1 Peter 1
1 I, Peter, who [have been appointed by] Jesus Christ {one whom Jesus Christ [has appointed]} to be an apostle, [am writing this letter] to you believers whom God has chosen to belong to him. [You are living] in [the Roman provinces of] Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. [Just like the Jews who lived in Israel long ago were] scattered [to other countries far from their homes] [MET], you now live [far from] heaven, which is [your true home].
Πέτρος ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ ἐκλεκτοῖς παρεπιδήμοις διασπορᾶς Πόντου, Γαλατίας, Καπποδοκίας, Ἀσίας, καὶ Βιθυνίας,
2 God our Father previously chose you, and his Spirit has set you apart in order that you would obey Jesus Christ. He did that in order that [just like Moses] sprinkled [the Israelites with blood when God established the old covenant] [MET], [Jesus would establish his new covenant with you] with the blood [that flowed from his body when he died]. May God act very kindly to you, and may he give you much [inner] peace.
κατὰ πρόγνωσιν θεοῦ πατρός, ἐν ἁγιασμῷ πνεύματος, εἰς ὑπακοὴν καὶ ῥαντισμὸν αἵματος Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ· χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη πληθυνθείη.
3 Praise God, who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because he has been very merciful to [us, he has given us new life] [MET]. Because he has caused Jesus Christ to become alive again after he died, he has enabled us to live very confidently; that is, to fully expect to receive the things [that God/he has promised to give us].
Εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ, ὁ κατὰ τὸ πολὺ αὐτοῦ ἔλεος ἀναγεννήσας ἡμᾶς εἰς ἐλπίδα ζῶσαν δι᾽ ἀναστάσεως Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ ἐκ νεκρῶν,
4 He has enabled us to expect to receive an absolutely imperishable/indestructible [TRI] inheritance that has been {that [God] has} preserved in heaven for us.
εἰς κληρονομίαν ἄφθαρτον καὶ ἀμίαντον καὶ ἀμάραντον, τετηρημένην ἐν οὐρανοῖς εἰς ὑμᾶς,
5 God, by his mighty power, is guarding you as you trust in Jesus. [He is keeping you safe so] that he may, at the end of the time in which we now live (OR, when Jesus returns), completely deliver you [from Satan’s power].
τοὺς ἐν δυνάμει θεοῦ φρουρουμένους διὰ πίστεως εἰς σωτηρίαν ἑτοίμην ἀποκαλυφθῆναι ἐν καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ·
6 You rejoice because of what will happen then, but now you are grieving for a short time while [God is allowing] you to be tested {[various things to] test you [MET]}, [as precious metals are tested] {[someone tests precious metals]} [to see if they are pure]. [These trials that you are experiencing are necessary]
ἐν ᾧ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὀλίγον ἄρτι, εἰ δέον, λυπηθέντες ἐν ποικίλοις πειρασμοῖς,
7 to prove that you really do trust in Jesus. His proving that will be more valuable than gold, [which does not last forever even] though it is purified [by being put] {someone tries to make it pure by [putting it]} [in a hot] fire. As a result of your passing the test [and proving that you really do trust in Jesus], God will honor you very highly [TRI] when Jesus Christ comes again.
ἵνα τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως πολυτιμότερον χρυσίου τοῦ ἀπολλυμένου διὰ πυρὸς δὲ δοκιμαζομένου, εὑρεθῇ εἰς ἔπαινον καὶ δόξαν καὶ τιμὴν ἐν ἀποκαλύψει Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ·
8 You love [Jesus], although you have not seen him. Although you do not see him now, you rejoice very much [DOU]
ὃν οὐκ ἰδόντες ἀγαπᾶτε, εἰς ὃν ἄρτι μὴ ὁρῶντες πιστεύοντες δὲ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε χαρᾷ ἀνεκλαλήτῳ καὶ δεδοξασμένῃ,
9 because you are experiencing the result of your believing in him; that is, [God] is saving you [SYN] [from the guilt of your sins].
κομιζόμενοι τὸ τέλος τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν, σωτηρίαν ψυχῶν·
10 As for those who [long ago] spoke messages that God had revealed to them about how God would act kindly toward you in ways which you did not deserve, they (investigated very carefully/tried very hard to learn) [DOU] about how God would save you.
περὶ ἧς σωτηρίας ἐξεζήτησαν καὶ ἐξηραύνησαν προφῆται οἱ περὶ τῆς εἰς ὑμᾶς χάριτος προφητεύσαντες.
11 They wanted to know whom the Spirit of Christ that was in them was referring to, and what time he was talking about, when he told beforehand that the Messiah would suffer [and die], and that glorious/wonderful things would happen [to him and to us] afterwards.
ἐραυνῶντες εἰς τίνα ἢ ποῖον καιρὸν ἐδήλου τὸ ἐν αὐτοῖς πνεῦμα χριστοῦ, προμαρτυρόμενον τὰ εἰς χριστὸν παθήματα καὶ τὰς μετὰ ταῦτα δόξας·
12 It was revealed to {[God] told} them that it was not for their own sake that he was revealing these things to them, but that it was for your sake. It was these things that were proclaimed to you by those who told you the message [about Christ {that those who told you the message about Christ proclaimed to you]}. They proclaimed these things to you because the Holy Spirit whom [God] sent from heaven [enabled them to do that]. And even angels would like to know more about these [truths about how God saves us].
