This recalls 2.19-20. For doing good, see 2.12 and 2.15; and for doing evil, see 2.12 and 2.14, where the nominal form of the verb appears. If this should be God’s will is in the optative mood, for which see the various possibilities discussed in verse 14. God’s will in this case may be to suffer for doing good (as in Good News Translation, New English Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Moffatt, Knox) or simply “suffering” (for example, New American Bible “If it should be God’s will that you suffer, it is better to do so for good deeds than for evil ones”; also Phillips, Jerusalem Bible). Both are possible, although the Greek construction lends weight to the former.

The interruption of the comparative expression in verse 17 by the conditional clause if this should be God’s will causes certain complications in a number of languages. It may therefore be necessary to translate “for it is better to suffer for having done good than for having done what is bad, if indeed it is God’s will that you should suffer.” The conditional expression may also be expressed as a potential event, “… for it might be that it is God’s will for you to suffer” or “… since it might be that your suffering is what God has decided should be.”

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 .

This verse starts with the Greek particle de (“but” or “and”), which has the dual function of marking a new section and of connecting this new section with the previous one. As already stated above, it is the mention of imminent judgment in verse 5 which leads to the affirmation in verse 7.

Most translations leave this Greek particle out, and signal the beginning of a new section by either the use of a section heading or by beginning a new paragraph.

The end of all things refers to the expected end of the world, which will be ushered in by the second coming of Jesus Christ. It is part of early Christian belief that on the day of Christ’s second coming, all human history will come to an end, the earth, together with everything in it, will pass away, and Jesus Christ will rule as the victorious and triumphant King (compare 1.5, 6; 4.13, 17; 5.1, 10). Furthermore, the early Christians believed that this event was near, which means that they expected it to happen in the very near future, perhaps the next day or the next month, but most surely during their own lifetime. The Greek word translated near is actually a perfect verb (literally “has drawn near”), and is the same word used in the preaching of Jesus about the Kingdom of God (compare Mark 1.15). Many translations capture this aspect of immediacy by their restructurings (for example, New English Bible “The end of all things is upon us”; Jerusalem Bible “Everything will soon come to an end”; Barclay “It will not be long now until the end of the world comes”).

It is quite impossible in a number of languages to translate literally The end of all things as a statement related to events, for a literal rendering would simply mean a particular end of all objects. What is involved is a reference to the end of all that is happening, so that The end of all things is near must be rendered in some languages as “all that is now happening will soon come to an end” or “… will cease” or “… will happen no longer.”

It is perhaps important to note that Peter, in contrast with the apocalyptic sections of the Gospels (for example, Mark 13 and parallels; compare 1 Thes 4.15-18), simply states the belief in the imminent end of the world, without mentioning any accompanying signs. However, in conformity with other passages pertaining to this eschatological event, Peter draws out the ethical implications of such a belief, particularly in terms of proper Christian attitude and behavior (compare Matt 24.45–25.13; Mark 13.33-37; Rom 13.11-14; etc.). So he advised them, first of all, to be self-controlled and alert. (For alert, see 1.13.) The two verbs are close synonyms, with the first one (Greek sophroneō “to keep one’s head”) referring to the control of one’s mental faculties (compare Revised Standard Version “keep sane”), and the second (Greek nephō) putting emphasis on sobriety (Jerusalem Bible “a sober mind”) and watchfulness (compare Knox “keep your senses awake”). But the two verbs together denote complete control of oneself, resulting in calmness, sobriety, self-control, sensibleness, steadiness.

In some languages it may be possible to translate You must be self-controlled as literally “you must control yourselves,” but normally You must be self-controlled is expressed in more figurative language, “you must be in command of what you do” or “you must not let your thoughts go in every direction” or “you must not let your heart wander away.” Similarly, alert may be rendered as “always ready” or “be constantly watchful in your hearts” or “keeping your mind awake.”

