Devine Scripture

1 Peter 2:25

What does 1 Peter 2:25 mean?

A plain-English look at 1 Peter 2:25 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What 1 Peter 2:25 means

Believers had wandered like sheep, vulnerable and lost. Now they have returned to the “Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” Christ, the true Shepherd, gathers, guides, protects, and tends His people; as Overseer, He watches over their spiritual welfare. This tender image assures those under pressure that they are not abandoned. The One who laid down His life now leads and guards them. Returning implies repentance and restored relationship. Under His care, exiles find a home and sufferers find sustaining oversight. The chapter closes with comfort: the path of patient holiness is traveled under the vigilant, compassionate leadership of Jesus.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

For ye were going astray like sheep; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

For ye were going astray like sheep; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

Because, like sheep, you had gone out of the way; but now you have come back to him who keeps watch over your souls.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

for ye were as sheep going astray, but ye turned back now to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

For you were as sheep going astray: but you are now converted to the shepherd and bishop of your souls.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

For ye were going astray as sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

Context

Verse 25 concludes the section by shifting from Christ’s cross to His ongoing care. After exhortations to honorable conduct and submission (vv. 11–20) and the grounding in Christ’s example and atonement (vv. 21–24), this final reassurance anchors the readers’ endurance in His shepherding oversight. It ties identity, conduct, and consolation together, preparing the way for further household and communal instructions to follow, while leaving the reader with Christ at the center.

v.24who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed.

v.25This passage

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Psalms 80:1

    Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest above the cherubim, shine forth.

  • 1 Peter 5:4

    And when the chief Shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away.

  • Jeremiah 23:2

    Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, against the shepherds that feed my people: Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them; behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith Jehovah.

  • Matthew 9:36

    But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd.

  • Ezekiel 34:23

    And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

  • John 10:11

    I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep.

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