1 Petrus 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 Petrus 1:7

1:7 Such trials show the proven character of your faith, ²  which is much more valuable than gold – gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away ³  – and will bring praise ⁴  and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁵ 

1 Petrus 1:11

1:11 They probed ⁶  into what person or time ⁷  the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified beforehand about the sufferings appointed for Christ ⁸  and his subsequent glory. ⁹ 

[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.

[1:7]  ² tn Or “genuineness,” the result of testing. On the other hand it may denote the process of testing: “that the proving of your faith…may bring praise.”

[1:7]  sn The author is not asserting that the quality of the readers’ faith is in doubt and will be proven by future trials. He declares their faith to be a present reality in v. 5 and 9, so in context v. 8 affirms that their faith is indeed genuine.

[1:7]  ³ tn Grk “which is passing away but is tested by fire,” describing gold in a lesser-to-greater comparison with faith’s proven character.

[1:7]  ⁴ tn Grk “that the testing of your faith…may be found unto praise,” showing the result of the trials mentioned in v. 6.

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (cf. v. 13).

[1:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “probing.” The participle continues the sentence from v. 10 but has been translated as an indicative for English style.

[1:11]  ⁷ tn Or “time or circumstances,” focusing not on the person but on the timing and circumstances of the fulfillment.

[1:11]  sn The OT prophets wondered about the person and the surrounding circumstances (time) through which God would fulfill his promised salvation.

[1:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “the sufferings unto Christ,” i.e., sufferings directed toward him, what he was destined to suffer.

[1:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “the glories after these things.”