To be able to pray translates a prepositional phrase (literally “into prayer”) connected with either alert, or more probably with both the preceding imperatives. The preposition “into” may be interpreted as temporal, in which case Peter is saying that they should be self-controlled and alert when they pray, or during their prayers (compare Revised Standard Version “keep sane and sober for your prayers”; Knox “keep your senses awake to greet the hours of prayer”). More probably, however, it expresses purpose, in which case Peter is saying that the purpose of their possessing self-control and sobriety is so that they will be able to pray better.

If one interprets the Greek phrase literally “into prayer” as expressing purpose, it may be necessary to expand somewhat the implications of the rendering to be able to pray. What Peter is trying to say is that one should be self-controlled and alert in order to be able to pray properly, and therefore one may translate to be able to pray as “in order to be able to pray as you should.”

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 .

This is a very difficult verse, although the Greek text is deceptively simple, and a literal translation of it is rather easy to make (compare Revised Standard Version). To translate it meaningfully, however, requires a rather thorough examination of the possible interpretations and of the various ways of expressing these meanings in a clear and understandable way. One other difficulty is the possibility of the translator allowing his own theological presuppositions to influence his understanding and translation of the passage, especially if such presuppositions contradict the conclusions arrived at after a careful analysis.

In verse 5, the writer has mentioned the judgment that awaits both the living and the dead. This present verse takes two ideas in the previous verse, namely, judgment and the dead, and incorporates them into a rather complex theological statement. The close connection between the two verses must necessarily require that the interpretation of verse 6 should be dependent in many ways to our understanding of verse 5.

The Good News was preached does not have an explicit subject; possible subjects are Christian evangelists or preachers, or Christ himself. Favoring the former is that in many places in the New Testament, when the passive form of “preach” is used, it is Christ who is the content and not the agent; in other words, it is Christ who is preached, and not Christ doing the preaching (compare Acts 5.42; Gal 1.16). But against it is the aorist tense of the verb, indicating that the preaching happened at a particular time and place in the past; if Christian preachers were meant, it would have been more natural to expect the present tense, that is, “is preached” or “is being preached.” Favoring the latter (that is, Christ doing the preaching) is the fact that it is the more natural interpretation, especially if one connects this verse with 3.19, 20, and if one understands Christ to be the judge referred to in verse 5. The choice depends not only on these factors, but also on how one understands the rest of the verse.

It is not easy to ascertain what the dead refers to, and the history of the interpretation of this verse bears out the difficulties. The various interpretations can be summarized as follows:

(1) The dead refers to the spiritually dead (compare Eph 2.1). This, however, would require giving another meaning to the same expression in verse 5, whereas it is more natural to expect the same meaning. Furthermore, the aorist tense of was preached argues against this interpretation.

(2) The dead in general, that is, the people who are dead. Again the aorist tense of the verb argues against this.

(3) The Old Testament saints, that is, the people in the Old Testament who trusted in God; the Good News was preached to them in Hades, which enabled them to put their trust in Christ. This would also necessitate understanding the dead in verse 5 differently from verse 6.

(4) People who are dead, but who had the opportunity to hear the Good News while they were alive. This would require taking Christian missionaries as the implied agent of “was preached.”

(5) Members of the Christian communities to whom Peter was writing, who have since died, but who were alive when they heard and believed the Good News. A close parallel then would be (1 Thessalonians especially 4.13-18), where Paul deals with a problem worrying the Thessalonian Christians, namely, what happens to those Christians who have died before Christ comes again. Favoring this interpretation is its relevance to the situation of the Christians at that time who perhaps were worried about the plight of the members of their fellowship who have died. Furthermore, they were perhaps being put to task by their pagan neighbors regarding the value of their faith, since they too, like other people, die, and even more violently. But arguing against this position is, once again, the change of meaning for the dead. Here, it would mean “the Christian dead.” Furthermore, this would require taking Christian missionaries as the implicit agent of “was preached.”

(6) All the dead before the coming of Christ. This would connect this verse with 3.19, 20. The dead heard the Gospel when it was preached to the “spirits”; these include both the righteous and the unrighteous. This would not require a change of meaning for the dead. Furthermore, it is connected with a theme which is already mentioned in the letter. And finally, it would require taking Christ as the agent of “preached.” All in all, then, this 6th interpretation seems closest to what the writer meant.

