Passage
1 Peter 1.13-21
Book: 1 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
ASV
11. searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them. 12. To whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they minister these things, which now have been announced unto you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven; which things angels desire to look into.
13. Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14. as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in the time of your ignorance: 15. but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; 16. because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy. 17. And if ye call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to each man's work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear: 18. knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; 19. but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, even the blood of Christ: 20. who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of times for your sake, 21. who through him are believers in God, that raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.
- Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently: 23. having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth. (1 Peter 1:11-23, ASV)
WEB
11. searching for who or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, pointed to, when he predicted the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would follow them. 12. To them it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to you, they ministered these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Good News to you by the Holy Spirit sent out from heaven; which things angels desire to look into.
13. Therefore prepare your minds for action, be sober, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 14. as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance, 15. but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior; 16. because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.” 17. If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear: 18. knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, 19. but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ; 20. who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in this last age for your sake, 21. who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.
- Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently: 23. having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever. (1 Peter 1:11-23, WEB)
KJV
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; to the end: Gr. perfectly 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.
- 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. (1 Peter 1:11-23, KJV)
YLT
11. searching in regard to what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ that was in them was manifesting, testifying beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory after these, 12. to whom it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to us they were ministering these, which now were told to you (through those who did proclaim good news to you,) in the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, to which things messengers do desire to bend looking.
13. Wherefore having girded up the loins of your mind, being sober, hope perfectly upon the grace that is being brought to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ, 14. as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves to the former desires in your ignorance, 15. but according as He who did call you [is] holy, ye also, become holy in all behaviour, 16. because it hath been written, 'Become ye holy, because I am holy;' 17. and if on the Father ye do call, who without acceptance of persons is judging according to the work of each, in fear the time of your sojourn pass ye, 18. having known that, not with corruptible things, silver or gold, were ye redeemed from your foolish behaviour delivered by fathers, 19. but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and unspotted, Christ's 20. foreknown, indeed, before the foundation of the world, and manifested in the last times because of you, 21. who through him do believe in God, who did raise out of the dead, and glory to him did give, so that your faith and hope may be in God.
- Your souls having purified in the obedience of the truth through the Spirit to brotherly love unfeigned, out of a pure heart one another love ye earnestly, 23. being begotten again, not out of seed corruptible, but incorruptible, through a word of God, living and remaining, to the age; (1 Peter 1:11-23, YLT)
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Setting
- Speaker: Peter the apostle, writing with the help of Silvanus (1 Pet 5:12).
- Audience: Christians described as "those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (1 Pet 1:1), five Roman provinces in northern and central Asia Minor. The audience is largely Gentile (1 Pet 1:18, a futile way of life inherited from their forefathers; 4:3-4).
- Location: Written from "Babylon" (1 Pet 5:13), which the great majority of interpreters read as a cipher for Rome, as in Revelation 17:5.
- Time period: c. AD 62-64 on the traditional authorship, before or at the very beginning of the Neronian persecution. The hostility the letter addresses is social and local, slander, exclusion, and abuse, rather than empire-wide legal prosecution.
Theological reading
The letter's first sustained block of instruction, moving from mental preparedness to holiness to the price of redemption.
Verse 13, "gird your minds for action." Anazōsamenoi tas osphyas tēs dianoias, literally girding up the loins of your mind: pulling a long robe through the belt so as to be able to run or work. The image is exodus-shaped (Exodus 12:11, eat it with your loins girded), which suits a letter addressed to exiles. Paired with nēphontes, being sober, and with a hope fixed completely on the coming grace.
Verses 15-16, the holiness quotation. "You shall be holy, for I am holy" is from Leviticus 11:44-45 and 19:2. Peter applies Israel's distinctive-people vocabulary to Gentile converts without qualification, as he does again with the priesthood and nationhood language of 1 Peter 2:9.
Verse 17, the Father who judges impartially. Addressing God as Father and living in reverent fear are put together rather than in tension, and the reason given is the impartiality of His judgment on each one's work.
Verses 18-19, the ransom. "You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold... but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." Lytroō is the redemption-price verb (G3083 - lytron), and amōmos kai aspilos is Levitical sacrificial vocabulary. The negative half matters: the currency of manumission is named and rejected.
Verses 20-21, foreknown and manifested. Christ was "foreknown before the foundation of the world but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you." Proegnōsmenou, the participle of proginōskō, is used here of a person rather than of information, which is a data point in the long argument over whether that verb is epistemic or elective in Romans 8:29. See Foreknowledge Is Causation Objection Defeater.
Key words
Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.
- G5218 - hypakoe, hypakoe, Strong's G5218
- G0602 - apokalypsis, apokalypsis, Strong's G0602
- G3498 - nekros, nekros, Strong's G3498
- G1453 - egeiro, egeiro, Strong's G1453
- G1510 - eimi, eimi, Strong's G1510
- G5485 - charis, charis, Strong's G5485
Quoted in
Arguments and defeaters:
- Argument from Sanctity, via 1 Peter 1.13-16
- Cursed Messiah Objection Defeater, via 1 Peter 1.19-20
- Failed Second Coming Prophecy Objection Defeater, via 1 Peter 1.20
- Foreknowledge Is Causation Objection Defeater, via 1 Peter 1.20
- God Showed No Love in Eden Objection Defeater, via 1 Peter 1.19-20
- Jesus Didnt Know the Hour Objection Defeater, via 1 Peter 1.18-19
- Jesus is Not a Human Sacrifice (Defeater), via 1 Peter 1.18-19, 1 Peter 1.20
Concepts:
- Akedah, via 1 Peter 1.18-19
- Christ Was Made (Misread Proof-Texts), via 1 Peter 1.20
- Doctrine, via 1 Peter 1.16
- God and the Killing of Children, via 1 Peter 1.18-19
- God Showed No Love in Eden Objection, via 1 Peter 1.19-20
- Human Sacrifice in the Old Testament, via 1 Peter 1.18-19
- Open Theism, via 1 Peter 1.20
- Penal Substitutionary Atonement, via 1 Peter 1.18-19
- Predestination, via 1 Peter 1.20
- Redemption, via 1 Peter 1.18-19
Lexicon:
- G0487 - antallagma, via 1 Peter 1.18-19
- G0602 - apokalypsis, via 1 Peter 1.13
- G1453 - egeiro, via 1 Peter 1.21
- G3083 - lytron, via 1 Peter 1.18-19
- G3952 - parousia, via 1 Peter 1.13
- G5218 - hypakoe, via 1 Peter 1.14
- G5219 - hypakouo, via 1 Peter 1.14
- H1350 - goel, via 1 Peter 1.18-19
- H1818 - dam, via 1 Peter 1.18-19
- H3724 - kopher, via 1 Peter 1.18-19
- H6918 - qadosh, via 1 Peter 1.15-16
Why these four translations
ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.
The four:
- ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.
See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.