Among these devout women, Peter chooses one, namely Sarah, the wife of Abraham. Obeyed is in the aorist tense, which suggests that Peter had a specific incident in mind. Since the only time Sarah referred to Abraham as “lord” (in the Hebrew) is in Genesis 18.12, some scholars suggest that Genesis 18.1-15 may have been in Peter’s mind, but this is not at all certain.
Sarah was like that may be rendered as “Sarah was one of those devout women” or “Sarah was a women like that” or “Sarah herself did that.”
She obeyed Abraham may be rendered explicitly as “she did what Abraham told her to do.”
The expression and called him her master must be expressed in many languages as direct discourse, for example, “and spoke to him, My master” or “when she addressed him she said, My master.”
You are now her daughters suggests the idea that in much the same way that Abraham is the father of those who trust in God (Rom 4.11; Gal 3.6-29; etc.), so also Sarah could be regarded as their mother; particularly, Christian women would be her daughters. Their becoming her daughters, however, is conditioned by two factors: if you do good and are not afraid of anything. For do good, see 2.14; 2.15; and 2.20. Are not afraid of anything is literally “you are not afraid of any fear,” a quotation from Proverbs 3.25. The word for “fear” (ptoēsis) is used only here in the whole New Testament, although the verbal form is used in Luke 21.9 and 24.37 with the meaning “to terrify.” It may mean fear of any kind or anything that causes fear or terror. Most translations take afraid and “fear” as cognates, and render the expression in much the same way that the Good News Translation does (for example, New English Bible “show no fear”; Phillips “do not give way to hysterical fears”; Barclay “you refuse to allow anything to reduce you to frightened panic”; Moffatt “yield to no panic”; Knox “let no anxious thoughts disturb you”).
You are now her daughters is a highly specialized Semitic idiom which frequently cannot be translated literally, since it would be seriously misunderstood. An equivalent expression may be “you are now like Sarah” or “you can be like Sarah” (the use of “can be” may be required because of the condition which follows).
If you do good may require some expansion in certain languages, for example, “if you do good to others” or “if you are helpful to others.”
In rendering are not afraid of anything it is important to avoid the suggestion that this means “bravado” or “reckless courage.” The implication seems clearly to be something related to “anxious fears” or “fearful concerns.”
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 .