The next half of the verse contains three antitheses which can be seen more clearly in a literal translation (compare Revised Standard Version).
judged – they might live
in the flesh – in the spirit
like men – like God

Since judged is in contrast to live, it is best perhaps to understand judged here differently from that in verse 5 where it refers clearly to the last judgment. Two other interpretations seem possible. (1) “Judgment” here refers to the experience of people while alive, such as the experience of persecution and difficulties (compare Jerusalem Bible “in their life on earth, they had been through the judgment that comes to all humanity”). This would require taking “in the flesh” as the sphere in which they were judged, hence, “while they were alive on earth.” But this does not do justice to the antithetical relationship between judged and live. (2) “Judgment” here may refer to the experience of death which is common to all peoples, death itself being considered a form of judgment, especially of sin (compare Rom 5.12; 6.23). “In the flesh” then would refer to their condition as people, that is, their physical existence, in contrast to their spiritual existence. A way of expressing the meaning would be: “though they have died, as all people must die” (compare Barclay “although in this human life they had received the judgment of death which all receive…”). This would do justice to the antithetical relationships which have already been mentioned.

Although they are dead physically, yet they may in their spiritual existence live as God lives. For in their spiritual existence, see 3.18. The word for live is different from that used in verse 2; there it refers to normal, day to day living, but here it refers to real life, eternal life, a life that is a gift from God and which results from a right relationship with him.

As God lives is literally “according to God,” which could mean (1) live in the presence of God, (2) live according to the will of God (for example, New International Version, Barclay “live as God wants them to live”), or (3) live like God. The third interpretation would at least do justice to the antithesis, which is literally “according to man”—“according to God.” Whereas they die as all people die, so they live as God lives. And the life that they now possess is described as a life similar to the very life of God himself, which is a theological way of confessing that this life from God is beyond the capacity of mere mortals to describe.

In view of the wide range of differences of interpretation involved in verse 6, there are obviously a number of alternative ways of rendering this passage, most of which have been suggested by the various paraphrases which have been given of the different interpretations. In addition, however, there are some lexical problems, as well as syntactic relations, which need to be considered purely in terms of the problems of restructuring in other languages.

The transitional pronoun That probably refers to the entire content of verse 5, and it may be made somewhat more specific in some languages as “it was for that purpose” or “so that people would know that.”

The passive expression the Good News was preached also to the dead may be made active with Christ as the agent in the form “Christ preached the Good News to the dead” or “… told those who were dead about the Good News.”

If in their physical existence is interpreted as “while they were alive,” then to those who had been judged in their physical existence as everyone is judged may be rendered as “to those whom God had judged while they were alive even as he judges everyone.”

The expression it was preached to them is an echo of the earlier statement the Good News was preached also to the dead. Accordingly, one may translate it was preached to them as “the Good News was preached to them” or “Christ preached the Good News to them.”

The phrase in their spiritual existence is a very difficult phrase to translate adequately so that it will be fully meaningful to the reader. It is possible to translate in their spiritual existence as “in their lives as led by God’s Spirit” or possibly “as they live as spirits.” The choice of one or another of these renderings depends upon the exegesis of the passage as a whole.

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 .

In the Greek, this verse is a relative clause connected with the preceding verse; it starts with “who,” which obviously refers to those who do the insulting at the end of verse 4. Many interpret this, however, as expressing a contrast between the present and the future: now they insult you, but in the future, they will give an account of themselves to God. Accordingly, a contrastive connective is clearly indicated in many translations (Good News Translation, New English Bible, Barclay; compare Phillips “Don’t worry: they are the ones…”).

They will have to give an account is literally “they will give a word,” with the future tense giving a sense of certainty, that is, they will surely give an account. What they will account for is the insults that have been heaped on the Christians (for example, Jerusalem Bible “they will have to answer for it”) or more generally, their total behavior towards the Christians (for example, Barclay “they will have to answer for their conduct”; Phillips “explain their behavior”).

