1 Peter 2:24
who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed.
1 Peter 2:24 (NKJV)
He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1 Peter 2:24 (KJV)
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
1 Peter 2:24 (NLT)
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24 (ESV)
and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.
1 Peter 2:24 (NASB)Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24 (AMP)Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
He personally bore our sins in His [own] body on the tree [as on an altar and offered Himself on it], that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24 (AMPC)Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing.
1 Peter 2:24 (MSG)Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
New Covenant Meaning
Jesus Took What Was Yours So You Could Receive What Was His
The exchange at the cross is the heart of the gospel. Peter says Jesus bore our sins in His own body. The word "bore" carries the image of lifting a weight and carrying it. Jesus picked up the full weight of sin, not in a general or symbolic sense, but in His own body. He took it all the way to the cross and left it there. The purpose was not just forgiveness but transformation: so that we might live for righteousness. The death of our sin-nature in Christ is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a new kind of life, one lived from righteousness rather than toward it.
By His Stripes You Were Healed
Peter quotes directly from Isaiah 53:5, which was written 700 years before the crucifixion. "By His stripes you were healed" is past tense. The healing was accomplished at the cross. This is not a promise that healing might happen or that you can believe hard enough to earn it. It is a declaration of what was done. The word "healed" in the Greek is iaomai, which describes physical, bodily healing as well as spiritual restoration. The same word appears in the Gospels for the healing miracles of Jesus. What Jesus did to bodies during His ministry, He secured permanently at the cross for all who believe.
In the New Covenant, healing is part of the atonement, not an optional extra. Isaiah 53:4-5 and Matthew 8:17 both make this connection explicit: He took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. First Peter 2:24 anchors this in the work of the cross. The believer does not beg for healing as though God might be reluctant. They receive it as something already purchased and provided. This does not mean there are no mysteries in how healing is experienced in this life. But it means the theological starting position is not "maybe" but "it is finished." The healer is not unwilling. The price has been paid. The believer's job is to receive by faith what Jesus secured by sacrifice.
Application for Your Life
Receive Healing as a Purchased Reality, Not a Hoped-For Maybe
When you pray for healing, pray from what the cross accomplished, not from uncertainty about whether God wants to heal you. First Peter 2:24 and Isaiah 53:5 establish that healing was included in the atoning work of Jesus. You can pray with confidence because you are asking God to manifest in your body what He already secured through His Son. That does not mean you ignore medical wisdom or pretend symptoms are not real. It means you approach the situation knowing that the covenant position is healing, and you press into that with faith.
Live from the Righteousness You Already Have
The other half of 1 Peter 2:24 is often overlooked: "that we might live for righteousness." You have died to sin in Christ. You do not have to keep serving the old nature as if it still has power over you. Romans 6:6 says the old man was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin might be done away with. You are now free to live from righteousness, from the inside out, rather than struggling toward it from the outside. The cross dealt with sin so that you could live a new kind of life. Walk in that freedom.
Prayer Based on This Verse
Lord Jesus, I thank You for what You carried in Your own body on the cross. You bore my sin so I could be free from it. You were wounded so I could be healed. I receive both of those realities right now by faith. I am dead to sin in You and I am alive to righteousness. I receive the healing that Your stripes purchased. I am not begging for something You are reluctant to give. I am receiving what You already provided at an enormous cost. Thank You for the cross. Thank You for the exchange. I live from what You gave me. In Jesus name. Amen.