1 Peter 1:18
What does 1 Peter 1:18 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 Peter 1:18 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 Peter 1:18 means
Believers know they were redeemed—not with perishable wealth like silver or gold—but from a “vain manner of life” handed down by tradition. Redemption is a liberation by purchase; the old way, however respected by society or inherited from ancestors, was empty of true life. No earthly currency could buy freedom from sin’s futility. This verse humbles pride in heritage and possessions, reminding Christians that their rescue required a cost beyond human means. The focus is not on shaming the past but on valuing the grace that has delivered them from its emptiness.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers;
KJV
King James Version · 1611Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Being conscious that you have been made free from that foolish way of life which was your heritage from your fathers, not through a payment of things like silver or gold which come to destruction,
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862having known that, not with corruptible things--silver or gold--were ye redeemed from your foolish behaviour delivered by fathers,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as gold or silver, from your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers:
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890knowing that ye have been redeemed, not by corruptible [things, as] silver or gold, from your vain conversation handed down from [your] fathers,
Context
Verse 18 continues the call to reverent living (v. 17) by highlighting the price of salvation. It prepares for verse 19’s contrast—the precious blood of Christ as the true ransom—and for verses 20–21’s emphasis on God’s eternal plan and the resulting faith and hope in God. The argument builds: live holy lives because your Father is Judge and your redemption is priceless.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Acts 19:34
But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
- Psalms 62:10
Trust not in oppression, And become not vain in robbery: If riches increase, set not your heart thereon.
- Ezekiel 20:18
And I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols.
- Ephesians 4:17
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk, in the vanity of their mind,
- Jeremiah 9:14
but have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baalim, which their fathers taught them;
- 1 Corinthians 7:23
Ye were bought with a price; become not bondservants of men.
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