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OET (OET-LV) but by_the_precious blood, of_chosen_one/messiah as of_a_lamb unblemished and spotless,
In this section Peter urged his readers to live holy lives (vv. 13–16). Christ had paid a great price to save them (vv. 17–21) and had given them new life (vv. 23–25). In response to God’s kindness they should love one another (1:22).
Some other headings for this section are:
Live Holy Lives (GW)
Chosen To Live a Holy Life (CEV)
Some English versions do not begin a new paragraph here.That these versions take 1:13–21 to be a paragraph is reasonable, because to start a new paragraph at verse 17 divides what appears to be the chiastic structure that Peter intended. Instead, 1:13–21 forms a paragraph (GW, NET, NJB, RSV).
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.
Instead, you were ransomed with the precious blood of Christ, which is like the blood of a perfect lamb with no defects.
Rather, the payment that set you free was the costly/invaluable blood of Christ. His blood was like that of a spotless and innocent sacrificial lamb.
No, he rescued/redeemed you by means of Christ’s precious lifeblood. Christ shed his blood when he died on the cross just as a pure and spotless lamb sheds its blood when it is put to death as a sacrifice.
In 1:18, Peter told his readers that God had not paid silver or gold to redeem them. Here in this verse, Peter told what price God did pay to redeem them. The payment was the precious blood of Christ.
Since this verse part continues a long sentence, it may be natural to start a new sentence here. For example:
You were set free by Christ’s precious blood, blood like that of a lamb without mark or blemish. (REB)
but: The Greek word that the BSB translates as but marks a strong contrast. The contrast is between perishable things such as silver or gold and “the precious blood of Christ.” Show this contrast in your language in a way that is natural. Some other ways to translate this include:
instead
rather
with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot: There are several ways of understanding what Peter was saying in this verse part:
He was comparing the blood of Christ to the blood of a lamb without blemish or defect. For example:
the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (RSV) (KJV, NASB, REB, RSV)
He was comparing Christ to a lamb without blemish or spot. For example:
the precious blood of Christ, who was like a pure and perfect lamb (NCV) (BSB, CEV, GW, NIV, NLT, GNT, NCV)
He was both comparing the blood of Christ to the blood of a lamb and identifying the lamb with Christ. For example:
precious blood like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb, namely Christ (NET) (NJB, NET)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and the majority of commentators.
with the precious blood of Christ: Peter was referring here to the blood that Jesus shed while he was dying on the cross. His blood spilled out as he was giving his life as a sacrifice. In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this explicit. For example:
with the precious lifeblood of Christ (NLT)
with the precious blood that Christ shed on the cross
precious: The Greek word that the BSB translates as precious means “valuable, of great worth.” Here is another way to translate this word:
costly (GNT)
a lamb without blemish or spot: In the Old Testament, God told the Israelites that the lambs they were to sacrifice must be without…spot (Leviticus 23:12; Numbers 6:14). The lamb used at Passover Festival also had to be without…spot (Exodus 12:5).
without blemish or spot: The sacrificial lamb had to be physically perfect. Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice in the sense that he was without sin. So if possible, the words that you use to translate without blemish or spot should apply to both physical and spiritual or moral perfection.
The Greek words that the BSB translates as without blemish or spot are literally “unblemished and spotless.” These two words are very similar in meaning. Using the two together emphasizes the physical perfection of the lamb.
Some other ways that you may be able to translate this phrase include:
pure and perfect (NCV)
with no flaws
flawless
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
τιμίῳ αἵματι & Χριστοῦ
˱by˲_˓the˒_precious blood & ˱of˲_Christ
Peter uses the precious blood of Christ to refer to Jesus’ death. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [with Christ’s precious death]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / simile
ὡς ἀμνοῦ ἀμώμου καὶ ἀσπίλου
as ˱of˲_˓a˒_lamb unblemished (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀλλά τιμίῳ αἵματι ὡς ἀμνοῦ ἀμώμου καί ἀσπίλου Χριστοῦ)
Peter compares Jesus’ blood to the blood of the lambs that the Jewish priests sacrificed to God because of the people’s sins. The point of this comparison is that Jesus died as a sacrifice so that God would forgive people’s sins. If this would be misunderstood in your language, you could use an equivalent comparison or express this meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [like that of the unblemished and spotless lambs that the Jewish priests sacrificed to God for sins]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
ἀμώμου καὶ ἀσπίλου
unblemished (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀλλά τιμίῳ αἵματι ὡς ἀμνοῦ ἀμώμου καί ἀσπίλου Χριστοῦ)
The words unblemished and spotless mean basically the same thing. Peter uses this repetition to emphasize that Christ was completely perfect and sinless. If your language does not use repetition to do this, you can use one phrase and provide emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [completely perfect] or [with no imperfections at all]
OET (OET-LV) but by_the_precious blood, of_chosen_one/messiah as of_a_lamb unblemished and spotless,
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.