1 PET 1:23 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. ὡς
2. hōs
3. -
4. -
5. 56130
6. C·······
7. as
8. as
9. -
10. -
11. 148854
1. Ἀναγεγεννημένοι
2. anagennaō
3. Having been born again
4. again
5. 3130
6. VPEP·NMP
7. ˓having_been˒ born_again
8. ˓having_been˒ born_again
9. S
10. Y60
11. 148855
1. οὐκ
2. ou
3. not
4. -
5. 37560
6. C·······
7. not
8. not
9. -
10. Y60
11. 148856
1. ἐκ
2. ek
3. of
4. -
5. 15370
6. P·······
7. of
8. of
9. -
10. Y60
11. 148857
1. φθορᾶς
2. fthora
3. -
4. -
5. 53560
6. N····GFS
7. corruption
8. corruption
9. -
10. -
11. 148858
1. σπορᾶς
2. spora
3. seed
4. -
5. 47010
6. N····GFS
7. seed
8. seed
9. -
10. Y60
11. 148859
1. φθαρτῆς
2. fthartos
3. perishable
4. decay
5. 53490
6. A····GFS
7. perishable
8. perishable
9. -
10. Y60
11. 148860
1. ἀλλά
2. alla
3. but
4. but
5. 2350
6. C·······
7. but
8. but
9. -
10. Y60
11. 148861
1. ἀφθάρτου
2. afthartos
3. of indestructible
4. indestructible
5. 8620
6. S····GFS
7. ˱of˲ indestructible
8. ˱of˲ indestructible
9. -
10. Y60
11. 148862
1. διά
2. dia
3. by
4. -
5. 12230
6. P·······
7. by
8. by
9. -
10. Y60
11. 148863
1. λόγου
2. logos
3. +the message
4. message
5. 30560
6. N····GMS
7. ˓the˒ message
8. ˓the˒ word
9. -
10. Y60; F148865; F148868
11. 148864
1. ζῶντος
2. zaō
3. living
4. -
5. 21980
6. VPPA·GMS
7. living
8. living
9. -
10. Y60; R148864
11. 148865
1. Θεοῦ
2. theos
3. of god
4. -
5. 23160
6. N····GMS
7. ˱of˲ god
8. ˱of˲ God
9. GN
10. Y60; Person=God
11. 148866
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. and
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y60
11. 148867
1. μένοντος
2. menō
3. remaining
4. -
5. 33060
6. VPPA·GMS
7. remaining
8. remaining
9. -
10. Y60; R148864
11. 148868
1. εἰς
2. eis
3. -
4. -
5. 15190
6. P·······
7. to
8. to
9. -
10. -
11. 148869
1. τόν
2. ho
3. -
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····AMS
7. ¬the
8. ¬the
9. -
10. -
11. 148870
1. αἰῶνα
2. aiōn
3. -
4. -
5. 1650
6. N····AMS
7. eternity
8. eternity
9. -
10. -
11. 148871

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:13–25: God wants believers to live holy lives

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)

1:23

In this verse, Peter gave his readers another reason for his exhortation in 1:22c. They had been born again through God’s permanent living word (1:23). Therefore, they ought to love each other fervently (1:22c).

1:23a

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,

For you have been born again, not from perishable seed, but from seed that does not perish,
Do this because you have received new life/birth, and it is not from seed that dies, but from seed that does not die,
You should love each other because it is by means of something indestructible that God has made your lives new. It is not by means of seed that will not last.

For: In Greek, this verse begins with a participle that signals that Peter is writing an additional reason/basis for his readers to love each other, as he urged them to do in 1:22c. Some other ways to signal this relationship are:

since…

because…

Do this because…

You should love each other because…

you have been born again: The Greek participle that the BSB translates as you have been born again is passive.These are the only two places that the verb anagennaō is used in the New Testament. Peter used the active form of this verb at 1:3b. Refer to your translation of that verse and the note there on “He has given us new birth.”

Your language may require that you make this clause active and specify who caused them to be born again. For example:

God has caused you to be born again (CEV)

God has given you a new life

God has made your lives new

not of perishable seed: The phrase not of perishable seed means “not from a seed that will perish.” It was not some finite or material seed that gave Peter’s readers new birth. See the note on 1:18b, where the same Greek word for perishable is used.