If one assumes that what the people must account for is their insults, then one may translate they will have to give an account of themselves to God as “they will have to defend before God what they have said in insulting you.” However, if the reference is to their conduct in general, then one may translate they will have to give an account of themselves to God as “they will have to defend before God all that they have done” or “they will have to try to explain to God that what they did was all right.” In such a rendering it is often necessary to introduce an expression such a “try,” since obviously these people will not succeed in defending their actions.

To God is literally “to him,” and it is not at all clear whether this refers to God (Good News Translation) or to Christ. In 1.17 and 2.23, God is spoken of as judge, and it is possible that here God is also meant. However, in many other passages in the New Testament it is Christ who is spoken of as judge (for example, Acts 10.42; 2 Tim 4.1; 1 Cor 4.5). Moreover, the general tone found in the letter is that the second coming of Christ is imminent, and it may be that this element is also found here, in which case it would be more natural to understand Christ as the one who judges rather than God. But it is difficult to be certain at this point, and this is probably the reason why many modern translations simply translate literally “to him” or “to the one,” and thus preserve the ambiguity.

Who is ready accents the imminent end of the world (compare 1.5). A vital part of the belief of early Christians is that the second coming of Christ will signal the end of the world, and at that time, both the living and the dead, that is, all people, whether dead or alive, will be judged. This belief soon became incorporated in the earliest Christian creeds (for example, Acts 10.42; Rom 14.9; 2 Tim 4.1). It is possible to interpret the dead here as “spiritually dead,” but this interpretation should be rejected on two grounds: (1) It is associated with the living, which in this case clearly refers to those who are physically alive; and (2) the expression occurs elsewhere in the New Testament with the clear meaning of “physically dead” (compare Eph 2.1, 5; Rev 5.1; Col 2.13).

Since who is ready emphasizes that the event of judging is to take place shortly, it may therefore be better to translate “who will soon judge” rather than literally “who is ready to judge.” The latter expression might mean simply “who is prepared to judge.”

The living and the dead may be translated as “both those who are alive and those who have died.”

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 .

After a look at the past in verse 3, the writer returns to the present situation of his readers (And now), and he makes three observations: (1) they no longer join in these evil practices, (2) their heathen neighbors are surprised at their (the Christians’) attitude, and (3) the Christians are insulted by their heathen neighbors.

The verse starts with a relative formula (literally “in which”) for which see various occurrences in 1.6; 2.12; and 3.19. Here, it refers to the thought of the preceding verse, more particularly with the fact that the Christians no longer indulged in these evil pagan practices. But most translations find it more natural to connect it with what follows, since it is made quite explicit in this verse that the Christians no longer join their heathen neighbors in their pagan celebrations.

Are surprised translates a Greek word which in the active voice means “to receive a guest,” but in the passive voice means to be astonished or shocked at something because of its unusual or unexpected character (compare Jerusalem Bible “people cannot understand why”; also New English Bible); it may include the elements of offense or resentment (compare Phillips “Your former companions may think it very queer”), although it is not at all clear that these are included here, and most translations render it simply as “surprised” or “astonished” (Moffatt).

The relationship between the surprise which the heathen experience and the fact that Christians do not join the heathen in such wild and reckless living is not merely a temporal relationship, as expressed by the English conjunction when. In fact, it is the so-called temporal clause which is the cause of the surprise, and therefore it may be more appropriate in some instances to translate the first part of verse 4 as “the fact that you do not join the unbelievers in their wild and reckless living causes them to be surprised” or “… astonishes them” or “… makes them wonder about you.”

Join translates a Greek word which can be literally rendered “run together” and describes the act of people rushing forward from all directions in order to see something unusual (compare Mark 6.33; Acts 3.11). Here it gives a vivid picture of people who, in reckless abandon, stampede to participate in illicit activities. Join may often be expressed as “become one with” or “do together with” or “gather together with and do.”

