complete verse (1 Peter 4:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Peter 4:12:

  • Uma: “Relatives that I love! You receive that suffering the heat of which is like fire, in order to see-from-it the strength of your faith. But don’t be surprised or say that you receive suffering greater than normal.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “My beloved friends, don’t wonder when great trouble comes to you to test/try your trust. Truly/really all who trust in Isa Almasi have to experience/go-through trouble/difficulties.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “My dear brothers, do not be surprised because of the very painful testing which you are having to endure because of your faith. For if we are believers, we will always have to suffer painful things.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “My friends, don’t be surprised at your extreme being-hardshipped, saying/thinking that what is happening to you is strange (lit. different). Because that-aforementioned hardship has arrived in order that your faith will be confirmed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “My dear ones, don’t let yourselves be amazed as to why it’s like this, that you are being persecuted severely, as if it’s an amazement that we would suffer hardship. It’s like that because your believing/obeying is being tested and strengthened.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Listen, dear brethren, do not be surprised when you are persecuted. Because it is necessary that you be persecuted in order that it appear whether your faith is firm or not.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 Peter 4:12

The section starts with My dear friends, for which see 2.11. This address is quite fitting here for three reasons: (1) it is a natural address after the doxology in verse 11; (2) it serves to introduce a new section; and (3) it reaffirms the close relationship between the writer and his readers at a point when the writer is about to discuss once again the problem of suffering.

The Greek term translated by the phrase My dear friends is literally “beloved ones” or “loved ones,” and there may be several different expressions which are equivalent in other languages, for example, “dear ones” or “you whom I love” or “you, my cherished friends.”

The readers are first of all exhorted not to be surprised at what is happening to them. The same word is used in 4.4. It could be that there was an intensification of persecution, which was unexpected by the Christians, in which case surprised here could mean “shocked” (Beare) or “alarmed” (Phillips). But perhaps the persecution being alluded to is already part of the daily experience of the Christians, in which case surprised should be taken more to mean “bewildered” (New English Bible; compare Jerusalem Bible “you must not think it unaccountable…”).

The relationship between the verb surprised and the painful test you are suffering is one of cause and effect. The relationship may be expressed in some languages as “do not let the painful test you are suffering surprise you” or “do not be surprised because of the painful test you are suffering.”

The painful test you are suffering translates a Greek clause which can literally be rendered as “the burning which comes to you to be a test to you” (compare Revised Standard Version). The Good News Translation has combined “burning” with “test” and has come out with a non-metaphorical translation painful test. Furthermore, “which comes to you” has been translated more concretely as you are suffering.

For the purposes of analysis, however, we have to use the literal translation. “Burning” translates an expression which is used in many senses both in the Bible and in extrabiblical literature. Among these meanings are (1) exposure to fire (for example, cooking; compare Prov 21.12); (2) destruction by fire (compare Rev 18.9, 18); (3) testing or purification of metals by fire (compare Prov 27.21). In view of 1.6, 7, this third sense seems to be primary here; the sufferings of the Christians are described metaphorically as similar to the way metals, particularly gold, are heated in order to be purified of their impurities. To describe the sufferings in this manner also fits the eschatological tone of the letter, since the end of the world is very frequently described in terms of the presence of ferocious burning (compare 1.7; 1 Cor 3.13; Rev 3.18). It is probably because of this reason that many translations have retained the metaphor of “fire” or “burning” here (for example, Revised Standard Version “fiery ordeal”; New American Bible “trial by fire”; Jerusalem Bible “tested by fire”; Barclay “Ordeal by fire”). The Good News Translation, however, has opted for a non-metaphorical translation; furthermore, since the meaning of the metaphor is primarily that of testing, the Good News Translation has assimilated the phrase “to be a test to you” into the metaphor itself, and has come up with the non-metaphorical translation painful test. (Compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “difficult trial”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “strong trials.”)

It is possible, even only remotely, that the reference to fire here may be connected to the experience of Christians being burned at the stake because of their faith; it is not altogether clear, however, whether the readers of the letters were in fact being burned to death by pagan authorities. It is more likely that the use of fire as a metaphor here can be explained both by the eschatological overtones of the letter and by the function of persecution as a test to the Christian’s faith.

