In the Greek, this verse is a continuation of the sentence which begins at verse 17, and gives further reason for the author’s appeal to his readers to honor God. For you know indicates that what follows is common knowledge among the Christians; it is part of what they have already been taught. What was paid to set you free is literally “you were ransomed” (see Revised Standard Version). The Greek verb (lutroō) is used here and in two other places in the New Testament (Titus 2.14; Luke 24.21), although the nominal form appears in five other places. In non-biblical language, lutroō refers to the payment of a certain sum of money in order to secure the freedom of slaves or of prisoners of war. In the Old Testament, the word is used also for the redemption of property (for example, Exo 13.12, 13; Lev 25.26, 48, 49; etc.). In theological usage, the word is used to describe the powerful act of God in setting the Israelites free from slavery in the land of Egypt. This last meaning seems to have been the immediate background of the usage of this word here and in the rest of the New Testament, so that basically it means God’s powerful way of setting people free from the power of sin and evil. This meaning is echoed in many modern translations, for example, New American Bible “delivered”; New English Bible “bought your freedom”; Barclay “liberate you.” The Greek verb is in the passive, and many translations retain it in this form; if, however, an active form is preferred, the actor could either be God (as in Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “God has saved you”) or Christ, but the former is preferable since in the New Testament it is usually God who sets people free. A literal rendering would create the problem of determining who received the ransom payment; the very fact that the New Testament is silent in this regard has led to many theories of the atonement in later stages of Christian history. It is best to avoid this problem therefore by avoiding a literal translation, and simply translating the meaning of the word, for example, “you were set free” or “God has set you free.”
In order to avoid some of the misunderstandings which might arise in rendering literally what was paid, one may translate what was paid to set you free as “what caused you to be free” or “what made it possible for you to be free.” However, there is a serious problem involved in speaking about “being freed from the worthless manner of life…,” since in some way or other it may be important to suggest that this manner of life had in a sense enslaved people. The entire first sentence of verse 18 may therefore be recast in some languages as “the worthless kind of life which you learned from your ancestors had enslaved you, so to speak; you know what set you free from that life.” On the other hand, one may retain the order of concepts in the Good News Translation‘s rendering of verse 18 by translating “for you know what caused you to no longer be enslaved by the kind of worthless life which you had learned from your forefathers.”
What they were set free from is the worthless manner of life handed down by their ancestors, obviously referring to their way of life prior to their becoming Christians. The word translated worthless (Revised Standard Version “futile”) is often used in the Bible to describe idols, and could therefore refer to the fact that they were previously idol-worshipers. The primary meaning, however, is that it was a way of life which was devoid of hope (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) and meaning (compare New English Bible “empty folly”). Handed down by your ancestors is literally “from your fathers,” and refers to their traditional way of life in the past, a way of life also practiced by their ancestors (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “such a hopeless life, as did your forefathers”; Moffatt “futile tradition of your past”).
In rendering the second sentence of verse 18 it is important to indicate clearly that the pronoun it refers to “what set you free” and not to the “worthless manner of life.” It may therefore be necessary to begin verse 18b “what set you free was not something that can be destroyed….”
Peter now goes on to describe how they were set free. Negatively, he states that their freedom was not secured by means of something perishable, such as silver and gold. “Perishable” is rendered in various ways: something that can be destroyed (Good News Translation); “which can lose its value” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch); “doomed to decay” (Barclay); “of transient value” (Phillips). Something that can be destroyed creates certain problems in speaking of silver and gold, since in reality one does not destroy such elements. They can become oxidized and lose their value, especially if they are impure, but it seems far better to emphasize the lack of value or the potential worthlessness of such substances, for example, “which can become worthless.”
Positively, their freedom is secured by the costly sacrifice of Christ. Literally this is “the precious blood of Christ.” The background of the expression is the practice of sacrifice among the Jews (see 1.2) during which the blood (or the life) of the sacrificial animal is offered to God, and by this act the people receive forgiveness from God. “The blood of Christ” accordingly refers to his offering of himself to die on the cross, so that through this act people may be made free from their worthless and hopeless lives. The sacrifice is described as costly, since it is only in the giving up of that life that freedom is secured, as contrasted with the mere payment of silver or gold.
The costly sacrifice of Christ may be expressed as “Christ’s sacrificial death, which was so valuable” or “the way Christ died as a sacrifice, which was so valuable.”
Alluding further to the Jewish practice of sacrifice, Christ is now described as “like a faultless and spotless lamb.” The common sacrificial animal of the Jews is a lamb, and it was expected to be perfect in every way (compare Exo 12.5; 29.1; Lev 22.17-25; etc.). Elsewhere in the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God (John 1.29, 36; compare Rev 5.6).
Who was like a lamb without defect or flaw may be expressed as “he was like a lamb which had nothing wrong with it whatsoever.” It may not be possible to find two words, defect and flaw, which refer essentially to the same types of faults. Therefore, one may employ a negative expression with some kind of degree qualifier, for example, “like a lamb which had nothing at all wrong with it.”
In summary, the thought of verses 18-19 is that God has set people free from the power of evil, not by the easy way of simply paying money, but through a costly and difficult way, namely, the giving up of Christ’s own life on the cross.
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The First Letter from Peter. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .