1 Peter 2 is the second chapter of the

First Epistle of Peter The First Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament. The author presents himself as Peter the Apostle. The ending of the letter includes a statement that implies that it was written from "Babylon", which is possibly a reference to Rome. T ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. The author identifies himself as "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ" and the epistle is traditionally attributed to

Peter the Apostle ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupatio ...

, but some writers argue that it is the work of Peter's followers in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

between 70 and 100 CE.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. This chapter is divided into 25 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: ;In Greek *

Papyrus 72 Papyrus 72 (𝔓72, '' Papyrus Bodmer VII-VIII'') is the designation used by textual critics of the New Testament to describe portions of the so-called Bodmer Miscellaneous codex, namely the letters of Jude, 1 Peter, and 2 Peter. These books see ...

(3rd/4th century) *

Papyrus 125 Papyrus 125, designated by (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the First Epistle of Peter. Using the study of comparative writing styles (pa ...

(3rd/4th century; extant verses 1–5, 7–12) *

Papyrus 81 Papyrus 81 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by 𝔓81, is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the First Epistle of Peter. The surviving texts of 1 Peter are verses 2:20-3:1,4-12. The manuscript ...

(4th century; extant verses 20–25) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(325–350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts) ...

(330–360) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400–440) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) designated by the siglum C or 04 {in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a ma ...

(ca. 450; complete) *

Papyrus 74 Papyrus 74 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by 𝔓74, is a copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Acts of the Apostles and Catholic epistles with lacunae. The manuscript paleographically had been as ...

(7th century; extant verses 6–7, 11–12, 18, 24) ;In Latin *

León palimpsest The León Palimpsest, designated l or 67 (in the Beuron system), is a 7th-century Latin manuscript pandect of the Christian Bible conserved in the cathedral of León, Spain. The text, written on vellum, is in a fragmentary condition. In some parts ...

(7th century; complete)Bruce M. Metzger, ''The Early Versions of the New Testament'', Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 316.

Old Testament references

* :

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

. * 1 Peter 2:6: * 1 Peter 2:7: Psalm 118:22 * 1 Peter 2:8: Isaiah 8:14 * :

Rebirth through the Word (1:22–2:3)

Verse 1

The admonition which starts here "stands, as οὖν (''oun'', "therefore") shows, in close connection with what precedes in ": ''Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth…''.

Verse 2

The N U text reads "grow up to salvation".

God's chosen people (2:4–10)

Verse 6

:''Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,'' ::''"Behold, I lay in Zion'' ::: ''A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,'' :: ''And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."'' Citing Isaiah 28:16
Cross reference: Romans 9:33, Ephesians 2:20

Verse 7

:''Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, ::''"The stone which the builders rejected'' ::''Has become the chief cornerstone,"'' Citing Psalm 118:22

Verse 8

:''and'' ::''"A stone of stumbling'' ::''And a rock of offense."'' :''They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.'' Citing Isaiah 8:14, Isaiah 28:16

Verse 9

:''But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;'' *Citing: ; (

LXX The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

);

Isaiah 43 Isaiah 43 is the forty-third chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. Chapters 40 ...

:20-21; 62:12 and Malachi 3:17. Poole, Matthew, ''A Commentary on the Holy Bible''
"1 Peter 2"
Accessed on 22 August 2019. *"A royal priesthood, a holy nation": translated from Greek words, which are a direct quotation from the Greek version of (

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

), whereas the Hebrew literally has "a kingdom of priests" (cf. Revelation 1:6), meaning that 'in God's organised kingdom, every member is a priest'. Ellicott, C. J. (Ed.) (1905)
''Ellicott's Bible Commentary for English Readers''. 1 Peter 2.
London : Cassell and Company, Limited, 905-1906Online version: (OCoLC) 929526708. Accessed 28 April 2019. *"His own special people": or "a peculiar people" (

KJV The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

) translated from the Greek words: , '' '', "a people for possession". The word , ' is cited from the Greek rendering of the Hebrew word , ' ("property", "jewels", "possession") in Malachi 3:17, which is found in other Hebrew verses but is translated slightly differently in Greek Septuagint version, such as in , "a peculiar treasure" (KJV); , "special people" (KJV); , "a peculiar people" (KJV), that is adopted by

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

in Titus 2:14. The phrase , '' '', is also used in Hebrews 10:39; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:14, and is apparently abbreviated to in Ephesians 1:14.Nicoll, W. R.
Expositor's Greek Testament. 1 Peter 2
Accessed 24 April 2019. Perhaps , ', refers to 'the treasure as laid up', while , ', refers to 'the treasure as acquired'.Nicoll, W. R.

Accessed 24 April 2019.

Principles of conduct in human society (2:11–17)

This section addresses the distinctness of the believers' communities which is preserved when their conduct is good by God's standards.

The principles in practice (2:18–25)

Slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, and also wives in the next chapter, were two vulnerable groups. Commentator

Eric Eve Eric Eve is an author, interactive fiction writer, and New Testament scholar at Harris Manchester College in Oxford. He is known in the interactive fiction community for his writings on TADS 3, including three tutorial/reference books (''Getting ...

suggests that the advice directly concerns their welfare, but it is also indirectly employed to offer examples of proper

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

for Christians.

References

Bibliography

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{First Epistle of Peter 1 Peter 2