There are certain problems involved in an adequate rendering of the expression at the painful test you are suffering. One difficulty exists in the fact that painful and suffering are essentially equivalent in meaning. In the second place, test must frequently be expressed as a verb, for example, “the way in which you are being tested.” In order to relate the test and the suffering to the expression of being surprised, it may be necessary to restructure the syntactic relations, for example, “do not be surprised because of the way in which you are suffering as you are being tested” or “do not be surprised because of the way in which you are tested, which is causing you such suffering.” In some instances it may be important to specify what is being tested, for example, “the way in which your faith is being tested,” and the expression test must sometimes be expressed more specifically as “the way in which your faith is being proved to be right” or “… true.”

The word translated unusual (Revised Standard Version “strange”; New English Bible “extraordinary”; Phillips “some abnormal experience”) comes from the same root as the verb surprised. Some commentators remark that non-Jewish Christians would find it unusual to suffer for their faith, since that is not part of their experience, in contrast to Jews, whose history as a people is filled with all kinds of defeats, exiles, and sufferings of various kinds (this idea was first suggested by H. Windisch, Die Katholischen Briefe, 1930). The clear message that is being conveyed is that suffering is part of the natural experience of Christians; it is not something foreign to them. To put it in another way, it would be strange and unusual indeed if Christians did not suffer because of their faith.

Because of the complex relationships between the first part of verse 12 and the second part, it may be necessary to break the verse into two completely distinct sentences, so that the clause as though something unusual were happening to you may be rendered as “do not think that what is happening to you is something unusual” or “… is something that shouldn’t be happening to you” or “… is a very rare happening.”

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 4:12

Section 4:12–19

Suffering for being a Christian

In this section, Peter reminds his readers that as Christians they should expect to suffer because Christ also suffered. He explained that it is a blessing to be insulted for following Christ. He also reminded them that a time of judgment was coming. Some other headings for this section include:

Suffering as Christ suffered
-or-
Your attitude when you suffer

Paragraph 4:12–16

4:12a–b

Some of the Christians that Peter wrote this letter to were experiencing persecution from non-Christians. Peter told believers not to be shocked or alarmed by this persecution, which was a test of their faith.

4:12a

Beloved: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Beloved was a common way for New Testament letter writers to address the Christian people they were writing to. It does not imply that Peter personally knew his readers. See how you translated this expression in 2:11a.

do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you: This is a passive form. In some languages, it may be natural to translate it with an active form. For example:

do not let the fiery trial that has come upon you surprise you

do not be surprised: The word surprised here refers to the shock a person feels at unexpected bad news. Peter was saying that believers should expect to suffer. Here is another way to translate this:

astonished (NET Bible)

In some languages, it may be natural to translate this expression with an idiom. For example:

taken aback (Revised English Bible)

the fiery trial that has come upon you: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the painful trial is literally “the burning/firing as a test.” Peter is here using the metaphor of refining precious metals that he had used in 1:6b and 1:7b–c. There are several ways to translate this metaphor:

• Keep the metaphor. For example:

the testing fire which is taking place among you (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
a trial by fire is occurring among you (NET Bible)
-or-
the fiery ordeal which is coming upon you to prove you (Revised Standard Version)

• Translate the metaphor as a simile. For example:

you are going through testing that is like walking through fire (Contemporary English Version)

• Translate the meaning. For example:

the painful test you are suffering (Good News Translation)

4:12b

Some translations start a new sentence here. For example:

Do not think that something strange is happening to you. (New Century Version)

as though something strange were happening to you: The word strange here refers to something that is unusual in a bad way. Peter was saying that Christians should not think it was strange or unusual that they should suffer. Some other ways strange has been translated include:

unusual (Good News Translation)
-or-
extraordinary (Revised English Bible)

© 2018 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Commentaire sur la traduction de la première lettre de Pierre 4.12

4.12-19

Bonheur promis aux persécutés

Les biblistes ne sont pas tous d’accord en ce qui concerne l’emplacement de cette section dans la lettre, mais ces différences n’affectent en rien la traduction. Les traducteurs doivent suivre le texte tel qu’il se présente dans le texte canonique. On peut remarquer que les écrits ici s’accordent, quand même, avec l’objectif général de la lettre, surtout en ce qui concerne les encouragements adressés aux chrétiens qui subissent de nombreuses difficultés à cause de leur foi. Considérée dans cette perspective, la section semble récapituler les thèmes déjà présentés dans la lettre, parmi lesquels les souffrances que subissent les chrétiens ( 1 Pierre 4.12, 1 Pierre 4.19), le Christ (1 Pierre 4.13) et l’imminence du jugement ( 1 Pierre 4.17).