οἷς ἀπεκαλύφθη ὅτι οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς ὑμῖν δὲ διηκόνουν αὐτά, ἃ νῦν ἀνηγγέλη ὑμῖν διὰ τῶν εὐαγγελισαμένων ὑμᾶς πνεύματι ἁγίῳ ἀποσταλέντι ἀπ᾽ οὐρανοῦ, εἰς ἃ ἐπιθυμοῦσιν ἄγγελοι παρακύψαι.
13 Therefore, [prepare your minds] [MET] [as people] fasten their belts around their waists [to prepare to work]. [What I mean is that] you should (discipline your minds/control what you think about), and by doing that conduct your lives fully and confidently expecting to receive the good things that [God will] kindly [do for you] when Jesus Christ returns [from heaven].
Διὸ ἀναζωσάμενοι τὰς ὀσφύας τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν, νήφοντες, τελείως ἐλπίσατε ἐπὶ τὴν φερομένην ὑμῖν χάριν ἐν ἀποκαλύψει Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ.
14 [And because you should obey your heavenly Father] [SIM], as children [ought to] obey their fathers [here on earth], do not do the evil things that you used to desire to do when you did not know [God’s truth].
ὡς τέκνα ὑπακοῆς, μὴ συνσχηματιζόμενοι ταῖς πρότερον ἐν τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ ὑμῶν ἐπιθυμίαις,
15 Instead, just like God, the one who chose you [to belong to him], is (holy/separate from evil), you also must be (holy/separate from evil) in everything that you do,
ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸν καλέσαντα ὑμᾶς ἅγιον καὶ αὐτοὶ ἅγιοι ἐν πάσῃ ἀναστροφῇ γενήθητε,
16 because it is {[someone/Moses] has} written [in the Scriptures that God said], “You must be (holy/separate from evil) because I am (holy/separate from evil).”
διότι γέγραπται, Ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἅγιος.
17 God is the one who (impartially/without favoritism) judges what each person does. Since you call him ‘Father’, live (reverently/with great respect for him) during the time that you are living here on earth. [While you are living here, you are] like exiles/foreigners [MET] [because you are away from heaven, which is your true home].
καὶ εἰ πατέρα ἐπικαλεῖσθε τὸν ἀπροσωπολήμπτως κρίνοντα κατὰ τὸ ἑκάστου ἔργον, ἐν φόβῳ τὸν τῆς παροικίας ὑμῶν χρόνον ἀναστράφητε·
18 [Live reverently] because you know that it was not with things that will not last forever, things like gold and silver, that [God] bought you to free you from your useless life-style that you learned from your ancestors.
εἰδότες ὅτι οὐ φθαρτοῖς, ἀργυρίῳ ἢ χρυσίῳ, ἐλυτρώθητε ἐκ τῆς ματαίας ὑμῶν ἀναστροφῆς πατροπαραδότου,
19 Instead, [it was] with the precious blood of Christ [that flowed from his body when he died that God bought you. Christ’s death was a perfect sacrifice for us] [MET], [like] the lambs that [the Jewish priests sacrificed were] perfect, without any blemishes/defects/flaws or spots [DOU].
ἀλλὰ τιμίῳ αἵματι ὡς ἀμνοῦ ἀμώμου καὶ ἀσπίλου χριστοῦ,
20 Christ was chosen [by God] {[God] chose Christ} before the world was created {[he] created the world}. But it was not until now, when the time [in which we are living will soon] end, that he was revealed for your sake.
προεγνωσμένου μὲν πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, φανερωθέντος δὲ ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτου τῶν χρόνων δι᾽ ὑμᾶς
21 Because of what Christ has done, you are trusting in God, who caused Christ to become alive again after he died, and greatly honored him. As a result, God is the one in whom you are trusting and confidently expecting [that he will do great things for you].
τοὺς δι᾽ αὐτοῦ πιστοὺς εἰς θεόν, τὸν ἐγείραντα αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν καὶ δόξαν αὐτῷ δόντα, ὥστε τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν καὶ ἐλπίδα εἶναι εἰς θεόν.
22 Because you have been made pure by obeying the truth, with the result that you sincerely love your fellow believers, continue to love each other earnestly and sincerely/wholeheartedly.
Τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν ἡγνικότες ἐν τῇ ὑπακοῇ τῆς ἀληθείας εἰς φιλαδελφίαν ἀνυπόκριτον, ἐκ καρδίας ἀλλήλους ἀγαπήσατε ἐκτενῶς·
23 [I ask you to do this, because you now have] a new life [MET]. It was not [by means of] something that will perish that you received this new life. Instead, it was [by means of] something that will last forever; that is, by believing the life-giving and enduring message of God. (aiōn g165)
ἀναγεγεννημένοι οὐκ ἐκ σπορᾶς φθαρτῆς, ἀλλὰ ἀφθάρτου, διὰ λόγου ζῶντος θεοῦ καὶ μένοντος· (aiōn g165)
24 [We know that this is true] because, [as the prophet Isaiah wrote], All people [will die] [SIM], like grass [dies]. And all the greatness/honor that people have [will not last forever], like the flowers [SIM] [that grow up] in the grass [do not last long]. The grass withers and the flowers die,
διότι πᾶσα σὰρξ ὡς χόρτος, καὶ πᾶσα δόξα αὐτῆς ὡς ἄνθος χόρτου· ἐξηράνθη ὁ χόρτος, καὶ τὸ ἄνθος ἐξέπεσεν·
