1 Peter 1:21-22

1:21 Through him you now trust ¹  in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

1:22 You have purified ²  your souls by obeying the truth ³  in order to show sincere mutual love. ⁴  So ⁵  love one another earnestly from a pure heart. ⁶ 

1 Peter 2:4

A Living Stone, a Chosen People

2:4 So as you come to him, ⁷  a living stone rejected by men but ⁸  chosen and priceless ⁹  in God’s sight,

1 Peter 2:7

2:7 So you who believe see ¹⁰  his value, ¹¹  but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the ¹²  cornerstone, ¹³ 

1 Peter 2:11

2:11 Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul,

1 Peter 2:24

2:24 He ¹⁴  himself bore our sins ¹⁵  in his body on the tree, that we may cease from sinning ¹⁶  and live for righteousness. By his ¹⁷  wounds ¹⁸  you were healed. ¹⁹ 

1 Peter 3:9

3:9 Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless ²⁰  others ²¹  because you were called to inherit a blessing.

1 Peter 3:15

3:15 But set Christ ²²  apart ²³  as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess. ²⁴ 

1 Peter 4:1

4:1 So, since Christ suffered ²⁵  in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same attitude, because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin, ²⁶ 

1 Peter 5:9

5:9 Resist him, ²⁷  strong in your faith, because you know ²⁸  that your brothers and sisters ²⁹  throughout the world ³⁰  are enduring ³¹  the same kinds of suffering. ³² 

---

¹ tc Although there may be only a slight difference in translation, the term translated as “trust” is the adjective πιστούς (pistous). This is neither as common nor as clear as the verb πιστεύω (pisteuw, “believe, trust”). Consequently, most mss have the present participle πιστεύοντας (pisteuonta"; Ì⁷² א C P Ψ 1739 Ï), or the aorist participle πιστεύσαντες (pisteusante"; 33 pc), while A B pc vg have the adjective. Thus, πιστούς is to be preferred. In the NT the adjective is routinely taken passively in the sense of “faithful” (BDAG 820 s.v. πιστός 1). That may be part of the force here as well: “you are now faithful to God,” although the primary force in this context seems to be that of trusting. Nevertheless, it is difficult to separate faith from faithfulness in NT descriptions of Christians’ dependence on God.

tn Grk “who through him [are] trusting,” describing the “you” of v. 20. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

² tn Grk “having purified,” as the preparation for the love described in the second half of the verse.

³ tc Most later mss (P Ï) have διὰ πνεύματος (dia pneumato", “through the spirit”) after ἀληθείας (ajlhqeia", “truth”), while the words are lacking in a broad spectrum of early and important witnesses (Ì⁷² א A B C Ψ 33 81 323 945 1241 1739 al vg sy co). On external grounds, the shorter reading cannot be easily explained if it were not original. The longer reading is clearly secondary, added to show more strongly God’s part in man’s obedience to the truth. But the addition ignores the force that the author gives to “purified” and ruins the balance between v. 22 and v. 23 (for in v. 23 the emphasis is on God’s part; here, on man’s part).

⁴ tn Grk “for sincere brotherly love.”

⁵ tn Verses 22-23 are a single sentence in the Greek text. To improve clarity (and because contemporary English tends to use shorter sentences) these verses have been divided into three sentences in the translation. In addition, “So” has been supplied at the beginning of the second English sentence (v. 22b) to indicate the relationship with the preceding statement.

⁶ tc A few mss (A B 1852 pc) lack καθαρᾶς (kaqaras, “pure”) and read simply καρδίας (kardias, “from the heart”), but there is excellent ms support (Ì⁷² א* C P Ψ 33 1739 Ï co) for the word. The omission may have been accidental. In the uncial script (kaqaras kardias) an accidental omission could have happened via homoioteleuton or homoioarcton. καθαρᾶς should be considered original.

⁷ tn Grk “to whom coming…you are built up…” as a continuation of the reference to the Lord in v. 3.

⁸ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two phrases more than can be easily expressed in English.

