You were like sheep that had lost their way quotes Isaiah 53.6, and reminds the readers of their former state before they became Christians (compare 2.10), while you have been brought back signifies their present state as believers in Christ. The verb here is an aorist passive, but with a perfect tense, so that while most translations translate it as active (New English Bible “you have turned”; Jerusalem Bible “you have come back”; Phillips “You have returned”), the Good News Translation has translated it accurately. The implicit actor here is God, and this could be indicated in an expression like “God has brought you back.”

It may be meaningless to speak of “sheep that have lost their way,” since in some languages one cannot speak of “losing a road” or “losing a path.” One can, however, almost always say “had gone on the wrong path” or “had traveled the wrong road.”

The Shepherd and Keeper of your souls refers to Christ. His description as Shepherd fits the metaphor of the lost sheep. Keeper translates a Greek word episkopos, from which is derived the English word “bishop.” It is used here, however, not in its technical, ecclesiastical sense, denoting a high official in church government, but in the sense of “guardian,” that is, one who watches over and protects. Taken this way, it is a further description of Shepherd (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “the shepherd under whose protection you stand”). Soul, as in 1.9, 22, stands for the whole person (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

Brought back to follow is literally “you have been returned upon.” The meaning that is intended is not at all clear from the text, but two possibilities may be suggested: (1) “brought back to the care of,” and (2) as in the Good News Translation, brought back to follow.

There may be a kind of cultural problem involved in the expression to follow the Shepherd, since in so many parts of the world sheep do not follow the shepherd but are driven by the shepherd. However, in the Middle East sheep do follow shepherds, and it may therefore be relevant to have a note at this point indicating that fact.

The reference of the phrases the Shepherd and Keeper of your souls may not be entirely clear in some languages. It may therefore be important to translate to follow the Shepherd as “to follow the one who cares for you as a shepherd cares for his sheep,” and keeper of your souls may be rendered as “one who watches over you” or “one who watches to protect you.”

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 .