It may be important to make the adversative conjunction However quite emphatic by some such phrase as “on the contrary” or “in contrast with that” or “that should not be but….”

In the Greek, the verb is found only in verse 15, and a literal translation of verse 16 would be “but if as a Christian….” It is clear, however, that the implicit verb is “suffer,” and most translations repeat the verb here in order to express the meaning more clearly. The term Christian is a technical term for Christ’s followers; in the book of Acts, it is recorded that the believers in Antioch were the first ones to be called by that name (Acts 11.26). It is very possible that this name was used initially by heathens as a way of ridiculing believers, but that it soon came to be used as a general designation without the negative connotation.

It should also be noted that the third person singular pronoun is used in both verses 15 and 16, but since it is clear that it is the readers who are being addressed, the Good News Translation and many other translations have substituted the second person plural pronoun.

Because you are a Christian may be rendered as “because you are a believer in Christ” or “because you follow Christ” or “because people know you as one who trusts in Christ.”

If one is persecuted because he is a Christian, he should not be ashamed; or in other words, he should not consider this as a disgrace or a cause for shame. On the contrary, he should thank God that he bears Christ’s name. This last part is literally “glorify God by this name.” “Name” most probably goes back to Christian; the meaning then is that the believer should thank God because he is called by the very name of Christ, that is, a Christian (compare Jerusalem Bible “he should thank God that he has been called one”; Barclay “He must make the name Christian a name which brings honour to God”).

Don’t be ashamed is frequently expressed in an idiomatic manner, for example, “do not hang your head” or “do not look to the side” or “do not feel like hiding.”

The pronoun it in the expression don’t be ashamed of it refers to the fact of one’s being a Christian. It may be necessary to make this explicit, for example, “don’t be ashamed of being a follower of Christ.”

A literal translation of thank God that you bear Christ’s name may be misleading, since it might suggest that Christians were pretending that they themselves were Christ. A more appropriate translation may be “thank God that people call you Christians” or “… followers of Christ.”

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 .