Here Peter contrasts the outward and the inward aspects of beauty, the beauty dependent on outward aids and that which is dependent on the true inner self.
It is possible to translate the Greek in such a way that the women are not prohibited from using outward aids, but are instead urged not to depend on these for their beauty (compare New English Bible “Your beauty should reside, not in outward adornment”; Phillips “Your beauty should not be dependent on…”; Barclay “your beauty must not be the superficial beauty which depends on…”). However, the Good News Translation rendering is also possible and makes the verse an accurate description of the negative attitude of the early Christians toward superficial beauty aids (compare 1 Tim 2.9).
If one understands the beginning of verse 3 as indicating that women were not to depend upon outward aids to beautify themselves, then one may translate “you should not use various things in order to make yourselves look more beautiful” or “your beauty should not depend upon…” or “you should not try to make yourselves more beautiful by….” The interpretation which rules out all outward aids may be rendered as “you should not try to make yourselves look beautiful by…” or “you must not cause yourselves to become beautiful by….”
Some of these outward aids are now mentioned: the way you fix your hair is literally “the braiding of hair” or “the plaiting of hair.” This was an art which was very popular among Greek and Roman ladies, with the braided hair rising some inches above the head, and often intertwined with chains of gold or strings of pearl. Many translations translate the expression as a general description for elaborate style, for example, New American Bible “elaborate hairdress”; Jerusalem Bible “doing up your hair”; Phillips “elaborate coiffure”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “extravagant hairdos”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “exaggerated hairdos.”
A literal rendering of the Greek text as “the braiding of hair” can be very misleading, since braided hair is regarded in many parts of the world as being very modest. The emphasis here is clearly upon elaborate hairdos. Therefore, one may employ an expression which in the receptor language refers to precisely such forms of hairdo, for example, “cause your hair to be high above your head” or “cause your hair to attract great attention” or “fix up your hair in a very expensive way.”
The jewelry you put on is literally “the wearing of golden jewelry,” interpreted either generally as referring to all kinds of jewelry (Good News Translation, New English Bible, Phillips, Barclay “expensive jewelry”) or specifically as referring to special kinds of golden jewelry, for example, Knox “gold trinkets”; Jerusalem Bible “gold bracelets.”
Each one of the methods employed for beautifying oneself must frequently be expressed as a separate sentence, for example, “you should not wear expensive jewelry” or “you should not try to make yourself look beautiful by wearing valuable jewels.”
Dresses translates a general word for garments of any kind, but since women are being referred to, then dresses fits this particular context. It may be important to qualify the dresses you wear as “the expensive dresses you wear” or “the elaborate dresses which you wear.” A strictly literal rendering might suggest avoiding the wearing of dresses. This is particularly true in certain parts of the world where the wearing of dresses is associated with prostitution, and in which modest women either wear a skirt or a skirt and blouse.
Positively, beauty should be inward: it should be dependent on a woman’s true inner self. This literally is “the hidden person of the heart,” with “hidden person” and “heart” in apposition, hence, “the hidden person, which is the heart.” This bears close similarity with Paul’s concept of the “inward man” (Rom 7.22; 2 Cor 4.1; compare Eph 3.16) and of the new creature in 2 Corinthians 5.17 and Galatians 6.15. “Inner” is opposed to “outward” in verse 3.
The rendering of Instead may require a rather extensive paraphrase, for example, “rather than doing that you should” or “do not do that, but do as follows.”
The rendering of your beauty should consist of your true inner self will depend in large measure upon the manner in which beauty is spoken of in the first clause of verse 3. For example, one may render your beauty should consist of your true inner self as “your beauty should depend upon what you yourself really are” or “… what you are in your heart” or “… what you are inside of you.” On the other hand, it may be necessary to restructure this initial clause of verse 4 as “what you are in your heart is what causes you to be beautiful” or “… causes you really to be beautiful.”
The “heart” stands for the whole person, or more specifically, for his character and personality (compare Barclay “inner character and personality”). The beauty that is of the heart is further described as the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. Gentle can also mean “humble,” “considerate,” or negatively, “not rude.” Quiet describes an attitude of calmness, serenity, and tranquility. Spirit here may refer generally to “life,” but more specifically to temperament, disposition (Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible), frame of mind. Such beauty is ageless (literally “imperishable”), as contrasted with the outward adornments which last only for a little while (compare Barclay “a beauty which the years cannot wither”; New American Bible “unfading”). Furthermore, such beauty is of the greatest value in God’s sight. Which refers not only to spirit, but to everything that precedes it, that is, true beauty. In God’s sight is an anthropomorphism, or a way of talking about God as if he had the form of a human being. “Before God” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) or “to God” accurately expresses its meaning.
The ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit is a relatively complex statement which may require considerable restructuring. Ageless beauty may, for example, be rendered as “that is the beauty which never changes” or “that beauty always lasts,” and the relationship between such beauty and the qualifying phrase of a gentle and quiet spirit may be made causative, for example, “that beauty never changes because it comes from a gentle and quiet spirit” or “that beauty never changes; it comes from a spirit which is gentle and quiet.”
Of a gentle and quiet spirit may be misunderstood if translated literally, since it might suggest that some impersonal spirit which is gentle and quiet has caused beauty. Any translation of the term spirit must of course refer to the spirit of the individual and not to some supernatural spirit. An appropriate equivalent in some instances is “a life that is gentle and quiet,” but in some instances the most satisfactory equivalent is “the unchanging beauty of a person who is gentle and quiet.”
However, one must not translate quiet merely in a sense of “not talking”; the meaning is “calm” or “tranquil,” but in some languages the concept may be best expressed by a negative phrase, for example, “not disturbed” or “not constantly upset.”
Which is of the greatest value in God’s sight may be rendered as “this is what God looks on as being really beautiful” or “this kind of beauty is what God values greatest” or “… considers to be the most valuable.”
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 .