The pagan practices, enumerated in verse 3, are now summed up in one expression: wild and reckless living. Wild translates a Greek word which is found nowhere else in the whole New Testament: literally it means “a pouring out” or “an overflowing,” as for example, of a river; here, an overflowing in immoral acts. Reckless translates the same word (although in its adverbial form) used to describe the way of life of the prodigal son (Luke 15.13). Elsewhere in the New Testament it is also used for excessive drinking (Eph 5.18; Titus 1.6). Here it describes the state of a person who no longer cares about anything as long as he can enjoy the pleasures of life.

Since the expression here is obviously metaphorical, many translations try to express the meaning in similar fashion (for example, New American Bible “swamp of profligacy”; Jerusalem Bible “this flood which is rushing down to ruin”; Barclay “their headlong rush into the maelstrom of debauchery”). Others, like the Good News Translation, have expressed the meaning in non-metaphorical language (for example, Phillips “riotous excesses”; New English Bible “reckless dissipation”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “unrestrained and unbridled lives”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “excesses of an evil life”).

The phrase wild and reckless living may require some rearrangement of components, since wild … living may be equivalent to “living immorally,” rendered in some languages as “living like a dog.” The phrase reckless living can sometimes be expressed as “living without any limits” or “living in such a way as to fulfill every desire of one’s body,” but it is also possible to speak of reckless living as “living without regard to what may happen,” in other words, living without concern for the consequences of what one is doing.

They insult you: a further reaction of the heathen. They do not stop at being surprised, but their surprise turns into bitterness and resentment, which express themselves in insult. The word for insult is literally “blaspheme” and may mean in a specific sense “to say things offensive to God,” or “to dishonor God,” or in a wider sense, to insult or to slander someone. Since “blaspheme” does not have an explicit object in the text, it is therefore possible to take either the general or the specific sense of the term, depending on one’s interpretation about the object of “blaspheme.” If God is the implicit object, then the meaning of the expression is “they blaspheme God because of you.” No translation gives this explicit rendering, although the New American Bible seems to prefer this understanding (“those blasphemers”). If, however, the Christians are the object, then the meaning is that the heathen insult them. In view of the fact that many times previously the writer has alluded to the insults and slanders spread by the heathen against the Christians (for example, 2.12; 3.9), it is probable that this second sense is primary here, and many translations adopt it (for example, Jerusalem Bible “they begin to spread libels about you”; Phillips “say all sorts of unpleasant things about you”; Knox “call you ill names accordingly”). They insult you may be expressed simply as “they speak evil of you” or “they say bad things about you,” but since Peter is suggesting that the believers now no longer do such evil things but rather live good lives, it may be more meaningful to translate they insult you as “they say that what you do is evil.” This is essentially equivalent therefore to “they speak evil lies about you.”

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 .

Having exhorted his readers to spend the rest of their lives on earth in accordance with God’s will, the writer now goes back to the time before their conversion and gives a description of their former state. You have spent enough time is used with a sense of irony (compare Matt 6.34; 10.25). What the writer is saying is that far too much time had been spent in pagan practices, and very little time is left; it is therefore very urgent, as expressed in verse 2, that this little time be spent properly in doing the will of God.

In a number of languages it is impossible to speak of “spending time.” In fact, the statement You have spent enough time in the past must be related to the following clause what the heathen like to do, for in a sense the first clause of verse 3 is a qualifier of the second clause, and accordingly, one must often render the first sentence as “for enough time now you have been doing what the heathen like to do.” The order might be reversed, for example, “what the heathen enjoy doing is just what you have been doing for enough time now.”

What the heathen like to do (literally “the will of the Gentiles”) is synonymous with “human desires” in verse 2 and is contrasted with God’s will. “Gentiles,” as in 2.12, refers to non-Christians rather than to non-Jews. In the Greek, the list of wrongdoings is connected with Gentiles (see Revised Standard Version), but since it is clear from the context (particularly verse 4) that the recipients of the letter also engaged in such wrong practices, many translations have restructured the verse to indicate this fact clearly (Good News Translation; compare Barclay “Your past conduct was characterized by…”; Moffatt “you used to lead lives of…”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “In that time you lived in…”). The list itself bears similarities with other lists in the New Testament (especially Rom 1.29-31 and Gal 5.19-21) and accurately describes immoral and indecent acts practiced by individuals and groups in Asia Minor at that time. Here these immoral acts can be divided into three categories: (1) sexual sins – indecency, lust; (2) sins of intemperance – drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties; and (3) wrong religious practices – disgusting worship of idols.

