Passage

1 Peter 1.9

Book: 1 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

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.

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 1:7-11, ASV)

WEB

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.

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 1:7-11, WEB)

KJV

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.

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 1:7-11, KJV)

YLT

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;

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 1:7-11, YLT)

See this page's graph and discover linked topics

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

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

Telos here is the goal or outcome toward which something runs rather than a mere stopping point, so the phrase means the thing faith was aimed at all along.

The participle komizomenoi, receiving, is present tense, which sits oddly beside verse 5's future salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. The tension is deliberate and is the New Testament's standard shape: salvation is possessed now in a real sense and completed later in a fuller one. A reader who flattens either pole loses the letter's argument, since Peter needs the present possession to explain the joy and the future completion to explain the endurance.

Psychon, of your souls, should not be read as the salvation of a disembodied part. In this letter as in Hebrew usage generally, psyche stands for the whole person as a living being, so the phrase means the salvation of yourselves. Peter is not promising escape from the body; 1:3 has already grounded the hope in a bodily resurrection. See Soul and Spirit, Origin and Awareness and Resurrection of the Body.

Verses 10 to 12 then add the detail most easily missed: the prophets who predicted this searched their own writings to learn what they meant, and angels desire to look into it. The salvation the readers possess is one that the prophets studied and the angels cannot enter.

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.

G5056 - telos, telos, Strong's G5056
G4991 - soteria, soteria, Strong's G4991
G5590 - psyche, psyche, Strong's G5590
G4102 - pistis, pistis, Strong's G4102

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Lexicon:

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.