1 Peter 1:3

New Birth to Joy and Holiness

1:3 Blessed be ¹  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 ²  of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Peter 2:24

2:24 He ³  himself bore our sins ⁴  in his body on the tree, that we may cease from sinning ⁵  and live for righteousness. By his ⁶  wounds ⁷  you were healed. ⁸ 

[1:3]  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.

[2:9]  ² sn This verse contains various allusions and quotations from Exod 19:5-6; 23:22 (LXX); Isa 43:20-21; and Mal 3:17.

[2:24]  ³ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:24]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 53:4, 12.

[2:24]  ⁵ 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.”

[2:24]  ⁶ tn Grk “whose.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:24]  ⁷ tn Grk the singular: “wound”; “injury.”

[2:24]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Isa 53:5.