1 Peter 1:23

1:23 You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

1 Peter 1:18

1:18 You know that from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors you were ransomed – not by perishable things like silver or gold,

1 Peter 1:22

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

1 Peter 1:21

1:21 Through him you now trust ⁶  in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

1 Peter 1:3

New Birth to Joy and Holiness

1:3 Blessed be ⁷  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 2:9

2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues ⁸  of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Peter 2:12

2:12 and maintain good conduct ⁹  among the non-Christians, ¹⁰  so that though ¹¹  they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears. ¹² 

1 Peter 4:11

4:11 Whoever speaks, let it be with ¹³  God’s words. ¹⁴  Whoever serves, do so with the strength ¹⁵  that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong ¹⁶  the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

¹ tn Grk “having purified,” as the preparation for the love described in the second half of the verse.

² 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).

³ tn Grk “for sincere brotherly love.”

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

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.

¹ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; either the optative (“be”) or the indicative (“is”) can be supplied. The meaning of the term εὐλογητός (euloghtos) and the author’s intention at this point in the epistle must both come into play to determine which is the preferred nuance. εὐλογητός as an adjective can mean either that one is praised or that one is blessed, that is, in a place of favor and benefit. Two factors of the author’s style come into play. At this point the author is describing the reality of believers’ salvation and will soon explain believers’ necessary response; this is in emulation of Pauline style which generally follows the same logical order (although the author here discusses the reality in a much more compressed fashion). On the other hand, when imitating the Pauline greeting, which is normally verbless, the author inserts the optative (see v. 2 above). When considered as a whole, although a decision is difficult, the fact that the author in the immediate context has used the optative when imitating a Pauline stylized statement would argue for the optative here. The translation uses the term “blessed” in the sense “worthy of praise” as this is in keeping with the traditional translation of berakah psalms. Cf. also 2 Cor 1:3; Eph 1:3.

¹ sn This verse contains various allusions and quotations from Exod 19:5-6; 23:22 (LXX); Isa 43:20-21; and Mal 3:17.

¹ tn Grk “keeping your conduct good.”

² tn Grk “the Gentiles,” used here of those who are not God’s people.

³ tn Grk “in order that in what they malign you.”

⁴ tn Or “when he visits.” Grk “in the day of visitation,” denoting a time when God intervenes directly in human affairs, either for blessing (Luke 1:68, 78; 7:16; 19:44) or for judgment (Isa 10:3; Jer 6:15). This phrase may be a quotation from Isa 10:3, in which case judgment is in view here. But blessing seems to be the point, since part of the motive for good behavior is winning the non-Christian over to the faith (as in 3:1; also apparently in 3:15; cf. Matt 5:16).

¹ tn Grk “if anyone speaks – as God’s words.”

² tn Or “oracles.”

³ tn Grk “if anyone serves – with strength…”

⁴ tn Grk “is/are.”