The Greek term rendered heathen in the Good News Translation is literally “the nations” and is frequently translated as “Gentiles.” In a number of contexts this term may be translated as “non-Jews,” but in this particular context the rendering of “those who are not Jews” would be unsatisfactory, for the contrast is between those who believe in God and do his will and those who do not. Accordingly, it is probably most satisfactory in this context to translate heathen as “unbelievers” or “those who do not obey God.”

Indecency translates a Greek word which refers to sexual excesses resulting in indecent behavior. Lust translates the same word used for desires in verse 2, and may be understood generally as strong, excessive desires of all kinds (compare New American Bible “evil desires”), but may be understood more specifically in terms of impure sensual desires, hence lust (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Phillips). It may be useful in some languages to combine the meanings of indecency and lust as “strong desire for immorality” or “immoral longings.” A phrase equivalent to “evil passions” may also do justice to the two terms indecency and lust, which in a sense serve to reinforce one another in this list.

Drunkenness conveys not only excessive drinking, but habitual intoxication (compare Jerusalem Bible “drinking all this time”; Barclay “habitual drunkenness”). Orgies describes the result of excessive drinking; another way of expressing it is “excessive feasting,” “wild parties” (Jerusalem Bible). Drinking parties is similar to orgies, but whereas the latter is the result of drunkenness, the former provides the occasion for it. Included in the word is the idea of drinking competitions to see who can drink the most. Drunkenness may be rendered as “frequently getting drunk” or “constantly drinking too much,” but in this type of context, a term for “drinking” must indicate the drinking of intoxicating liquors. There may be a value in combining the meanings of orgies and drinking parties in order to suggest the close relationship between the two, for example, “occasions when people get together to drink a great deal and act in a shameful manner.”

Disgusting worship of idols translates a term which can be literally rendered “unlawful idolatries” (compare Revised Standard Version “lawless idolatry”). The word translated “lawless” occurs in Acts 10.28 in the sense of “forbidden by the law of Moses.” In classical Greek, it describes acts which are contrary to what is naturally accepted as proper or decent. Here, it may have a more intense meaning, referring to something which is so obviously evil that any decent person would detest or shun it (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “detestable worship of gods”; Barclay “idolatries which outrage common decency”; Knox “shameful idolatry”). In rendering disgusting worship of idols, there may be a problem in attempting to reproduce an equivalent of disgusting. One might suggest an attributive such as “detestable,” but again in may languages it is important to indicate to whom such an activity would be detestable. There is very little help to be gained from attempting to reproduce a more or less literal rendering of the Greek, namely, “unlawful,” for obviously the worship of idols was not against the law. It is possible, or course, to render disgusting worship of idols as “the worship of idols, something which no one should ever do.” Sometimes the worship of idols may be qualified by an expression equivalent to “horrible,” for example, “the horrible worshiping of idols.”

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 .

The pronouns in this verse are in the third person singular (compare New English Bible “his days”; Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Barclay “a man”). But since it is quite certain that the writer is referring here to Christians, or more specifically his own readers, then rendering the third person singular pronoun as second person plural makes this clear (for example, Good News Translation, New American Bible, Phillips).

This verse in the Greek is not an independent sentence, but a dependent clause, connected with the previous verse by a Greek expression of purpose or result (literally “so that” or “in order that”). This verse may therefore be taken either as expressing the result of “ceasing from sin,” an interpretation which seems to be primary in Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, or as the purpose of “arm yourselves.” Taking this latter sense, what the verse is saying is that Christians should be ready to suffer in order that they may live according to God’s will, not according to human desires (compare Barclay “The object of such suffering is to enable a man to live the rest of his earthly life in obedience, not to human passions, but to God’s will”; King James Version, Revised Version “Arm yourselves with the same mind, that ye no longer should live…”).

