ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 Peter 1.6-9

Book: 1 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

4. unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5. who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials, 7. that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: 8. whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9. receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

  1. Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 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. (1 Peter 1:4-11, ASV)
WEB

4. to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, 5. who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6. Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials, 7. that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8. whom not having known you love; in whom, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory, 9. receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

  1. Concerning this salvation, the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 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. (1 Peter 1:4-11, WEB)
KJV

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

  1. 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. (1 Peter 1:4-11, KJV)
YLT

4. to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and unfading, reserved in the heavens for you, 5. who, in the power of God are being guarded, through faith, unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time,

6. in which ye are glad, a little now, if it be necessary, being made to sorrow in manifold trials, 7. that the proof of your faith, much more precious than of gold that is perishing, and through fire being approved, may be found to praise, and honour, and glory, in the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8. whom, not having seen, ye love, in whom, now not seeing and believing, ye are glad with joy unspeakable and glorified, 9. receiving the end of your faith, salvation of souls;

  1. concerning which salvation seek out and search out did prophets who concerning the grace toward you did prophecy, 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, (1 Peter 1:4-11, 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 paragraph runs from present distress to a joy the readers already have, and its hinge is that they have never seen the one they love.

Verses 6-7, the refining. Trials are temporary ("for a little while"), purposeful ("if necessary"), and assaying rather than destructive: dokimion, the test that establishes genuineness, applied to a faith described as more precious than the gold used to measure value. See 1 Peter 1.6-7.

Verse 8, faith without sight. "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory." Peter, who had seen Him, writes this to people who had not, and does not treat their position as inferior. The thought is the same as Jesus's word to Thomas at John 20:29, "blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed", and it is one of the New Testament's clearest statements that Christian faith was never expected to depend on personal eyewitness.

Verse 9, the outcome. "Obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." Komizomenoi, receiving what is due, is present tense: the outcome is being received now, not merely awaited, which matches the already-and-not-yet shape of the whole letter.

Why the sequence matters apologetically. Peter grounds the readers' joy in a person they have not seen, on the testimony of those who did, and immediately afterwards (verses 10-12) grounds that testimony in the prophets. The letter presents Christian belief as evidentially mediated rather than self-generated, which is worth noting against the charge that New Testament faith is credulity. See Faith is Belief Without Evidence 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.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Lexicon:

Notes

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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.