For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
Parallel translations
- WEB because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.”
- KJV Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
- BSB for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
- NKJV because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
- NASB because it is written: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Peter quotes Leviticus—'You shall be holy, for I am holy'—as the basis for Christian holiness. God's unchanging command to be holy still defines his people.
Overview
Citing Leviticus (11:44-45; 19:2), Peter shows that the call to holiness given to Israel applies to the new covenant people of God. God's own holiness remains the standard and the motive. By rooting his exhortation in Scripture, Peter affirms the continuity of God's moral will and the authority of his Word over Christian conduct.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Lev 11:44For I am Yahweh your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth.
- Lev 19:2“Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.
- Lev 20:7“‘Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am Yahweh your God.
- Amos 3:3Do two walk together, unless they have agreed?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The lamb without blemish foreknown before the world, who bore our sins in his body on the tree, by whose wounds we are healed — the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.
How 1 Peter 1:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.