ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 Peter 1.7

Book: 1 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

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:

  1. 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 Peter 1:5-9, ASV)
WEB

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,

  1. 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 Peter 1:5-9, WEB)
KJV

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:

  1. 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 Peter 1:5-9, KJV)
YLT

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,

  1. 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 Peter 1:5-9, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Peter, writing through Silvanus (5:12)
  • Audience: scattered believers across five Roman provinces of Asia Minor, described as sojourners and exiles and facing social hostility rather than state persecution
  • Location: written from "Babylon" (5:13), most likely a designation for Rome
  • Time period: c. AD 62 to 64, before the Neronian persecution

Theological reading

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 honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The metallurgical image is exact and repays attention. Gold is refined by heat that destroys nothing valuable and removes what is not gold. The fire is not punishment and not accident; it is a process with a specified output.

The comparison is a fortiori. Gold is precious and perishes. Faith is more precious and does not. If the perishable thing is worth refining, the imperishable thing is worth more trouble, not less. That is the argument's shape and it is aimed squarely at the reader asking why hardship should fall on people God has just called elect and guarded.

Dokimion means the tested or proven quality of a thing rather than the test itself. What survives the fire is what is being displayed.

The output is directed away from the believer. The proven faith is found unto praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ, and Peter does not specify whose praise. Read either way, the terminus is the future disclosure rather than any present benefit, which is a harder and more honest pastoral claim than promising that trials will make life better now.

The image recurs at 4:12, where Peter tells them not to think the fiery trial strange, as though something unexpected were happening. See Problem of Evil.

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.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Lexicon:

Passages:

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.