From now on may be expressed as “from this day” or “beginning now.”

The conjunction then is best interpreted as result and may be equivalent to “therefore” or “as a result of this.”

Controlled by God’s will (literally “in the will of God”) and human desires (literally “desires of men”) once again express an antithesis which is quite prominent in the letter, that is, the contrast between the condition of people before they become Christian and afterwards (compare 1.14, 18; 2.1, 9, 10, 24, 25). Before they became Christian, they are controlled by human desires, an expression which may be neutral, but is here used negatively (compare 1.14 and 2.11); after conversion, they are controlled by God’s will. Some interpreters see a significance in the singular form of God’s will and the plural form of human desires, in that Christians experience an integration and unity in their lives, which is not true for non-Christians, who are attracted by different loyalties.

You must live … controlled by God’s will may be restructured as “you must let yourselves by controlled by God’s will” or “you must let God control your lives” or “you must live your lives in accordance with what God wants for you.”

And not by human desires may be expressed as “and not by what you yourselves want” or “and not by what your hearts desire.”

The rest of your earthly lives is literally “remaining time in the flesh.” “In the flesh” has a different usage here from that in verse 1, referring primarily to human life on earth. Implied in the statement is the idea that life on earth may not be all that long, since the end of the world is expected any moment, a thought which prevails throughout the whole letter (compare 1.5, 7; 4.7).

You must live the rest of your earthly lives may be expressed as “you must live the remaining days of your life on earth” or “as long as you live here on earth, you must….”

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 .

The verse starts with “therefore” (Revised Standard Version), connecting this section with the preceding one, particularly 3.18. Suffered recalls 3.18a, and some manuscripts have tried to assimilate 3.18 more closely to this verse by adding “for you” or “for us” (Revised Standard Version margin; compare Moffatt “suffered for us”; Phillips “suffer physically for you”), but clearly these are scribal additions (see Metzger Textual Commentary 649).

Christ’s suffering is described as “in the flesh” (Revised Standard Version), which recalls 3.18b and pinpoints Christ’s suffering as physical (Good News Translation, Phillips), bodily (Barclay, New English Bible), or in a wider sense, his suffering as a human being (Knox “Christ’s mortal nature”; compare Jerusalem Bible “Christ suffered in this life”). This may be a reference to Jesus’ suffering during his earthly life (compare Barclay, Jerusalem Bible), but since it is related to 3.18, it is more probable that it refers to one aspect of his suffering, namely, his death on the cross (compare Knox “crucified”). The use of the word “suffered” here makes a closer connection between the experience of Christ and the sufferings of the Christians.

As already noted in the discussion of the term physically in 3.18, there may be complications involved in speaking of “Christ’s suffering physically.” It is often possible to say “Christ suffered in his body,” but this may seem quite a redundant expression, since how else could a person suffer. Therefore, in some languages it may be preferable to simply say “since Christ suffered” or “since Christ suffered when he was on earth.” However, in view of the fact that this suffering is probably related to the act of atonement, one may translate “since Christ suffered when he died on the cross” or simply “since Christ suffered on the cross.”

At any rate, the suffering of Christ is now made a reason for further ethical admonitions. Christians are exhorted, first of all, to strengthen themselves with the thinking that he had. Strengthen yourselves is literally “arm yourselves” (Revised Standard Version), a military metaphor which is similar to other military metaphors in the New Testament (for example, Rom 6.13; 13.12; 2 Cor 6.7; 10.4; Eph 6.11-17; compare Isa 59.17, 18). To arm oneself is to equip oneself with the necessary tools in order to be ready for something or to achieve a particular purpose.

You too must strengthen yourselves is not a reference to an increase in mere physical strength. The admonition here is more in line with the concept of “becoming prepared.” Therefore, it may be more appropriate to translate you too must strengthen yourselves as “you too must become prepared to.”

