18 For (A)Christ also [a]suffered for sins (B)once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might (C)bring us to God, having been put to death (D)in the flesh, but made alive (E)in the [b]spirit; 19 in [c]which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20 who once were disobedient when the (F)patience of God (G)kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of (H)the ark, in which a few, that is, (I)eight (J)persons, were brought safely through the water. 21 (K)Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—(L)not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God [d]for a (M)good conscience—through (N)the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Peter 3:18 One early ms died
  2. 1 Peter 3:18 Or Spirit
  3. 1 Peter 3:19 Or whom
  4. 1 Peter 3:21 Or from

18 Because Christ also died once for our sins, the just for the unjust: that he might offer us to God, being put to death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit,

19 In which also coming he preached to those spirits that were in prison:

20 Which had been some time incredulous, when they waited for the patience of God in the days of Noe, when the ark was a building: wherein a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.

21 Whereunto baptism being of the like form, now saveth you also: not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the examination of a good conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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18 For Christ also suffered[a] for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit.(A) 19 In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,[b] 20 who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water.(B) 21 This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God[c] for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 3:18 Suffered: very many ancient manuscripts and versions read “died.” Put to death in the flesh: affirms that Jesus truly died as a human being. Brought to life in the spirit: that is, in the new and transformed existence freed from the limitations and weaknesses of natural human life (cf. 1 Cor 15:45).
  2. 3:19 The spirits in prison: it is not clear just who these spirits are. They may be the spirits of the sinners who died in the flood, or angelic powers, hostile to God, who have been overcome by Christ (cf. 1 Pt 3:22; Gn 6:4; Enoch 6–36, especially 21:6; 2 Enoch 7:1–5).
  3. 3:21 Appeal to God: this could also be translated “pledge,” that is, a promise on the part of Christians to live with a good conscience before God, or a pledge from God of forgiveness and therefore a good conscience for us.

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

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