1 Peter 1 · Verse 23

1 Peter 1:23

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

1 Peter 1:23, King James Version

1 Peter 1:23 in other translations

BSB	For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
WEB	having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.
ASV	having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth.
YLT	being begotten again, not out of seed corruptible, but incorruptible, through a word of God--living and remaining--to the age;
DARBY	being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the living and abiding word of God.
BBE	Because you have had a new birth, not from the seed of man, but from eternal seed, through the word of a living and unchanging God.
Webster	Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

What does 1 Peter 1:23 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

23. Christian brotherhood flows from our new birth of an imperishable seed, the abiding word of God. This is the consideration urged here to lead us to exercise brotherly love. As natural relationship gives rise to natural affection, so spiritual relationship gives rise to spiritual, and therefore abiding love, even as the seed from which it springs is abiding, not transitory as earthly things. of ... of ... by--"The word of God" is not the material of the spiritual new birth, but its mean or medium. By means of the word the man receives the incorruptible seed of the Holy Spirit, and so becomes one "born again": Joh 3:3-5, "born of water and the Spirit": as there is but one Greek article to the two nouns, the close connection of the sign and the grace, or new birth signified is implied. The word is the remote and anterior instrument; baptism, the proximate and sacramental instrument. The word is the instrument in relation to the individual; baptism, in relation to the Church as a society (Jas 1:18). We are born again of the Spirit, yet not without the use of means, but by the word of God. The word is not the beggeting principle itself, but only that by which it works: the vehicle of the mysterious germinating power [Alford]. which liveth and abideth for ever--It is because the Spirit of God accompanies it that the word carries in it the germ of life. They who are so born again live and abide for ever, in contrast to those who sow to the flesh. "The Gospel bears incorruptible fruits, not dead works, because it is itself incorruptible" [Bengel]. The word is an eternal divine power. For though the voice or speech vanishes, there still remains the kernel, the truth comprehended in the voice. This sinks into the heart and is living; yea, it is God Himself. So God to Moses, Ex 4:12, "I will be with thy mouth" [Luther]. The life is in God, yet it is communicated to us through the word. "The Gospel shall never cease, though its ministry shall" [Calovius]. The abiding resurrection glory is always connected with our regeneration by the Spirit. Regeneration beginning with renewing man's soul at the resurrection, passes on to the body, then to the whole world of nature.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 23. Being born again. Jn 3:3. Not of corruptible seed. "Not by virtue of any descent from human parents." Doddridge. The result of such a birth, or of being begotten in this way--for so the word rendered born again more properly signifies is only corruption and decay. We are begotten only to die. There is no permanent, enduring life produced by that. It is in this sense that this is spoken of as "corruptible seed," because it results in decay and death. The word here rendered seed--σπορα--occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.

But of incorruptible. By truth, communicating a living principle to the soul which can never decay. Comp. 1Jn 3:9: "His seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."

By the word of God. Jas 1:18: "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures." Comp. Jn 1:13. It is the uniform doctrine of the Scriptures that Divine truth is made the instrument of quickening the soul into spiritual life.

Which liveth and abideth for ever. This expression may either refer to God, as living for ever, or to the word of God, as being for ever true. Critics are about equally divided in the interpretation. The Greek will bear either construction. Most of the recent critics incline to the latter opinion--that it refers to the word of God, or to his doctrine. So Rosenmuller, Doddridge, Bloomfield, Wolf, Macknight, Clarke. It seems to me, however, that the more natural construction of the Greek is to refer it to God, as ever-living or enduring; and this interpretation agrees well with the connexion. The idea then is, that as God is everliving, that which is produced directly by him in the human soul, by the instrumentality of truth, may be expected also to endure for ever. It will not be like the offspring of human parents, themselves mortal, liable to early and certain decay, but may be expected to be as enduring as its ever-living Creator.

(a) "born again" Jn 1:13 (b) "word" Jas 1:18

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 23 Being born again - For being born of Abraham's seed will not avail to the entering of the kingdom of heaven. Not of corruptible seed - By no human generation, or earthly means; but of incorruptible - a Divine and heavenly principle which is not liable to decay, nor to be affected by the changes and chances to which all sublunary things are exposed. By the word of God - Δια λογου ζωντος Θεου· By the doctrine of the living God, which remaineth for ever; which doctrine shall never change, any more than the source shall whence it proceeds.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Peter 1:17-25

Holy confidence in God as a Father, and awful fear of him as a Judge, agree together; and to regard God always as a Judge, makes him dear to us as a Father. If believers do evil, God will visit them with corrections. Then, let Christians not doubt God's faithfulness to his promises, nor give way to enslaving dread of his wrath, but let them reverence his holiness. The fearless professor is defenceless, and Satan…

Read the full comment on 1 Peter 1:17-25 →

1 Peter 1:23 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἀναγεγεννημένοιanagegennēmenoiborn againG313

οὐκouknotG3756

ἐκekofG1537

σπορᾶςsporasseedG4701

φθαρτῆςphthartēsperishableG5349

ἀλλ᾽all᾽butG235

ἀφθάρτουaphthartouof imperishableG862

διὰdiathroughG1223

λόγουlogou[the] wordG3056

ζῶντοςzōntoslivingG2198

θεοῦtheouof GodG2316

καὶkaiandG2532

μένοντοςmenontosabidingG3306

εἰςeisintoG1519

τὸνtontheG3588

αἰῶνα·aiōnaage;G165

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Peter 1:23

1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
John 1:13
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 6:63
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 15:53-54
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1 John 5:18
We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
James 1:18
Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
1 John 3:9
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
John 3:5
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
John 1:3
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

born.
3; Joh 1:3; 3:5
not.
Mal 2:3; Ro 1:23; 1Co 15:53,54
but.
1Jo 3:9; 5:18
by.
25; Jer 23:28; Mt 24:35; Joh 6:63; Heb 4:12; Jas 1:18

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

1 Peter 1:22
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
1 Peter 1:23
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
1 Peter 1:24
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

Read all of 1 Peter 1

1 Peter 1:23 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Siendo renacidos, no de simiente corruptible, sino de incorruptible, por la palabra de Dios, que vive y permanece para siempre.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	vous qui êtes régénérés, non par une semence corruptible, mais par une semence incorruptible, par la vivante et permanente parole de Dieu:
German Elberfelder 1871	die ihr nicht wiedergeboren seid aus verweslichem Samen, sondern aus unverweslichem, durch das lebendige und bleibende Wort Gottes;
Latin Clementine Vulgate	renati non ex semine corruptibili, sed incorruptibili per verbum Dei vivi, et permanentis in æternum: