For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Parallel translations
- WEB having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.
- KJV Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
- NKJV having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
- NASB for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.
- NLT 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.
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
Believers have been born again through God's living and enduring word, not from perishable seed. The new birth comes through the imperishable, eternal word of God.
Overview
Peter explains the new birth using the image of seed: the 'seed' is God's word, which is incorruptible and lives forever. Unlike natural birth from perishable seed, this spiritual birth produces life that endures because its source endures. The living word of God is the instrument through which God brings sinners to new life, undergirding the call to fervent love just given.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- 1 Pet 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
- Heb 4:12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
- John 1:13children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.
- John 3:3Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
- John 6:63The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
- 1 Cor 15:53–54For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
- Jas 1:18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
- 1 Jn 5:18We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; the One who was born of God protects him, and the evil one cannot touch him.
- John 3:5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
- 1 Jn 3:9Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
- Matt 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- John 1:3Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.
- 1 Pet 1:25but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
- Jer 23:28Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the LORD.
- Rom 1:23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
- Mal 2:3Behold, I will rebuke your descendants, and I will spread dung on your faces, the waste from your feasts, and you will be carried off with it.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 1:23 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
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