1 Peter 1:18

as ye know that ye were not redeemed The idea of a ransom as a price paid for liberation from captivity or death, suggests the contrast between the silver and gold which were paid commonly for human ransoms, and the price which Christ had paid. In the word itself we have an echo of our Lord's teaching in Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45. In this instance, it will be noted, stress is laid on the fact that the liberation effected by the ransom is not from the penalty of an evil life, but from the evil life itself.

from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers Better, as before, vain conduct. It has been somewhat rashly inferred from these words that the Apostle is speaking mainly, if not exclusively, of the converts from heathenism who were to be found in the Asiatic Churches. His own words, however, in Acts 15:10, yet more the condemnation passed by our Lord on the traditions of the elders (Matthew 15:2-6; Mark 7:3-13), and St Paul's reference to his living after the traditions of the fathers (Galatians 1:14), are surely enough to warrant the conclusion that he is speaking here of the degenerate Judaism of those whom he addresses, rather than turning to a different class of readers, or, at the least, that his words include the former.