1 Peter 1

J.B. Phillips New Testament

1 ^1-2Peter, messenger of Jesus Christ, sends this letter to the exiles of the dispersed tribes (in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia), whom God the Father knew and chose long ago to be made holy by his Spirit, that they might obey Jesus Christ and be cleansed by his blood: may you know more and more of God’s grace and peace.

Your faith is being tested, but your future is magnificent

^3-5Thank God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that in his great mercy we men have been born again into a life full of hope, through Christ’s rising again from the dead! You can now hope for a perfect inheritance beyond the reach of change and decay, “reserved” in Heaven for you. And in the meantime you are guarded by the power of God operating through your faith, till you enter fully into the salvation which is all ready for the d?nouement of the last day.

^6-9This means tremendous joy to you, I know, even though you are temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials and temptations. This is no accident—it happens to prove your faith, which is infinitely more valuable than gold, and gold, as you know, even though it is ultimately perishable, must be purified by fire. This proving of your faith is planned to bring you praise and honour and glory in the day when Jesus Christ reveals himself. And though you have never seen him, yet I know that you love him. At present you trust him without being able to see him, and even now he brings you a joy that words cannot express and which has in it a hint of the glories of Heaven; and all the time you are receiving the result of your faith in him—the salvation of your own souls.

^10-12The prophets of old did their utmost to discover and obtain this salvation. They did not find it, but they prophesied of this grace that has now come to you. They tried hard to discover to what time and to what sort of circumstances the Spirit of Christ working in them was referring. For he foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow them. It was then made clear to them that they were dealing with matters not meant for themselves, but for you. It is these very matters which have been made plain to you by those who preached the Gospel to you by the same Spirit sent from Heaven—and these are facts to command the interest of the very angels!

Consider soberly what God has done for you

^13-16So brace up your minds, and, as men who know what they are doing, rest the full weight of your hopes on the grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ reveals himself. Live as obedient children before God. Don’t let your character be moulded by the desires of your ignorant days, but be holy in every department of your lives, for the one who has called you is himself holy. The scripture says: ‘Be holy, for I am holy’.

^17-21If you pray to a Father who judges men by their actions without the slightest favouritism, then you should spend the time of your stay here on earth with reverent fear. For you must realise all the time that you have been “ransomed” from the futile way of living passed on to you by your fathers’ traditions, not with some money payment of transient value, but by the costly shedding of blood. The price was in fact the life-blood of Christ, the unblemished and unstained lamb of sacrifice. It is true that God chose him to fulfil this part before the world was founded, but it was for your benefit that he was revealed in these last days—for you who found your faith in God through Christ. And God raised him from the dead and gave him unimaginable splendour, so that all your faith and hope might be centred in God.

Let your life match your high calling

^22-25aNow that you have, by obeying the truth, made your souls clean enough for a genuine love of your fellows, see that you do love each other, fervently and from the heart. For you are the sons of God now; the live, permanent Word of the living God has given you his own indestructible heredity. It is true that: ‘All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures for ever’.

^25bThe Word referred to, as far as you are concerned, is the message of the Gospel that was preached to you.

1 Peter 1

King James Version

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

²Elect 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.

³Blessed 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,

⁴To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

⁵Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

⁶Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

⁷That 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:

⁸Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

⁹Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

¹¹Searching 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.

¹²Unto 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.

¹³Wherefore 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;

¹⁴As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

¹⁵But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

¹⁶Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

¹⁷And 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:

¹⁸Forasmuch 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;

¹⁹But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

²⁰Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

²¹Who 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.

²²Seeing 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:

²³Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

²⁴For 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:

²⁵But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

1 Peter 1

New King James Version

Greeting to the Elect Pilgrims

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To the ^[a]pilgrims ^(A)of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ²^(B)elect ^(C)according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, ^(D)in sanctification of the Spirit, for ^(E)obedience and ^(F)sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:

^(G)Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

A Heavenly Inheritance

³^(H)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who ^(I)according to His abundant mercy ^(J)has begotten us again to a living hope ^(K)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to an inheritance ^[b]incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, ^(L)reserved in heaven for you, ⁵^(M)who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

⁶^(N)In this you greatly rejoice, though now ^(O)for a little while, if need be, ^(P)you have been ^[c]grieved by various trials, ⁷that ^(Q)the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though ^(R)it is tested by fire, ^(S)may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, ⁸^(T)whom having not ^[d]seen you love. ^(U)Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, ¹¹searching what, or what manner of time, ^(V)the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. ¹²To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to ^[e]us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which ^(W)angels desire to look into.

Living Before God Our Father

¹³Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹⁴as obedient children, not ^(X)conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; ¹⁵^(Y)but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶because it is written, ^(Z)“Be holy, for I am holy.”

¹⁷And if you call on the Father, who ^(AA)without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your ^[f]stay here in fear; ¹⁸knowing that you were not redeemed with ^[g]corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, ¹⁹but ^(AB)with the precious blood of Christ, ^(AC)as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. ²⁰^(AD)He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was ^[h]manifest ^(AE)in these last times for you ²¹who through Him believe in God, ^(AF)who raised Him from the dead and ^(AG)gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

The Enduring Word

²²Since you ^(AH)have purified your souls in obeying the truth ^[i]through the Spirit in ^[j]sincere ^(AI)love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, ²³^(AJ)having been born again, not of ^[k]corruptible seed but ^[l]incorruptible, ^(AK)through the word of God which lives and abides ^[m]forever, ²⁴because

^(AL)“All flesh is as grass,
And all ^[n]the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
²⁵^(AM)But the ^[o]word of the Lord endures forever.”

^(AN)Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

Footnotes

1 Peter 1:1 sojourners, temporary residents
1 Peter 1:4 imperishable
1 Peter 1:6 distressed
1 Peter 1:8 M known
1 Peter 1:12 NU, M you
1 Peter 1:17 sojourning, dwelling as resident aliens
1 Peter 1:18 perishable
1 Peter 1:20 revealed
1 Peter 1:22 NU omits through the Spirit
1 Peter 1:22 Lit. unhypocritical
1 Peter 1:23 perishable
1 Peter 1:23 imperishable
1 Peter 1:23 NU omits forever
1 Peter 1:24 NU its glory as
1 Peter 1:25 spoken word

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain

New King James Version (NKJV)

1 Peter 1 J.B. Phillips New Testament