^1:22You have purified⁴⁰ your souls by obeying the truth⁴¹ in order to show sincere mutual love.⁴² So⁴³ love one another earnestly from a pure heart.⁴⁴^1:23You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. ^1:24For

all flesh⁴⁵ is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of the grass;⁴⁶

the grass withers and the flower falls off,

^1:25but the word of the Lord⁴⁷ endures forever.⁴⁸

And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.

Read in Logos

1 Peter 1:23: …since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God…

Footnotes

40 Grk “having purified,” as the preparation for the love described in the second half of the verse.
41 Most later (P 𝔐) have διὰ πνεύματος (dia pneumatos, “through the spirit”) after ἀληθείας (ajlētheias, “truth”), while the words are lacking in a broad spectrum of early and important witnesses (𝔓72 א A B C Ψ 33 81 323 945 1241 1739 vg sy co). On external grounds, the shorter reading cannot be easily explained if it were not original. The longer reading is clearly secondary, added to show more strongly God’s part in man’s obedience to the truth. But the addition ignores the force that the author gives to “purified” and ruins the balance between v. 22 and v. 23 (for in v. 23 the emphasis is on God’s part; here, on man’s part).
42 Grk “for sincere brotherly love.”
43 Verses 22–23 are a single sentence in the Greek text. To improve clarity (and because contemporary English tends to use shorter sentences) these verses have been divided into three sentences in the translation. In addition, “So” has been supplied at the beginning of the second English sentence (v. 22b) to indicate the relationship with the preceding statement.
44 A few (A B 1852 ) lack καθαρᾶς (katharas, “pure”) and read simply καρδίας (kardias, “from the heart”), but there is excellent support (𝔓72 א* C P Ψ 33 1739 𝔐 co) for the word. The omission may have been accidental. In the uncial script (ΚΑΘΑΡΑΣ ΚΑΡΔΙΑΣ) an accidental omission could have happened via homoioteleuton or homoioarcton. καθαρᾶς should be considered original.
45 Here all flesh is a metaphor for humanity—human beings as both frail and temporary.
46 Or “a wildflower.”
47 The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rhēma tou kuriou; here and in Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logos tou kuriou; Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.
48 A quotation from Isa 40:6, 8.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for

“All flesh is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

and the flower falls,

but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,

“All people are like grass,

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly, because you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God. For

All flesh is like grass,

and all its glory like a flower of the grass.

The grass withers, and the flower falls,

but the word of the Lord endures forever.

And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.

NLTNew Living Translation

You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.

For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. As the Scriptures say,

“People are like grass;

their beauty is like a flower in the field.

The grass withers and the flower fades.

But the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love, love one another fervently from the heart, because you have been born again, not from perishable seed but imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For

“all flesh is like grass,

and all its glory like the flower of the grass.

The grass withers and the flower falls off,

but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

KJV 1900King James Version

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

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