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 .