16yet do it with gentleness and respect. Maintain a good conscience so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.
The Hebrew and Greek that is rendered in English as “conscience” is translated into Aari as “our thoughts speak to us,” in Nuer it is “the knowledge of their heart” (source: Jan Sterk), in Cheke Holo “to know what is straight and what is wrong” (source: Carl Gross), in Chokwe “law of the heart” (source D.B. Long in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 135ff. ), in Toraja-Sa’danpenaa ma’pakilala or “the admonishing within” (source: H. van der Veen in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 21 ff. ), in Yatzachi Zapotec as “head-hearts,” in Tzeltal as “hearts” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), in Enlhet as “innermost,” in Northern Emberá as “thinking” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1975, p. 201ff. ), and in Elhomwe as “what reminds the heart” or “whole heart” (“since the idea of conscience is something that reminds the heart”) (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Peter 3:16:
Uma: “And our behavior must not be able to be faulted. Our behavior must be as is fitting for followers of Kristus, so that if there are people who falsely-accuse us, they will just end up be embarrassed instead.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “But what you say shall be good when you answer and treat those who ask you according-to-custom/respect them. You shouldn’t do any bad so that you are not troubled in your mind in order that if somebody talks-evil-about/insults you about your good conduct, because you follow Isa Almasi, they will finally become ashamed about what they said.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “You must be respectful as you answer, and you must speak softly. There must be no sin in your breath, as disciples of Christ, for if you have no evil behaviour, the one who criticizes you will become ashamed because of what he says.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Your thoughts/minds should always be clean so that if there are those who speak-evil-of you because of your good behavior as a Cristoian, they will be shamed by their evil words.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And as-has-been-said, make sure that what you are doing always is, only that which you know to be righteous, so that the ones who speak-derogatorily of your serving of Cristo, they will be ashamed of those libels/sarcasms of theirs about you.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “That which you know is good, that is what you must do. Therefore those who speak evil of you because you are believing in Christ will be made ashamed.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Martu Wangka: “And if you continue to sit true to Jesus Christ, maybe another person may scold you for nothing, then that one will become shamed because you sit correctly for Jesus.” (Source: Carl Gross)
The Greek Christos (Χρηστός) is typically transliterated when it appears together with Iésous (Ἰησοῦς) (Jesus). In English the transliteration is the Anglicized “Christ,” whereas in many other languages it is based on the Greek or Latin as “Kristus,” “Cristo,” or similar.
When used as a descriptive term in the New Testament — as it’s typically done in the gospels (with the possible exceptions of for instance John 1:17 and 17:3) — Christos is seen as the Greek translation of the Hebrew mashiaḥ (המשיח) (“anointed”). Accordingly, a transliteration of mashiaḥ is used, either as “Messiah” or based on the Greek or Latin as a form of “Messias.”
This transliteration is also used in the two instances where the Greek term Μεσσίας (Messias) is used in John 1:41 and 4:25.
In some languages and some translations, the term “Messiah” is supplemented with an explanation. Such as in the GermanGute Nachricht with “the Messiah, the promised savior” (Wir haben den Messias gefunden, den versprochenen Retter) or in Muna with “Messiah, the Saving King” (Mesias, Omputo Fosalamatino) (source: René van den Berg).
In predominantly Muslim areas or for Bible translations for a Muslim target group, Christos is usually transliterated from the Arabic al-Masih (ٱلْمَسِيحِ) — “Messiah.” In most cases, this practice corresponds with languages that also use a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) for Jesus (see Jesus). There are some exceptions, though, including modern translations in Arabic which use Yasua (يَسُوعَ) (coming from the Aramaic Yēšūa’) alongside a transliteration of al-Masih, Hausa which uses Yesu but Almahisu, and some Fula languages (Adamawa Fulfulde, Nigerian Fulfulde, and Central-Eastern Niger Fulfulde) which also use a form of Iésous (Yeesu) but Almasiihu (or Almasiifu) for Christos.
