1 Peter 1
New Matthew Bible
He writes that through the abundant mercy of God, we are begotten again to a living hope, and how faith must be tried. How the salvation in Christ is nothing new, but a thing prophesied of old. He exhorts them to lead godly lives, since they are now born anew by the word of God.
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that dwell here and there as strangers throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect by the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying of the Spirit, for obedience and for sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Grace be with you, and peace be multiplied.
3 Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who through his abundant mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death, 4 to enjoy an inheritance immortal and undefiled, and that does not perish, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Which salvation is prepared all ready to be shown in the last time – 6 in which time you will rejoice, though now for a season (if need require) you are in heaviness 7 through manifold trials, so that your faith, once tried, being much more precious than gold that perishes (though it be tried with fire), may be found to laud, glory, and honour at the appearing of Jesus Christ – 8 whom you have not seen, and yet love him; in whom even now, though you see him not, yet you do believe, and rejoice with joy inexpressible and glorious, 9 receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Of this salvation have the prophets enquired and searched, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching when or at what time the Spirit of Christ that was in them was signifying – which Spirit foretold the sufferings that would come to Christ and the glory that would follow after. 12 To these prophets it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us, they would minister the things that are now shown to you by those who, by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven, have preached to you the things which the angels desire to behold.
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your minds, be sober, and trust fully on the grace that is brought to you by the declaring of Jesus Christ, 14 as obedient children – not fashioning yourselves to your old lusts of ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy, in all manner of conduct, 16 because it is written: Be holy, for I am holy.
17 And if it be so that you call on the Father, who without respect of person judges according to each one’s works, see that you pass the time of your pilgrimage in fear. 18 For you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible silver and gold from the vain ways that you received from the fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb undefiled and without spot. 20 He was ordained before the world was made, but was shown in these last times for your sakes – 21 you who, by means of him, have believed on God, who raised him from death and glorified him so that your faith and hope may be in God.
22 And inasmuch as you have purified your souls through the Spirit, in the obedience of truth with brotherly love unfeigned, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently. 23 For you are born anew, not of mortal seed, but of immortal: by the word of God, which lives and lasts forever.
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man is as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls away, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word which by the gospel was preached among you.
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
1 Peter 1
New International Reader's Version
1 I, Peter, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Jesus Christ.
I am sending this letter to you, God’s chosen people. You are people who have had to wander in the world. You are scattered all over the areas of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. 2 You have been chosen in keeping with what God the Father had planned. That happened through the Spirit’s work to make you pure and holy. God chose you so that you might obey Jesus Christ. God wanted you to be in a covenant relationship with him. He established this relationship by the blood of Christ.
May more and more grace and peace be given to you.
Peter Praises God for a Living Hope
3 Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he has given us a new birth and a living hope. This hope is living because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. 4 He has given us new birth so that we might share in what belongs to him. This is a gift that can never be destroyed. It can never spoil or even fade away. It is kept in heaven for you. 5 Through faith you are kept safe by God’s power. Your salvation is going to be completed. It is ready to be shown to you in the last days. 6 Because you know all this, you have great joy. You have joy even though you may have had to suffer for a little while. You may have had to suffer sadness in all kinds of trouble. 7 Your troubles have come in order to prove that your faith is real. Your faith is worth more than gold. That’s because gold can pass away even when fire has made it pure. Your faith is meant to bring praise, honor and glory to God. This will happen when Jesus Christ returns. 8 Even though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not see him now, you believe in him. You are filled with a glorious joy that can’t be put into words. 9 You are receiving the salvation of your souls. This salvation is the final result of your faith.
10 The prophets searched very hard and with great care to find out about this salvation. They spoke about the grace that was going to come to you. 11 They wanted to find out when and how this salvation would come. The Spirit of Christ in them was telling them about the sufferings of the Messiah. These were his sufferings that were going to come. The Spirit of Christ was also telling them about the glory that would follow. 12 It was made known to the prophets that they were not serving themselves. Instead, they were serving you when they spoke about the things that you have now heard. Those who have preached the good news to you have told you these things. They have done it with the help of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Be Holy
13 So be watchful, and control yourselves completely. In this way, put your hope in the grace that lies ahead. This grace will be brought to you when Jesus Christ returns. 14 You should obey your Father. You shouldn’t give in to evil desires. They controlled your life when you didn’t know any better. 15 The God who chose you is holy. So you should be holy in all that you do. 16 It is written, “Be holy, because I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:44,45; 19:2)
17 You call on a Father who judges each person’s work without favoring one over another. So live as outsiders during your time here. Live with the highest respect for God. 18 You were set free from an empty way of life. This way of life was handed down to you by your own people of long ago. You know that you were not bought with things that can pass away, like silver or gold. 19 Instead, you were bought with the priceless blood of Christ. He is a perfect lamb. He doesn’t have any flaws at all. 20 He was chosen before God created the world. But he came into the world for your sake in these last days. 21 Because of what Christ has done, you believe in God. It was God who raised him from the dead. And it was God who gave him glory. So your faith and hope are in God.
22 You have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. So you have an honest and true love for each other. So love one another deeply, from your hearts. 23 You have been born again by means of the living word of God. His word lasts forever. You were not born again from a seed that will die. You were born from a seed that can’t die. 24 It is written,
“All people are like grass.
All their glory is like the flowers in the field.
The grass dries up. The flowers fall to the ground.
25 But the word of the Lord lasts forever.” (Isaiah 40:6–8)
And this is the word that was preached to you.
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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