1 Petrus 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Peter, ¹  an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those temporarily residing ²  abroad ³  (in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, ⁴  and Bithynia) who are chosen ⁵ 

1 Petrus 1:15

1:15 but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct,

1 Petrus 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 Petrus 3:13

3:13 For ⁶  who is going to harm you if you are devoted to what is good?

1 Petrus 3:19

3:19 In it ⁷  he went and preached to the spirits in prison, ⁸ 

1 Petrus 4:5

4:5 They will face a reckoning before ⁹  Jesus Christ ¹⁰  who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.

1 Petrus 4:7

Service, Suffering, and Judgment

4:7 For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer. ¹¹ 

1 Petrus 5:4

5:4 Then ¹²  when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.

1 Petrus 5:13

5:13 The church ¹³  in Babylon, ¹⁴  chosen together with you, ¹⁵  greets you, and so does Mark, my son.

[1:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Peter.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ² tn Or “to those living as resident aliens,” “to the exiles.” This term is used metaphorically of Christians who live in this world as foreigners, since their homeland is heaven.

[1:1]  ³ tn Grk “in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles. But here it is probably metaphorical, used of Gentile Christians spread out as God’s people in the midst of a godless world.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Or “to the chosen sojourners…” On this reading the phrases in v. 2 describe their entire existence as sojourners, etc., not just their election.

[3:13]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “For” to indicate that what follows gives an explanation.

[3:19]  ⁷ tn Grk “in which.” ExSyn 343 notes: “The antecedent of the RP [relative pronoun] is by no means certain. Some take it to refer to πνεύματι immediately preceding, the meaning of which might be either the Holy Spirit or the spiritual state. Others see the phrase as causal (‘for which reason,’ ‘because of this’), referring back to the entire clause, while still other scholars read the phrase as temporal (if so, it could be with or without an antecedent: ‘on which occasion’ or ‘meanwhile’). None of these options is excluded by syntax. It may be significant, however, that every other time ἐν ᾧ is used in 1 Peter it bears an adverbial/conjunctive force (cf. 1:6; 2:12; 3:16 [here, temporal]; 4:4).” Also, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:19]  ⁸ sn And preached to the spirits in prison. The meaning of this preaching and the spirits to whom he preached are much debated. It is commonly understood to be: (1) Christ’s announcement of his victory over evil to the fallen angels who await judgment for their role in leading the Noahic generation into sin; this proclamation occurred sometime between Christ’s death and ascension; or (2) Christ’s preaching of repentance through Noah to the unrighteous humans, now dead and confined in hell, who lived in the days of Noah. The latter is preferred because of the temporal indications in v. 20a and the wider argument of the book. These verses encourage Christians to stand for righteousness and try to influence their contemporaries for the gospel in spite of the suffering that may come to them. All who identify with them and their Savior will be saved from the coming judgment, just as in Noah’s day.

[4:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “give an account to.”

[4:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the one”; the referent (Jesus Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ¹¹ tn Grk “for prayers.”

[5:4]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to reflect the logical sequence of events.

[5:13]  ¹³ tn Grk “the one in Babylon,” which could refer to some individual woman (“she who is in Babylon”) since the Greek article (here “the one”) is feminine. But it is much more likely to be a veiled reference to a church (the Greek word “church” is also feminine in gender).

[5:13]  ¹⁴ sn Most scholars understand Babylon here to be a figurative reference to Rome. Although in the OT the city of Babylon in Mesopotamia was the seat of tremendous power (2 Kgs 24-25; Isa 39; Jer 25), by the time of the NT what was left was an insignificant town, and there is no tradition in Christian history that Peter ever visited there. On the other hand, Christian tradition connects Peter with the church in Rome, and many interpreters think other references to Babylon in the NT refer to Rome as well (Rev 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2, 10, 21). Thus it is likely Peter was referring to Rome here.

[5:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “chosen together,” implying the connection “with you” in context.