ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 Peter 3.21

Book: 1 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

19. in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, 20. that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water:

21. which also after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ;

  1. who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. (1 Peter 3:19-22, ASV)
WEB

19. in which he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20. who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.

21. This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

  1. who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him. (1 Peter 3:19-22, WEB)
KJV

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:

  1. Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. (1 Peter 3:19-22, KJV)
YLT

19. in which also to the spirits in prison having gone he did preach, 20. who sometime disbelieved, when once the long-suffering of God did wait, in days of Noah, an ark being preparing, in which few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water;

21. also to which an antitype doth now save us, baptism, (not a putting away of the filth of flesh, but the question of a good conscience in regard to God,) through the rising again of Jesus Christ,

  1. who is at the right hand of God, having gone on to heaven, messengers, and authorities, and powers, having been subjected to him. (1 Peter 3:19-22, 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

Which also after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

One of the New Testament's most contested verses on baptism, and Peter qualifies his own statement in the same sentence.

He says baptism saves. That much is on the page and should not be explained away.

Then he says what he does not mean. Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, so not the physical washing considered as such. Whatever the saving is, Peter has excluded the mechanism a purely sacramental reading needs.

And what he does mean, though the phrase is genuinely hard: syneideseos agathes eperotema eis theon. Eperotema can mean a question asked, an appeal or request, or a pledge given in answer, and the reading changes accordingly. Either the appeal of a good conscience to God, or the pledge for a good conscience, or an answer given at baptism.

Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The efficacy is located in the resurrection, not in the rite. Peter finishes the sentence by pointing away from the water.

The type is passage through judgment, per verse 20, where eight were saved through water rather than by it. Baptism corresponds to the ark's passage, not to a bath.

The codex holds the position spread rather than flattening it. See Baptism.

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

Concepts:

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.