This verse expands on verse 19 and serves as a fitting introduction to verses 21 and following, where Peter discusses the attitude of Christ toward suffering. Credit translates a Greek word which can mean “fame” or “glory,” that is, the praise and recognition one received for something. The source of the credit is not mentioned; it could be God, or people, or possibly both. The focus here, however, is not on who gives the credit, but on who gets it, and an expression like “what advantage do you have” is a close equivalent. What credit may also be rendered as “what benefit is it to you.” One might even translate “what praise do you expect to receive.”
If you endure the beatings you deserve for having done wrong is literally “if you do wrong (sin) and when beaten, endure.” The chronological sequence is apparent in this literal translation, that is, (1) you do wrong, (2) you get beaten, (3) you endure. Good News Translation restructuring has the 3, 2, 1 order and makes the relationship between the three events much clearer, for example, the beatings are a result of doing wrong. If here, as in verse 19, can either be purely conditional or simply conditional in form but not in meaning. Translations take it either way (for the conditional, see Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible, Phillips, Barclay, Knox; for the non-conditional “when,” see New English Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).
There is no special emphasis in this verse on a feat of endurance involving the beatings or suffering. The focus of attention is essentially upon the experiencing of such beatings; hence, if you endure the beatings you deserve may be rendered as “if you are beaten for what you deserve” or “if you experience the beatings you deserve.”
The beatings translates a Greek participle, the finite verb of which is literally “strike with the fist” but can have the general meaning of “treat with violence” or “maltreat.” It is the same word used in Mark 14.65 to describe the beatings given to Jesus during his trial and serves therefore as a fitting introduction to what will be said later about his example of patient suffering.
Having done wrong may refer to acts against the master, or against God; either sense is possible. The former sense fits the context much better; the beatings are due to the slave’s insubordination and to his inefficiency in performing his assigned task. Favoring the latter is the fact that the word reappears again in 2.22 and 2.24 in the sense of sin or wrongdoing against God. Most translations translate it as it is, allowing for either or both possibilities.
The other half of the verse repeats the idea of verse 19. For you have done right, see 2.15 (the good things you do). Here it is the opposite of having done wrong, and like it, has a double sense in that it could refer to acts which are in conformity with God’s will or to acts which show the slave’s obedience to his earthly master. Taking this latter sense, the expression can then be translated “when you work well.” For God will bless you for it (literally “this is grace with God”), see verse 19 above.
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 .