The first part of this verse is a quotation taken from Psalm 55.22 (Septuagint). Leave translates a verb which is literally “throw” (compare Revised Standard Version “cast”). In the Greek, this is a participle closely subordinated to the verb Humble yourselves, and clearly indicates that trusting God for one’s worries is itself an act of humility. Most translations render the participle here as an imperative. To “throw upon” means “to give up to”, “to commit,” “to surrender”, so as not to be bothered anymore. Many translations retain the figurative expression (compare Jerusalem Bible “Unload all your worries on to Him”; Knox “Throw back on him the burden of all your anxiety”); the Good News Translation, however, drops the figure in favor of its non-figurative meaning (compare Phillips “You can rest the weight of all your anxieties upon Him”; Barclay “Bring all your worries to him to carry for you”).

It may be difficult to obtain an expression which will indicate how one can transfer the responsibility for certain worries from the believer to God. In some instances this may be done as “let God do your worrying for you” or “instead of your thinking anxiously about everything, let God do that.”

In the Greek text worries is singular in form, but because of the attributive meaning “all” or “every,” it is plural in meaning, and therefore in English it is best translated as “all your worries.”

There is no indication as to the nature of these anxieties, but it can be deduced that they are somewhat related to the suffering which the Christians are experiencing.

He cares for you expresses the reason for the immediately preceding exhortation. This is clearly indicated by because (compare Jerusalem Bible “since”). The verb for cares denotes the idea of being concerned for, of guiding, sustaining, and in the present context, of not being indifferent to the plight of Christians. Jesus is himself recorded as having expressed a similar message to his disciples, exhorting not to worry because God is aware of their needs (Matt 6.25-34). It is noted by many commentaries that the belief expressed here is clearly distinctive of the Judaeo-Christian tradition; other religions concentrate on divine goodness and perfection, but the Christian faith starts with the conviction that God does care.

He cares for you should not be translated in such a way as to mean simply “he likes you.” What is involved here is God’s provision for the believer’s needs, and therefore “he takes care of you” or “he provides what you need.”

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 .