Bien-aimés : pour cette expression basée sur le mot « amour », voir 1 Pierre 2.11. Cette façon de s’adresser aux lecteurs convient bien ici pour plusieurs raisons. D’abord, c’est la façon typique pour l’auteur d’introduire une nouvelle section. Pierre est sur le point d’aborder de nouveau le problème de la souffrance et ainsi il attire l’attention de ses lecteurs. En même temps, elle réaffirme la relation étroite qui existe entre l’auteur et ses destinataires. Ici, comme en 1 Pierre 2.11, Bien-aimés est rendu en Bible en français courant et en La Bible du Semeur par « Mes chers amis », et dans la Parole de Vie par « Amis très chers ». On pourrait aussi dire « Vous, mes amis » ou « mes frères si chers ».

ne trouvez pas étrange : les lecteurs sont tout d’abord exhortés à ne pas être surpris par ce qui leur arrive. Le verbe grec traduit par trouver étrange est le même qu’au 1 Pierre 4.4. Il est possible que la persécution fasse déjà partie de l’expérience quotidienne des chrétiens ou qu’elle se soit intensifiée de façon inattendue. Dans les deux cas, on pourrait dire « ne vous étonnez pas » (Bible en français courant) ou « Ne soyez pas surpris » (Parole de Vie).

d’être dans la fournaise de l’épreuve est litt. « l’incendie (qui est) parmi vous comme épreuve ». L’image du feu est souvent utilisée pour décrire une persécution ou souffrance particulièrement forte. la fournaise rend un terme grec rarement utilisé dans la Bible. Il désigne soit la destruction par le feu (Apoc 18.9,18 et Amos 4.9, version grecque), soit la purification par le feu de métaux précieux (Prov 27.21, aussi en grec). En tenant compte de 1 Pierre 1.6 et de la mention de l’épreuve, ce second sens semble s’imposer ici. Les souffrances subies par les chrétiens sont comparées de façon imagée à la manière dont des métaux comme l’argent et l’or sont exposés au feu pour être débarrassés de toute impureté. Souligner ainsi les souffrances des chrétiens s’accorde bien avec l’accent mis par la lettre sur la proche fin des temps. En effet, la fin du monde est plusieurs fois évoquée dans le NT en relation avec un feu ardent : 1 Pierre 1.7 ; 1 Cor 3.13 ; Apoc 8.5,7.

Certains y voient une allusion aux persécutions subies par certains chrétiens condamnés à être brûlés à cause de leur foi, mais rien dans le texte ne justifie cette interprétation littérale. Dans certaines langues, on pourra garder l’image en disant, par exemple, « ne soyez pas étonnés parce que vous êtes en plein feu de l’épreuve » ou en faisant une comparaison : « ne soyez pas surpris par les épreuves qui vous font souffrir, comme un feu qui brûle ».

épreuve : il s’agit du même mot qui se trouve dans le « Notre Père », rendu souvent par « tentation ». Mais ici il se réfère aux souffrances, la mise à l’épreuve de la foi de la communauté. Si nécessaire, on pourra parler de « la façon dont votre foi est éprouvée ».

comme s’il vous arrivait quelque chose d’anormal : le mot grec rendu ici par quelque chose d’anormal est de la même racine que le verbe trouvez étrange du début du verset. Certains commentateurs pensent qu’il est possible que des chrétiens d’origine non juive devaient trouver anormal de souffrir pour leur foi. Par contre, pour des Juifs, souffrir n’avait rien de surprenant, car l’histoire de leur peuple abondait en défaites, exils et souffrances diverses. La leçon ici, c’est que la souffrance n’est pas étrangère au sort des chrétiens. On pourra dire « Ne pensez pas être les seuls à qui cela arrive ».

La Parole de Vie offre un bon modèle, même si certains la jugeront trop explicite : « Amis très chers, vous êtes dans le feu de la souffrance. Ne soyez pas surpris, ce n’est pas étonnant ! Ce feu va montrer ce que vous valez », c’est-à-dire « si votre foi est solide ».

Source: Margot, Jean-Claude. La première lettre de Pierre – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.