1 Peter 3:21 (DBY)

Passage

which figure also now saves you, [even] baptism, not a putting away of [the] filth of flesh, but [the] demand as before God of a good conscience, by [the] resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Nearby Context

1 Peter 3:19 in which also going he preached to the spirits [which are] in prison,

1 Peter 3:20 heretofore disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in [the] days of Noah while the ark was preparing, into which few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water:

1 Peter 3:21 which figure also now saves you, [even] baptism, not a putting away of [the] filth of flesh, but [the] demand as before God of a good conscience, by [the] resurrection of Jesus Christ,

1 Peter 3:22 who is at [the] right hand of God, gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being subjected to him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "figure", "saves", "even", "baptism", "putting", "away", "filth", and "flesh". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "figure" and "saves", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "heretofore disobedient when the longsuffering of God..." into verse 22's "who is at the right hand of...", so "figure" and "saves" belong inside that flow. In 1 Peter context, the local focus is hope in suffering, holy conduct, submission, and grace.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "figure" and "saves" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.