1:4a

into an inheritance: In the Old Testament, inheritance referred to the land belonging to a family that passed from the father to his heir. In this context, inheritance is used in a figurative way. It does not refer here to literal land or possessions that Jesus left his disciples when he died. It refers to blessings such as salvation and eternal life that God gives to people who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. The word inheritance is used in this way in several other verses in the New Testament. Some other ways to translate “inheritance” are:

something stored up for you (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
blessings God has prepared for us
-or-
the things God has promised to give us

1:4b

that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading: The words imperishable, undefiled, and unfading are very similar in meaning. They describe various ways in which things may become worthless. In this context they indicate that the spiritual inheritance of believers will last forever.

is imperishable: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as imperishable describes something that does not decay, die, or end. Other ways to say this are:

will never decay
-or-
will never rot
-or-
will always remain fresh/new
-or-
will never diminish in value

undefiled: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as undefiled means that nothing can ever mar or pollute the inheritance. It will never diminish in value or goodness. Other ways to say this are:

cannot be spoiled (New Century Version)
-or-
will always remain pure

unfading: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as unfading means that the inheritance will never fade. To “fade” is to lose brightness or beauty. The inheritance that God gives believers will never lose its brightness or beauty. In this context this word has a figurative meaning, since many of the blessings of the inheritance cannot be seen. These blessings are unfading in the sense that they are permanent. Other ways to say this are:

cannot…lose their beauty (New Century Version)
-or-
will never…disappear (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
cannot fade away (Good News Translation)

1:4c

reserved in heaven: The phrase reserved in heaven means “held in heaven.” This implies that the inheritance is safe and secure. God dwells in heaven, and so the inheritance is with him and he guards it.

This is a passive phrase. In some languages, it may be more natural to use an active expression. For example:

which ⌊God⌋ has kept/secured in heaven

heaven: In this context heaven refers to the place where God dwells. Other spiritual beings such as angels also dwell there.

• In languages that do not have a single word for heaven, you may need to use a descriptive phrase:

the place of God
-or-
the place where God lives

for you: Here Peter changed from referring to “us,” which included Peter and his readers (see 1:3b), to referring to them as you (with plural forms). This does not imply that God was not keeping an inheritance for Peter also. Peter was just changing the way he addressed his readers to help them apply his words to themselves.

In the Berean Standard Bible this statement is part of a long sentence that includes both “us” and “you.” In some languages it may be more natural to continue to refer to “us” here and change to “you” in 1:5.

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