⁹ tn Grk “chosen, priceless.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “to you who believe is the value,” referring to their perception of the stone in contrast to those who reject (vv. 7b-8). But the expression may also be translated as “to you who believe is this honor,” referring to the lack of shame cited in v. 6b.

¹¹ tn Grk “the value” or “the honor,” but the former is preferred since it comes from the same root as “priceless” in vv. 4, 6, and it is in contrast to the negative estimate of the stone by those who reject (vv. 7b-8).

¹² tn Grk “the head of the corner.”

¹³ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22 (cf. Matt 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11).

¹⁴ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 53:4, 12.

¹⁶ tn The verb ἀπογίνομαι (apoginomai) occurs only here in the NT. It can have a literal meaning (“to die”; L&N 74.27) and a figurative meaning (“to cease”; L&N 68.40). Because it is opposite the verb ζάω (zaw, “to live”), many argue that the meaning of the verb here must be “die” (so BDAG 108 s.v.), but even so literal death would not be in view. “In place of ἀποθνῃσκιεν, the common verb for ‘die,’ ἀπογινεθαι serves Peter as a euphemism, with the meaning ‘to be away’ or ‘to depart’” (J. R. Michaels, 1 Peter [WBC 49], 148). It is a metaphorical way to refer to the decisive separation from sin Jesus accomplished for believers through his death; the result is that believers “may cease from sinning.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “whose.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁸ tn Grk the singular: “wound”; “injury.”

¹⁹ sn A quotation from Isa 53:5.

²⁰ tn Grk “not returning…but blessing,” continuing the sense of command from the preceding.

²¹ tn The direct object “others” is omitted but implied in Greek, and must be supplied to suit English style.

²² tc Most later mss (P Ï) have θεόν (qeon, “God”) instead of Χριστόν (Criston; “Christ”) here. But Χριστόν is widely supported by excellent and early witnesses (Ì⁷² א A B C Ψ 33 1739 al latt sy co), and as a less common idiom better explains the rise of the other reading.

²³ tn Or “sanctify Christ as Lord.”

²⁴ tn Grk “the hope in you.”

²⁵ tc Most mss (א² A P Ï) add ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν (Juper Jhmwn, “for us”); others (א* 69 1505 pc) add ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν (Juper Jumwn, “for you”), the first hand of א also has ἀποθανόντος (apoqanonto", “since he died”) instead of παθόντος (paqonto", “since he suffered”). But the reading without ὑπὲρ ἡ/ὑμῶν best explains the rise of the other readings, for not only is there confusion as to which pronoun belongs here, but the longer readings, being clarifications, are evidently motivated readings. The shortest reading is found in important and early Alexandrian and Western witnesses (Ì⁷² B C Ψ 0285 323 1739) and is strongly preferred.

²⁶ sn Has finished with sin. The last sentence in v. 1 may refer to Christ as the one who suffered in the flesh (cf. 2:21, 23; 3:18; 4:1a) and the latter part would then mean, “he has finished dealing with sin.” But it is more likely that it refers to the Christian who suffers unjustly (cf. 2:19-20; 3:14, 17). This shows that he has made a break with sin as vs. 2 describes.

²⁷ tn Grk “whom,” referring to the devil in v. 8. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

²⁸ tn Grk “knowing,” a participle that usually denotes a reason for the related action.

²⁹ tn Grk “your brotherhood.” The Greek term “brotherhood” is used in a broad sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God (cf. BDAG 19 s.v. ἀδελφότης 1). Another alternative translation would be “your fellow believers,” though this would weaken the familial connotations. This same word occurs in 2:17; there it has been translated “family of believers.”

³⁰ tn Grk “your brotherhood in the world,” referring to the Christian community worldwide.

³¹ tn This verb carries the nuance “to accomplish, complete,” emphasizing their faithful endurance in suffering. The verb is passive in Greek (“suffering is being endured by your brotherhood”), but has been translated as an active to give a smoother English style.

³² tn Grk “the same things of sufferings.”