1 Peter 3:15 — Bible Verse Meaning & Context

1 Peter 3:15 reads: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear:" — from the New Testament, 1 Peter (General epistle). The full verse is shown above with both the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV) translations side by side.

1 Peter 3:15 is in the book of 1 Peter, traditionally attributed to Peter the apostle and written around c. 62–64 AD. 1 Peter is general epistle in the New Testament, originally addressed to Christians scattered across Asia Minor, facing rising persecution. Best known for "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation".

1 Peter 3:15 is primarily a Bible verse about Hope. Within 1 Peter, 1 Peter writes to suffering exiles — believers facing social abuse and rising state pressure — and grounds them in their identity as "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (2:9). Read the full passage above with surrounding context.

1 Peter 3:15 in the World English Bible (WEB) reads: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear:". The King James Version (KJV) reads: "But1161 sanctify37 the Lord2962 God2316 in1722 your5216 hearts2588: and1161 be ready2092 always104 to4314 give an answer627 to every man3956 that asketh154 you5209 a reason3056 of4012 the hope1680 that is in1722 you5213 with3326 meekness4240 and2532 fear5401: fear: or, reverence". The WEB is a modern public-domain translation that updates the KJV's 1611 English while keeping a similar formal-equivalence style. Both render the same underlying Greek or Hebrew text.

1 Peter 3:15 is 34 words in the WEB translation (173 characters), broken into 3 clauses. It is a longer verse, often broken into smaller phrases for memorisation. Estimated reading time is about 10 seconds.

To memorise 1 Peter 3:15, split it into its 3 natural clauses and learn one at a time. Repeat the full verse out loud five times, then write it from memory. Saving the verse as a photo wallpaper using our verse image studio helps daily review — the visual association with a memorable background dramatically improves recall.

1 Peter writes to suffering exiles — believers facing social abuse and rising state pressure — and grounds them in their identity as "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (2:9). It urges holiness, gentle witness, and unshakable hope because of Christ's resurrection and coming inheritance. 1 Peter 3:15 sits within this larger story — 1 Peter as a whole emphasises suffering, hope, holiness.

Many readers use 1 Peter 3:15 as a daily reminder verse — saving it as a phone wallpaper, sharing it on Pinterest, or memorising it for prayer. The verse studio on this page lets you download 1 Peter 3:15 on 52 different backgrounds for free. Pair the verse with the surrounding chapter context shown above to understand its full meaning before applying it.