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].
To the People of God who are living abroad, dispersed throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Roman Asia, and Bithynia,
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.
and who were chosen in accordance with the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the consecration of the Spirit, to learn obedience, and to be purified by the sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ, from Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ. May blessing and peace be yours in ever-increasing measure.
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].
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has, in his great mercy, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
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.
given us the new Life of undying hope, that promises an inheritance, imperishable, stainless, unfading, which has been reserved for you in Heaven —
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].
for you who, through faith, are being guarded by the power of God, awaiting a Salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last days.
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]
At the thought of this you are full of exultation, though (if it has been necessary) you have suffered for the moment somewhat from various trials;
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.
that the genuineness of your faith — a thing far more precious than gold, which is perishable, yet has to be tested by fire — may win praise and glory and honour at the Appearing of Jesus Christ.
8 You love [Jesus], although you have not seen him. Although you do not see him now, you rejoice very much [DOU]
Though you have never seen him, yet you love him; though you do not even now see him, yet you believe in him, and exalt with a triumphant happiness too great for words,
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].
as you receive the reward of your faith in the Salvation of your souls!
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.
It was this Salvation that the Prophets, who spoke long ago of the blessing intended for you, sought, and strove to comprehend;
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.
as they strove to discern what that time could be, to which the Spirit of Christ within them was pointing, when foretelling the sufferings that would befall Christ, and the glories that would follow.
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].
And it was revealed to them that it was not for themselves, but for you, that they were acting as Ministers of the truths which have now been told to you, by those who, with the help of the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven, have brought you the Good News — truths into which even angels long to look.
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].
Therefore concentrate your minds, with the strictest self-control, and fix your hopes on the blessing that is coming for you at the Appearing of Jesus Christ.
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].
Be like obedient children; do not let your lives be shaped by the passions which once swayed you in the days of your ignorance,
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,
but in your whole life show yourselves to be holy, after the pattern of the Holy One from whom you received your Call.
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).”
For Scripture says — ‘You shall be holy, because I am holy.’
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].
And since you call upon him as ‘Father,’ who judges every one impartially by what he has done, let reverence be the spirit of your lives during the time of your stay upon earth.
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.
For you know that it was not by perishable things, such as silver and gold, that you were Ransomed from the aimless way of living which was handed down to you from your ancestors,
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].
but by precious blood, as it were of a lamb, unblemished and spotless, the Blood of Christ.
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.
Destined for this before the beginning of the world, he has been revealed in these last days for your sakes,
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].
who, through him, are faithful to God who raised him from the dead and gave him honour, so that your faith and hope are now in God.
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.
Now that, by your obedience to the Truth, you have purified your lives, so that there is growing up among you a genuine brotherly affection, love one another earnestly with all your hearts;
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)
since your new Life has come, not from perishable, but imperishable, seed, through the Message of the Everliving God. (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,
For — ‘All earthly life is but as grass, and all its splendour as the flower of grass. The grass fades, its flower falls,