In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 on, the government is using Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
Other solutions that are used by a number of languages include these:
Dobel: “The important one that God had appointed to come” (source: Jock Hughes)
Noongar: Keny Mammarap or “The One Man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Mairasi: “King of not dying for life all mashed out infinitely” (for “mashed out,” see salvation; source: Lloyd Peckham)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “One chosen by God to rule mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Bacama: Ma Pwa a Ngɨltən: “The one God has chosen” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
Binumarien: Anutuna: originally a term that was used for a man that was blessed by elders for a task by the laying on of hands (source: Desmond Oatridges, Holzhausen 1991, p. 49f.)
Noongar: Keny Boolanga-Yira Waangki-Koorliny: “One God is Sending” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uab Meto: Neno Anan: “Son of heaven” P. Middelkoop explains: “The idea of heavenly power bestowed on a Timorese king is rendered in the title Neno Anan. It is based on the historical fact that chiefs in general came from overseas and they who come thence are believed to have come down from heaven, from the land beyond the sea, that means the sphere of God and the ghosts of the dead. The symbolical act of anointing has been made subservient to the revelation of an eternal truth and when the term Neno Anan is used as a translation thereof, it also is made subservient to a new revelation of God in Jesus Christ. The very fact that Jesus came from heaven makes this translation hit the mark.” (Source: P. Middelkoop in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 183ff. )
In Finnish Sign Language both “Christ” and “Messiah” are translated with a sign signifying “king.” (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
“Christ / Messiah” in Finnish Sign Language (source )
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew mashiah was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments (click or tap here to read more):
“Another important word in the New Testament that comes from the Septuagint is christos, ‘Christ.’ Christ is not part of the name of the man from Nazareth, as if ‘the Christs’ were written above the door of his family home. Rather, ‘Christ’ is an explicitly messianic title used by the writers of the New Testament who have learned this word from the Septuagint’s translation of the Hebrew mashiach, ‘anointed,’ which itself is often rendered in English as ‘Messiah.’ To be sure, one detects a messianic intent on the part of the Septuagint translator in some places. Amos 4:13 may have been one of these. In the Hebrew Bible, God ‘reveals his thoughts to mortals,’ but the Septuagint has ‘announcing his anointed to humans.’ A fine distinction must be made, however, between theology that was intended by the Septuagint translators and that developed by later Christian writers. In Amos 4:13 it is merely possible we have a messianic reading, but it is unquestionably the case that the New Testament writers exploit the Septuagint’s use of christos, in Amos and elsewhere, to messianic ends.”
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
Illustration by Horst Lemke (1922-1985) for the GermanGute Nachricht für Sie – NT68, one of the first editions of the Good News Bible in German of 1968. Lemke was a well-known illustrator who illustrated books by Erich Kästner , Astrid Lindgren and many others.
In explaining this hope, they are to do it with gentleness and respect (literally “humility and fear”). For gentleness, see 3.4. Here it includes the idea of “courtesy” (Knox, Jerusalem Bible), “considerateness,” or negatively, “without arrogance or insolence.” For “fear,” see 2.18 and 3.2. As in 2.18, “fear” may refer to reverence to God or respect toward people. For the former, see Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “with responsibility to God”; for the latter, see Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “respectful fashion.” Many translations leave the object implicit, thus allowing for either interpretation or both (for example, Moffatt “a sense of reverence”; Knox “due reverence”).
With gentleness may be expressed as “not trying to force people to believe” or “not trying to put pressure on people.” In fact, it is often far easier to use a negative statement to express gentleness than it is to find an appropriate positive equivalent.
If respect is regarded as something related to other people, one may employ such an expression as “respecting other people’s views” or “being sympathetic with what others think” or “with courtesy toward others.” If one relates respect to God, then one may sometimes translate “considering how God would want one to act” or “thinking about what God would have you do.”
