemish or spot. ²⁰He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but ^(AW)was made manifest ^(AX)in the last times for the sake of you ²¹^(AY)who through him are believers in God, ^(AZ)who raised him from the dead and ^(BA)gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²²Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for ^(BB)a sincere brotherly love, ^(BC)love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³^(BD)since you have been born again, ^(BE)not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through ^(BF)the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴for

^(BG)“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
²⁵^(BH)but the word of the Lord remains for ever.”

And this word ^(BI)is the good news that was preached to you.

Footnotes

1 Peter 1:13 Greek girding up the loins of your mind

1 Peter 1

The Message

1 ^1-2I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!

A New Life

^3-5What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.

^6-7I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

^8-9You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking forward to: total salvation.

^10-12The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah’s Spirit let them in on some of it—that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves—through the Holy Spirit—the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!

A Future in God

^13-16So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”

¹⁷You call out to God for help and he helps—he’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, he’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living.

^18-21Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.

^22-25Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said,

The old life is a grass life,
its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers wilt,
God’s Word goes on and on forever.

This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.

English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

The Message (MSG)

1 Peter 1 English Standard Version Anglicised