The Greek word that the BSB translates literally as seed can refer to either male seed or plant seed. Therefore there are two ways of interpreting the phrase perishable seed:

It refers to human reproduction.See Selwyn, pages 150–151; Kelly, page 80; Marshall, page 61; Achtemeier, page 139; Lenski, page 73. For example:
not of mortal…parentage (REB) (NLT, GNT, REB)
It refers to the seeds of plants.See Kistemaker, page 72. This is the more normal use of the English word seed.

Since the Greek word can mean both things, the original readers could have thought of both kinds of seed.See Michaels, page 76. If you must choose between the two, it is recommended that you choose interpretation (1).

but of imperishable: The word imperishable modifies the implied word “seed.” “Imperishable seed” is a figure of speech that illustrates how Peter’s readers received their new life. There are two ways of understanding what it refers to:

It refers to God’s word. For example:
but imperishable, that is…the…word of God (NASB) (NJB, GW, NLT, CEV, NASB; probably NCV)
It refers to God. For example:
a parent who is immortal (GNT) (REB, GNT)

Some versions are ambiguous and do not say to what “imperishable seed” refers (KJV, NET, RSV). If you must choose one of the two interpretations, it is recommended that you follow the interpretation (1).

General Comment on 1:23a

In some languages it may not be possible to keep the seed figure of speech. Some English versions have translated without this figure. For example:

this new life did not come from something that dies, but from something that cannot die (NCV)

However, because of the context, it is recommended that you do keep the seed figure or a similar figure, if possible.

1:23b

through the living and enduring word of God.

through the living and permanent word/message from God.
that is, through God’s word/message which lives forever.
He/God made your lives new by means of his living word/message that never dies.

through: The Greek word that the BSB translates as through here means “by means of.” In this context it apparently means much the same as the preposition translated as “of” in 1:23a. The word of God was the means that God used to give the believers new birth. Here is another way to translate this word:

by (CEV)

living and enduring: The words living and enduring are similar in meaning. They are used together for emphasis. Other ways that you may be able to say living and enduring include:

living and abiding (RSV)

living and eternal (GNT)

that lives for ever

that lives and never dies

word of God: The phrase the word of God refers to the same thing as “the truth” in 1:22a. It is the message from God concerning the good news about Jesus Christ. Other ways you may be able to say word of God include:

God’s message

word/message from God

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἀναγεγεννημένοι

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀναγεγεννημένοι οὐκ ἐκ σπορᾶς φθαρτῆς ἀλλά ἀφθάρτου διά λόγου ζῶντος Θεοῦ καί μένοντος)

See how you translated born again in [1:3](../01/03.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

οὐκ ἐκ σπορᾶς φθαρτῆς

not of seed perishable

The word seed usually refers to either the seed of a plant or the sperm cell of a man, which is used to produce a baby. However, here Peter uses seed as a metaphor. It could refer to: (1) the word of God mentioned later in the verse. In this case, Peter is saying what the word of God is not. Alternate translation: [not by means of a human message that can perish] (2) physical human birth, in which case the meaning is similar to the idea expressed in [John 1:13](../jhn/01/13.md). Alternate translation: [not by means of mortal physical birth]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

ἀφθάρτου

˱of˲_indestructible

Peter is leaving out a word that a phrase would need in many languages to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply the word from the previous phrase. Alternate translation: [from imperishable seed]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

λόγου ζῶντος Θεοῦ, καὶ μένοντος

˓the˒_word living ˱of˲_God (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀναγεγεννημένοι οὐκ ἐκ σπορᾶς φθαρτῆς ἀλλά ἀφθάρτου διά λόγου ζῶντος Θεοῦ καί μένοντος)

Here Peter uses word to describe the gospel message that came from God and was proclaimed to Peter’s readers by using words. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [God’s living and enduring message about Jesus]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

ζῶντος & καὶ μένοντος

living & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀναγεγεννημένοι οὐκ ἐκ σπορᾶς φθαρτῆς ἀλλά ἀφθάρτου διά λόγου ζῶντος Θεοῦ καί μένοντος)

Here, living and enduring mean basically the same thing. The repetition is used to emphasize that God’s word is permanent. If your language does not use repetition to do this, you can use one phrase and provide emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [perpetually enduring]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

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.

OET interlinear 1 PET 1:23

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 1:13–25: God wants believers to live holy lives

1:23

1:23a

General Comment on 1:23a

1:23b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

OET interlinear 1 PET 1:23

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 1:13–25: God wants believers to live holy lives

1:23

1:23a

General Comment on 1:23a

1:23b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

OET interlinear 1 PET 1:23