complete verse (1 Peter 1:24)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Peter 1:24:

  • Uma: “Like what is written in the Holy Book long ago: ‘The life of mankind is like grass/small-plants, all their beauty is like the grass blossoms. Grass withers, its blossoms fall,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The holy-book says hep, ‘All mankind is like grass and all their fame like the flower of weeds. The grass withers and the flowers fall. Likewise mankind dies and does not remain.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For there is a written word of God which says, ‘As for mankind, since his life is very short, he is like a weed. For his beauty is like the blossom of a weed. The weed quickly dries up, and its blossom falls.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “This also is what God caused-to-be-written which says, ‘All people, they are like weeds/grass, and their honor (i.e. wealth, rank, reputation), it is like its (the grass) flowers. Because grass, it withers, and its flowers, they fall,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For it is said in the writing, ‘As for all people, what they are like is weeds/grass, and their good-quality is only like the flowers of these weeds/grasses. For as for weeds/grass, it withers, and the blooms fall.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “It is written in the Holy Book, ‘All the people are like the plants because they come to an end. And the good they have in life is like the flowers of the plants because they come to an end. The plants dry up, then the flower falls.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

For the Old Testament quote, see Isaiah 40:6 – Isaiah 40:8.

Translation commentary on 1 Peter 1:24 – 1:25

The Old Testament quotation is from Isaiah 40.6-8, quoted from the Septuagint, with slight variations which may have been due to Peter’s use of manuscripts which contain such variations or to his habit of quoting from memory. As in 1.16 (and in 2.6) a scripture quotation is introduced by “for” (Greek dioti), and the Good News Translation has restructured the formula in order to signal to the reader that what follows is a quotation from the Scriptures.

The whole point of the quotation is that everything, including human existence, is transitory, in contrast to the permanent word of God. Most translations print these lines as poetry, as shown by the indention. Accordingly, it is quite possible to render these lines into poetry in the receptor language, using the proper and acceptable poetic form in that language.

All mankind is literally “all flesh,” but clearly refers to all people (compare Barclay “human life”; Knox “All mortal things”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “all humans”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “all the human race”).

Glory is rendered as “splendour” (Barclay, New English Bible); “Whatever is beautiful about them” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch); “greatness” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy).

The verbs wither and fall are both aorist in the Greek, but most translations and commentaries take them as present in force and intention, and are accordingly translated as present.

The grass withers may be rendered simply as “the grass becomes dry.” And the flowers fall may be rendered as “and the flowers fall off.” It is important to avoid a word such as “fall” which would suggest “falling down,” as a person might fall down.

Of the Lord is “of our God” in the Septuagint; the change may have been due to the desire to link more closely the word to Christ, who is also described as Lord (compare 2.3). However, since this is a quotation from the Old Testament, it would be best to keep “Lord” here ambiguous, and not add either “God” or “Christ” to modify it.

The word of the Lord must of course not be “the word about the Lord” but “the word which the Lord has spoken.” In most languages one cannot translate “word” literally, since this might imply only a single spoken word. A more satisfactory translation is “the message which the Lord has proclaimed.”

The expression remains forever as a reference to the enduring quality of the word of the Lord may present certain difficulties, for it does not mean that a particular message of the Lord remains in one place forever, but that it “continues to be true forever.”

For “which was preached to you,” see 1.12.

This word is the Good News can be perhaps best expressed as “this message is the Good News,” and the passive clause that was proclaimed to you may be made active by employing the expression “the messengers of the Good News” as the subject of the clause (see verse 12), for example, “which the messengers of the Good News preached to you” or “… proclaimed to 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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Peter 1:24

1:24–25

In 1:24–25a, Peter quoted from the Old Testament (probably the LXX) to confirm what he had said in 1:23, that God’s word is permanent and cannot be destroyed. The quotation is from Isaiah 40:6–8. Isaiah illustrated how short the lives of people are by comparing them to grass and wild flowers that live for only a short time. In contrast, the word of the Lord endures for ever.

1:24a

For: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For signals that what follows supports or illustrates what Peter wrote in 1:23. What follows is a quotation from the Old Testament. Peter quoted the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 40:6–8). It is recommended that you make it clear to your readers that this is a quotation. You could do this in a footnote or make it explicit in the text. For example:

As the scripture says (Good News Translation)
-or-
That’s why ⌊Scripture says⌋ (God’s Word)
-or-
The prophet Isaiah said/wrote

If you follow the first or second example, you may translate “Scripture” with the term you use for the Old Testament. If you have a more specific term for the writings of the Old Testament prophets, you may use it here.

1:24b

All flesh is like grass: This is a simile. Peter is quoting the prophet Isaiah, who was comparing people to grass in order to illustrate and emphasize that they only live for a short time. In some languages it may be necessary to make the point of comparison explicit. For example:

Humans wither like grass (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
People are like grass that dies away (New Living Translation (2004))

In other languages it may be more natural to make the comparison by using a metaphor. For example:

all humanity is grass (New Jerusalem Bible)

All flesh: This is the beginning of what Peter quoted from the Old Testament. The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as All flesh refer to people. Some English versions have chosen to translate it literally (King James Version, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, Revised Standard Version). In this context it refers to all human beings, both male and female. Here is another way to translate this phrase:

All people (God’s Word)

grass: Peter was referring to the wild grass that grows in an open area or field. The term grass here seems to include the various plants that grow in among the grass and have flowers. It is recommended that you use a general word for grass in your language.

1:24c

and all its glory like the flowers of the field: This is another simile. Peter quoted Isaiah, comparing human good looks to wild flowers. They are similar in that both last for only a short time. In some languages it may be natural or necessary to make this point of comparison explicit. For example:

their glory fades like wild flowers (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
their beauty fades as quickly as the beauty of wildflowers (New Living Translation (2004))

its glory: In this context, the word that the Berean Standard Bible and most English versions translate as glory refers to human attractiveness or good looks. Several English versions have translated this as:

beauty (New Living Translation (2004))

the flowers of the field: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the flowers of the field is literally “flower of grass.” The Greek word for “grass” here is the same as in 1:24b. Apparently, this Greek word included the flowering plants that grow in fields with grass. (See the note on “grass” at 1:24b.) Some English versions have translated this as:

wild flowers (Good News Translation)

1:24d

the grass withers and the flowers fall: In this verse part, Peter quoted Isaiah, explaining in what way grass and wild flowers are like people and different from the word of God.

the grass withers: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as withers here means that the grass dries up and dies. Other ways this has been translated include:

dies (New Century Version)
-or-
dries up (Contemporary English Version)

the flowers fall: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fall means “to fall off/from.” In this context, the flowers, having served their brief purpose, fell off the stems that supported them. Other ways you may be able to translate this include:

the flower drops off (God’s Word)
-or-
the flower falls away (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the flowers fall ⌊down⌋ ⌊from their stems⌋
-or-
the flowers fall ⌊to the ground⌋

You may use flower (sing.) or flowers (plur.), whichever sounds most natural in your language.

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