3:10–12

In these verses Peter quoted from Psalm 34 to warn his readers not to do evil to anyone who persecuted them. Peter also wanted to assure his readers that God was concerned for them. As this is an exact quotation from Scripture, it will be good to make this clear, either explicitly in the text or in a footnote.

3:10a

For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces a quotation that supports what Peter had just written. It is not itself part of the quotation. Translate this conjunction in a way that is natural for your language.

3:10b

This verse part is a quotation of Psalm 34:12.

Whoever would love life and see good days: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Whoever would love life and see good days is a doublet.

A doublet is the occurrence of two words or phrases together that have the same basic meaning. They are often used for emphasis or poetic effects. The two parts of the expression together mean “Whoever wants to enjoy life” or “Whoever wants to be happy/contented.”

Consider if it is natural in your language to say the same thing in two ways like this. Most English translations do keep the doublet. Examples include:

A person must do these things to enjoy life and have many happy days (New Century Version)
-or-
If you want a happy life and good days (New Living Translation (2004))

3:10c

This verse part is a quotation of Psalm 34:13.

must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech: This verse part is also a doublet. As is common in Hebrew poetry, the second clause restates the first. Together the two clauses mean:

must not say things that are evil

Again, most English translations keep the doublet. For example:

He must not say evil things, and he must not tell lies (New Century Version)

keep his tongue from evil: In this context the word evil refers to things that are intended to harm others. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

keep from speaking evil (Good News Translation)
-or-
stop saying cruel things (Contemporary English Version)

deceitful speech: In this context the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as deceitful describes untruthful words that are spoken in order to hurt or take advantage of someone else. Here is another way to translate this:

telling lies (New Living Translation (2004))

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