Keep your conscience clear is literally “having a good conscience,” with the participle having once again an imperative force. The word for “conscience” is the same word used in 2.19, but with a different focus. The word here seems to be used in its classical sense, that is, awareness of what is right and what is wrong. In a Christian sense, conscience is the awareness of one’s moral obligations as a child of God. The expression “good conscience” also appears in other parts of the New Testament, for example, Acts 23.1; 1 Timothy 1.5, 19; 3.9; 2 Timothy 1.3; Hebrews 13.18, and therefore is a vital part of Christian teaching. To have a clear conscience is to act in such a way so as not to offend God, and so as not to violate one’s accepted moral standards.
Keep your conscience clear may be rendered as “behave in such a way that you do not feel guilt” or “act in such a way that your heart does not tell you that you have sinned.” Frequently conscience is expressed in an idiomatic way, for example, “the little person within us.” Therefore, one might translate Keep your conscience clear as “whatever you do, be sure that the little one inside of you has no reason for talking to your heart.”
So that (literally “in which”) refers to the preceding thought, either from the beginning of the verse (for example, Jerusalem Bible “give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience, so that…”), or more specifically to a clear conscience (Good News Translation and most translations). For the analysis of “in which,” see 2.12.
For insulted, see 2.12. The people doing the “insulting” are those who speak evil in the following clause, a fact which is made clear in many translations (for example, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Phillips “so that if men should speak slanderously of you as rogues they may come to feel ashamed of themselves for libeling your good Christian behavior”). Speak evil translates a rare word in the New Testament (used only here, in Matt 5.44, and Luke 6.26). It is synonymous with but more intense than the word for “insulted”; it includes the elements of “insult,” “false accusation,” “abusive and hard words” (compare Jerusalem Bible “accusations”; New American Bible “libel”).
There is of course a measure of duplication in the two expressions when you are insulted and those who speak evil of your good conduct. In fact, the shift from the passive to the active form may cause certain complications, and therefore in some languages it may be preferable to put the two expressions together: “so that if people speak evil of your good conduct…, they will become ashamed….”
It may be somewhat difficult to translate in some languages those who speak evil of your good conduct. Such a relationship of diverse concepts may require some restructuring, for example, “those who say that the good you have done is really bad” or “those who say you are bad even though you have been good” or “those who say, ‘These people are very bad,’ even though you yourselves have only done what is good.”
For good conduct, see 1.15, 18; 2.12; 3.1, 2. As followers of Christ is literally “in Christ,” a favorite expression of the apostle Paul to describe the Christian’s relationship to Christ (it is used 164 times in Paul’s letters). It gives the idea that the believer is united with Christ and one with him. Many translations (including the Good News Translation) do not take the expression in 1 Peter as expressing the rich theological content which it has in Paul’s letters; instead they take it as a synonym for followers of Christ, or “Christians” (Phillips, Barclay, Moffatt, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, New English Bible). In any case, the believer’s good conduct is grounded on and made possible by his relationship to Christ, either as united with him or as his follower.
The phrase as followers of Christ adds a further complication to the expression your good conduct, and it may be necessary to translate as followers of Christ as a separate clause, for example, “the good that you do because you are followers of Christ” or “… since you are followers of Christ” or “… because you are one of Christ’s own.”
Will become ashamed (compare Phillips “feel ashamed of themselves”; New American Bible “may be shamed”) may also be translated with the focus on the result of such feeling as shame (for example, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “plug up the mouth/shut up”). Will become ashamed is often expressed idiomatically, for example, “will become red in the face” or “will feel bad for what they have done” or “will have their hearts tell them that they have done wrong.”
The Greek construction allows for the possibility of connecting will become ashamed with good conduct, so that what Peter is saying may be rendered thus: “those who speak evil of you may become ashamed because of your good conduct as followers of Jesus Christ.” This is preferred by some interpreters but most translations prefer a rendering similar to that of the Good News Translation. Of what they say may be expressed in a number of languages as a clause of cause, for example, “they will become ashamed because of what they have said” or “their words against you will cause their hearts to hurt.”
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 .
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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