1 Peter 1:15
What does 1 Peter 1:15 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 Peter 1:15 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 Peter 1:15 means
Holiness is not confined to religious moments; it covers “all manner of living.” The pattern is “he who called you is holy.” God’s call brings us into relationship with the Holy One, and that relationship sets the moral horizon. To be holy is to be set apart to God in every sphere—thought, speech, work, and relationships. Peter grounds ethics in theology: what God is shapes what his people are to become. This is not a call to perfectionism by human effort, but to wholehearted devotion that reflects God’s purity and separateness in daily life, in grateful response to his gracious call.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living;
KJV
King James Version · 1611But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949But be holy in every detail of your lives, as he, whose servants you are, is holy;
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862but according as He who did call you <FI>is<Fi> holy, ye also, become holy in all behaviour,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752But according to him that hath called you, who is holy, be you also in all manner of conversation holy:
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890but as he who has called you is holy, be ye also holy in all [your] conversation;
Context
Expanding the negative command of verse 14, verse 15 gives the positive standard: God’s own holiness. Verse 16 will support this with Scripture’s explicit command. Together, these verses define Christian conduct by God’s character rather than cultural norms, preparing for the reverent mindset of verse 17.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Titus 3:14
And let our people also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.
- Philippians 3:14
I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
- Revelation 6:10
and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
- Revelation 4:8
And the four living creatures, having each one of them six wings, are full of eyes round about and within: and they have no rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, isthe Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.
- 1 Timothy 4:12
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an ensample to them that believe, in word, in manner of life, in love, in faith, in purity.
- Hebrews 12:14
Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord:
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