2:8
In 2:8, Peter continued to use the rock metaphor for Jesus Christ. Now the metaphor is of a rock that people fall over. Peter used this metaphor to continue his description (started at 2:7b) of the bad things that would happen to people who do not believe in Jesus Christ.
2:8a
and: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and marks what follows in 2:8b as another quotation from the Old Testament. Some versions such as the Contemporary English Version do not translate this conjunction. You should translate it in a way that is natural for your language.
In some languages it may be helpful to follow the Good News Translation and make this explicit:
And another scripture says, (Good News Translation)
If your language requires you to say that this quotation is from a different writer, then you may be able to say something like:
And ⌊the prophet⌋ ⌊Isaiah⌋ ⌊wrote that⌋ ⌊to unbelievers⌋ ⌊Christ/he is⌋
2:8b
In this verse part Peter continued to portray Jesus Christ as a rock. The collision between unbelievers and this rock results in the downfall of the unbelievers.
A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense: 2:8b is a quotation from Isaiah 8:14, which was Hebrew poetry. In Hebrew poetry, the writer often repeated the same or similar idea but in different words. Here the same idea is stated twice.
If repeating ideas like this is unnatural in your language and might communicate a wrong meaning, or if your language has only one word for both stone and rock, then you may say something like:
He is a stone/rock that people stumble over so that they fall.
The Greek phrases that the Berean Standard Bible translates as A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense are literally “a stone of stumbling” and “a rock of falling.” The text does not use any verbs. As it is speaking about something that was future to the Old Testament writer, another possible translation model is:
This is the stone that will make people stumble, the rock that will make them fall. (Good News Translation)
stone…rock: Some scholars see a difference in meaning between the two Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stone and rock. The word rock may refer to something larger than a stone. It could mean bedrock or a boulder or rocky crag.
If you follow the style of Hebrew poetry to translate 2:8b, you will need two words such as stone and rock. For the first, you will want a word that can mean a stone people might use for building, perhaps cut or shaped to size. For the second, you may use a word that can mean a rock that is relatively larger than the building stone.
of offense: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as of offense can also be translated as:
to trip people up (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
to trip over (NET Bible)
Consider the most natural way to express this in your language.
2:8c
They: They is a pronoun that Peter is using to refer to the people whom he mentioned at 2:7a. They were the people who did not trust/believe in Jesus Christ.
stumble: In 2:8b, Peter used the word “stumbling,” which is noun form of the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stumble here. Some English versions translate the verb here as:
trip (Revised English Bible)
they disobey the word: There are two ways of understanding the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as disobey :
(1) It means disobey. These people do not obey the word/message. For example:
they do not obey what God says (New Century Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, New American Standard Bible, Contemporary English Version, King James Version, NET Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, New Century Version)
(2) It means disbelieve. These people do not believe the word. For example:
they refuse to believe the word (Revised English Bible)
(God’s Word, New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). However, Peter was probably implying that the disobedience consisted of not believing what God said about Jesus. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:
they disobey ⌊God by refusing to believe⌋ the message ⌊about Jesus Christ⌋
the word: The Greek term that the Berean Standard Bible translates as word had a very broad meaning. It could refer to almost anything that was said. The correct interpretation had to be understood from the context.
There are two ways of interpreting the term here:
(1) It refers to a word or message, perhaps concerning the Good News about salvation through Jesus Christ. For example:
They stumble because they disobey the message (New International Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Contemporary English Version, New American Standard Bible, New Century Version, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Revised Standard Version)
(2) It is another metaphor for Jesus Christ. This is indicated either by capitalizing the “W” of word, and/or by using the pronoun “in.” For example:
they do not believe in the Word (New Jerusalem Bible)
(Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommend that you follow interpretation (1) as most English versions do.
2:8d
and to this they were appointed: There are two ways of interpreting the phrase to this they were appointed :
(1) The unbelievers were appointed to stumble because of their disobedience/unbelief. In other words, God planned or decided that the people who disobeyed the word would stumble. For example:
They stumble because they do not obey what God says, which is what God planned to happen to them. (New Century Version)
(New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, New Century Version; probably New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible)
(2) The unbelievers were destined to disobey/disbelieve the word and therefore to stumble. For example:
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. (NET Bible)
(probably King James Version, Revised Standard Version, NET Bible, Contemporary English Version)
The Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, and Good News Translation leave both possibilities open. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), which has the support of most commentaries.
they were appointed: This is a passive clause. If it is more natural in your language to use an active verb, it may be necessary to make the implied subject “God” explicit:
⌊God⌋ destined them
-or-
⌊God⌋ determined/decided would happen to them
-or-
⌊God⌋ said this must certainly happen to them
Some other ways that the English versions have translated the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they were appointed include:
the fate in store for them (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
the fate appointed for them (Revised English Bible)
-or-
they were doomed (Contemporary English Version)
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