1 Peter 1
King James Version
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
1 Peter 1
Contemporary English Version
1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
To God's people who are scattered like foreigners in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
2 God the Father decided to choose you as his people, and his Spirit has made you holy. You have obeyed Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with his blood.[a]
I pray that God will be kind to you and will keep on giving you peace!
A Real Reason for Hope
3 Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. 4 (A) God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.
5 You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day.[b] Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. 6 On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while. 7 (B) Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns.
8 You have never seen Jesus, and you don't see him now. But still you love him and have faith in him, and no words can tell how glad and happy 9 you are to be saved. This is why you have faith.
10 Some prophets told how God would treat you with undeserved grace, and they searched hard to find out more about the way you would be saved. 11 The Spirit of Christ was in them and was telling them how Christ would suffer and would then be given great honor. So they searched to find out exactly who Christ would be and when this would happen. 12 But they were told that they were serving you and not themselves. They preached to you by the power of the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven. And their message was only for you, even though angels would like to know more about it.
Chosen To Live a Holy Life
13 Be alert and think straight. Put all your hope in how God will treat you with undeserved grace when Jesus Christ appears. 14 Behave like obedient children. Don't let your lives be controlled by your desires, as they used to be. 15 Always live as God's holy people should, because God is the one who chose you, and he is holy. 16 (C) That's why the Scriptures say, “I am the holy God, and you must be holy too.”
17 You say that God is your Father, but God doesn't have favorites! He judges all people by what they do. So you must honor God while you live as strangers here on earth. 18 You were rescued[c] from the useless way of life you learned from your ancestors. But you know you were not rescued by such things as silver or gold that don't last forever. 19 (D) You were rescued by the precious blood of Christ, that spotless and innocent lamb. 20 Christ was chosen even before the world was created, but because of you, he did not come until these last days. 21 And when he did come, it was to lead you to have faith in God, who raised him from death and honored him in a glorious way. This is why you have put your faith and hope in God.
22 You obeyed the truth,[d] and your souls were made pure. Now you sincerely love each other. But you must keep on loving with all your heart. 23 Do this because God has given you new birth by his message that lives on forever. 24 (E) The Scriptures say,
“Humans wither like grass,
and their glory fades
like wild flowers.
Grass dries up,
and flowers fall
to the ground.
25 But what the Lord has said
will stand forever.”
Our good news to you is what the Lord has said.
Footnotes
- 1.2 sprinkled with his blood: According to Exodus 24.3-8 the people of Israel were sprinkled with the blood of cows to show they would keep their agreement with God. Peter says that it is the blood of Jesus that seals the agreement between God and his people (see Hebrews 9.18-21).
- 1.5 the last day: When God will judge all people.
- 1.18 rescued: The Greek word often, though not always, means payment of a price to free a slave or prisoner.
- 1.22 You obeyed the truth: Some manuscripts add “by the power of the Spirit.”
1 Peter 1
English Standard Version
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, 2 according 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, 4 to (K)an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and (L)unfading, (M)kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded (N)through faith for a salvation (O)ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by (P)various trials, 7 so 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 honor 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, 9 obtaining (W)the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, (X)the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring (Y)what person or time[a] (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
13 Therefore, (AG)preparing your minds for action,[b] and (AH)being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, (AI)do not be conformed to the passions (AJ)of your former ignorance, 15 but (AK)as he who called you is holy, you also be holy (AL)in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, (AM)“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And 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, 18 knowing that you (AR)were ransomed from (AS)the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but (AT)with the precious blood of Christ, like that of (AU)a lamb (AV)without blemish or spot. 20 He 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.
22 Having 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; 24 for
(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 forever.”
And this word (BI)is the good news that was preached to you.
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 1:11 Or what time or circumstances
- 1 Peter 1:13 Greek girding up the loins of your mind
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
