2:19a

For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces a reason why Peter was instructing his readers to submit to their masters, whether they were kind or harsh. Some English versions do not translate this conjunction, so that the introduction is implicit. Translate this conjunction in a way that is natural in your language.

if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering: In some languages it may be necessary to separate the different actions involved in this verse part:

if a person suffers without having done wrong and bears this bravely
-or-
if a person does no wrong and yet is made to suffer and bears this bravely

anyone: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as anyone refers to any person, male or female.

endures: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as endures means “to be patient while suffering physically or mentally. Some other ways to translate this phrase include:

bears up under (New International Version)
-or-
tolerate

the pain of unjust suffering: The phrase the pain of unjust suffering refers to unfair physical punishment. The slave had not done anything wrong, but his master punished him anyway. The punishment was unjust and the suffering undeserved. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

unfair treatment (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the pain of undeserved suffering (Good News Translation)

2:19b

because he is conscious of God: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because he is conscious of God means “because he is thinking about God.” It implies that the slave knows what God wants him to do. Other ways to translate this include:

mindful of God (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
being aware of God (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
because God is in his thoughts (Revised English Bible)

2:19c

this is to be commended: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as this is to be commended is literally “this is grace.” In this context, “grace” refers to an action that is good and worthy of praise. It is an action that God approves or favors. In some languages it may be necessary to make this information explicit. For example:

this finds God’s favor (NET Bible)
-or-
God is pleased (God’s Word)
-or-
God will bless you (Contemporary English Version)

© 2018 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.