1 Petrus 1:3-9

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, 1:4 that is, ²  into ³  an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, 1:5 who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1:6 This brings you great joy, ⁴  although you may have to suffer ⁵  for a short time in various trials. 1:7 Such trials show the proven character of your faith, ⁶  which is much more valuable than gold – gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away ⁷  – and will bring praise ⁸  and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁹  1:8 You ¹⁰  have not seen him, but you love him. You ¹¹  do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice ¹²  with an indescribable and glorious ¹³  joy, 1:9 because you are attaining the goal of your faith – the salvation of your souls.

[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.

[1:4]  ² tn The phrase “that is” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the imperishable inheritance is in apposition to the living hope of v. 3.

[1:4]  ³ tn Grk “into,” continuing the description of v. 3 without an “and.”

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Grk “in which you exult.”

[1:6]  ⁵ tc ‡ The oldest and best witnesses lack the verb (א* B, along with 1505 pc), but most mss (Ì⁷² א² A C P Ψ 048 33 1739 Ï) have ἐστίν here (estin, “[if] it is [necessary]”). The verb looks to be an explanatory gloss. But if no verb is present, this opens up the time frame in the author’s mind even more, since the conditional particle for both the first class condition and the fourth class condition is εἰ (ei). That may well be what was on the author’s mind, as evidenced by some of his other allusions to suffering in this little letter (3:14, 17). NA²⁷ has the verb in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[1:6]  tn Grk “Though now, for a little while if necessary, you may have to suffer.”

[1:7]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Grk “at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (cf. v. 13).

[1:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “whom not having seen, you love.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:8]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in whom not now seeing…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:8]  ¹² tn Grk “in whom not now seeing but believing, you exult.” The participles have been translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[1:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “glorified.”