But what must the Christians be prepared to do? In other words, what does “with the same thought” (Revised Standard Version) refer to? To answer this question, it is necessary to look at the next half of the verse, especially the word that connects the two parts together. The Greek word in question can be translated either as because (Good News Translation, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Barclay “for”) or as “that” (Moffatt; compare Jerusalem Bible). Taking the Greek word as because, “the same thought” must necessarily refer back to the idea of Christ suffering physically; what the author is saying then is that since Christ suffered physically, Christians must also be disposed and ready to suffer physically (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy; compare New English Bible, Phillips, Barclay). If, on the other hand, the Greek word is taken in the sense of “that,” then “the same thought” must necessarily refer forward; in other words, the content of the second half of the verse is what the Christians are encouraged to bear in mind and appropriate for themselves. The former of these two alternatives fits the context much better, since the suffering of Christ is being singled out as a model, a pattern, an example for the Christians to follow.

With the same way of thinking may be related to the preceding expression of strengthen yourselves or “become prepared to” as “strengthen yourselves by thinking the same way that Christ did” or “prepare yourselves to think in the same way that Christ did.” If one interprets the final clause of verse 1 as being the content of thinking, a less likely interpretation, then one may render the last part of verse 1 as “prepare yourselves to realize that whoever suffers physically is no longer….”

The last part of the verse (whoever … with sin) is probably a proverbial saying, similar to Romans 6.7: “When a person dies he is set free from the power of sin” (Good News Bible). Suffers physically is the same expression used at the beginning of this verse, but as we shall see later, it is possible that it has a different meaning here. Is no longer involved with sin is literally “has ceased from sin” and may convey three meanings: (1) In a general way, he has no further connection with sin. (2) Taking the verb as middle, the expression conveys an urgent resolve and active determination to stop sinning. (3) Taking the verb with a passive sense, the expression may have the meaning of having been delivered from the power of sin. Against this third interpretation is that sin in this letter primarily refers to an act, and not to a state or to a power which controls people and leads them to do wrong (compare 2.22, 24; 3.18).

The whole proverbial saying itself may be interpreted in different ways.
(a) The sense may be that suffering for what is right purifies the sufferer from sin, since it eradicates the desire or the tendency to commit sin.
(b) Suffering may refer to martyrdom, and martyrdom atones for sin. This interpretation faces two difficulties: first, it is not at all clear that suffering here refers to martyrdom, and secondly, it is difficult to get the meaning of “atoning for sins” from the expression “has ceased from sin.”
(c) The whole saying may refer to Christ instead of to the Christian. This involves taking the Greek word as “that” (see above) instead of “because.” Furthermore, this would mean taking “cease from sin” with the passive sense, that is, freed from the power of sin (see above), since to take it in any other way would give the idea that Christ himself committed sin, a notion which is already denied in the letter (see 2.22; 3.18).
(d) The whole proverbial saying may have reference to the Christian’s experience in baptism. “Suffering” is used metaphorically, referring to the Christian’s experience of “dying” with Christ at baptism, an event which is interpreted negatively as no longer having anything to do with sin, and positively as beginning to live according to God’s will (verse 2). Furthermore, “in the flesh” here (compare Revised Standard Version) must also be taken in another sense, not physically or bodily, but in the sense of “sinful nature,” the unregenerated self, or the person before he is converted and baptized. This self is the one that experiences “death” at baptism. Many scholars hold to this fourth alternative. However, it is not at all certain that “suffered” is used here in a metaphorical sense. It is more natural to take “suffered” and “in the flesh” with the same meaning they had at the beginning of the verse, and it is for this reason that the first of these four alternatives seems to be closest to what the author is trying to say.

The proverbial saying then means that anyone who in this life suffers physically has turned his back on sin, and no longer has any desire to keep on sinning.

Whoever suffers physically may be restructured as a conditional clause, for example, “if anyone suffers physically” or “… suffers in his body” or “if anyone’s body suffers.”

It may be very difficult to employ such a highly generic expression as is no longer involved with sin, and therefore one may need to indicate that there is no longer a tendency to sin or no longer a desire to keep on sinning, for example, “whoever suffers in his body doesn’t want to keep on sinning” or, expressed somewhat more figuratively, “… has said no to sinning” or “… has turned away from sinning.”

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 .