Instead of worrying or being afraid, the readers are urged to have reverence for Christ and to honor him as Lord. These two expressions are literally “sanctify the Lord Christ,” a quotation from Isaiah 8.13, except that “God” in the original passage has been changed to “Christ.” To “sanctify” God is to acknowledge him as holy, to worship and honor him as the only God. To sanctify Christ has the same sense: to recognize, worship, and honor him as the only Lord. In your hearts is not found in the Old Testament quotation; it is added here to show that this acknowledgment of Christ as Lord must be from the very center of their being; they must honor him completely and wholeheartedly.
The closest equivalent of have reverence for Christ may be “worship Christ,” to which, of course, may be added “in your heart.” Honor him as Lord may be expressed as “acknowledge him as Lord” or “give him the honor he deserves as Lord.”
Just in case his readers should understand this reverence for Christ as only inward, and therefore as something to be kept for oneself, Peter hastens on to add that this inward state must result in a readiness to share this faith with others. They are to be ready at all times to answer anyone and to explain the hope that is in them. Be ready is literally “prepared,” taken here in an imperative sense, as it is obvious from the Greek (in the Greek “prepared” etc. is part of the sentence beginning with “sanctify,” and the force of the imperative verb carries itself therefore into the following adjective). The tone of the expression is one of urgency; it is as if Peter expected his readers to be called upon to explain their faith in the immediate future, if they had not already done so.
At all times may frequently be rendered as “always,” but in some languages it may seem more natural to say “on any day.”
To answer anyone is literally “for an apology to anyone.” “Apology” is a Greek word meaning “defense,” and may be used in a formal sense, referring to defense before authorities, particularly before a court of law (compare Luke 12.21; Acts 19.33; 22.1; 26.1, 2, 24). If this is the sense here, then it could be that Peter expected his readers to be brought to trial because of their faith. There is, however, a less formal sense in which apologia is used, that is, referring to answers given to private accusations (compare 2 Cor 7.11), and this may be what is intended here, in view of asks, which is rather informal. If this sense is taken, then anyone would refer to pagan neighbors mentioned in 2.12.
Though the pronoun anyone is singular in form, it is in reality plural in reference. It may therefore be more satisfactorily rendered in some languages as “all,” for example, “be always ready to answer all who ask you….”
Asks you to explain is literally “asks you a word.” The translation of this expression depends in some way on how one takes “apology” (see above). If “apology” is formal and refers to legal defense, then “word” would be translated legally (for example, Knox, Barclay “to give an account”). If, however, the informal sense of “apology” is preferred, then, “word” would be translated accordingly (compare Jerusalem Bible “the reason for”; Phillips, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “an explanation”).
Who asks you to explain must frequently be restructured as direct discourse, for example, “who asks you, Please explain to us….”
For hope, see 1.3, 13, 21, and 3.5. Here, hope refers not primarily to future salvation but to the content of their Christian faith, although the former sense is not excluded.
It may be extremely difficult in some languages to “explain the hope,” for one can only explain a content and not an act of hoping, apart from what is hoped for. Therefore, one may translate explain the hope you have in you as “explain what it is you look forward to with confidence.”
In you could be “within you” (Phillips) or “among you,” that is, the hope that all of them have and share together (for example, Jerusalem Bible “the hope that you all have”; Barclay “the hope all Christians share”; Knox “the hope which you cherish”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “your hope”). If in you is to be understood as something within the individual, then one may translate “the hope that you have in your hearts,” but if this is the hope which Christians shared, then one may speak of “the hope which you all have as believers.”
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 .