hospitable

The now commonly-used German expression gastfrei, literally meaning “generous toward guests,” was first coined in 1522 in the German New Testament translation by Martin Luther. (Source: Günther 2017, p. 72)

For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.

See also practice hospitality and hospitality.

complete verse (1 Peter 4:9)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Peter 4:9:

  • Uma: “You must be friendly / outgoing to receive-guests in your homes, and don’t complain.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “If there are fellow trusters of yours in Isa Almasi who come to your house, treat them according-to-good-custom and don’t complain/grumble about them.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It is necessary that you be very generous in having guests come up into your house.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Be-hospitable-to-one-another without grumbling.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Hopefully it isn’t a burden on your mind/inner-being when your siblings in believing come to stay at your house, but rather you will treat them hospitably.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “With pleasure give a resting place to each other in your homes.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Peter 4:9

Open your homes translates a Greek present participle (literally “being hospitable”) which has the imperative force. Hospitality was a very important trait in the ancient world and became doubly important for Christians for many reasons. For one thing, Christian missionaries had to travel from place to place and were usually dependent on the local Christian residents for their food and lodging. For another thing, Christians were often denied the support of pagan relatives and friends and so had to look to their fellow Christians for their basic needs. Furthermore, because of the absence of church buildings, the Christian homes were used for worship (compare Rom 16.5; 1 Cor 16.10; Col 4.15). While Peter may have had in mind the Christian missionary or itinerant preacher, perhaps he is referring primarily to the local situation, and this is indicated by his addition of the phrase “to one another.” This reference to the local situation also provides a natural transition to his discussion of church duties in the next two verses.

Open your homes to each other may be expressed as “receive each other as guests” or “welcome one another as guests in your homes.” It is possible that in such a rendering as “welcome one another” the implication would be simply visiting one another within the same Christian community. The implication of this expression seems to be somewhat wider, and therefore it may be better to translate Open your homes to each other as “welcome fellow Christians into your home.”

Practicing hospitality is often a demanding, irritating, and tiring task. So Peter adds that this should be done without complaining. The word for complaining includes the idea of murmuring, grumbling, or displeasure; the sense of the whole expression can be expressed also positively, for example, “with gladness” (Beare). Without complaining may require in some languages an expression of direct discourse, since the verb complaining implies some type of content, for example, “without saying, It is too much trouble” or “and not say, This is so difficult to do.”

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 4:9

4:9a

Show hospitality to one another: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Show hospitality to one another refers to receiving other believers as guests in one’s home. This would involve giving them food and a place to sleep. Other ways to say this include:

Welcome each other into your houses (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Open your homes to each other (New Century Version)

4:9b

without complaining: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as without complaining means that Christians should not grumble about having to give meals and lodging to other believers. In some languages it may be natural to translate this positively. For example:

cheerfully (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
be happy to have other believers as visitors in your homes (Easy English Bible)

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Commentaire sur la traduction de la première lettre de Pierre 4.9

Pratiquez l’hospitalité les uns envers les autres : pratiquez l’hospitalité rend l’adjectif grec « hospitaliers » avec valeur d’impératif, ainsi « Soyez hospitaliers » (Bible en français courant, Osty-Trinquet).

l’hospitalité est d’abord l’acte de recevoir avec joie chez soi des étrangers ou des visiteurs. Le mot a aussi un sens plus large de « bienveillance » ou de « générosité ». Dans plusieurs cultures du monde et surtout dans le monde ancien, l’hospitalité est une valeur de base. A l’époque où Pierre rédigeait sa lettre, l’hospitalité était particulièrement importante car les évangélistes devaient se déplacer d’un endroit à l’autre et dépendaient des chrétiens locaux pour leur logement et nourriture. D’autre part, les chrétiens étaient souvent privés de l’aide de leurs parents ou leurs amis non-croyants, car ceux-ci les rejetaient. Ils devaient compter sur leurs frères en la foi pour subvenir à leurs besoins essentiels. De plus, comme il n’y avait pas de bâtiments servant d’église, les chrétiens se réunissaient dans les maisons privées. Voir, par exemple, Rom 16.5 ; 1 Cor 16.19 ; Col 4.15. Il était alors important qu’ils soient hospitaliers les uns envers les autres. On pourra dire « Accueillez-vous les uns les autres », « Recevez-vous les uns les autres dans vos maisons » (Parole de Vie), ou plus spécifiquement, « Accueillez chez vous vos frères et sœurs (en Christ) ».

sans murmurer : la pratique de l’hospitalité est parfois une tâche exigeante et fatigante. C’est pourquoi Pierre ajoute « sans plainte » ou « murmure ». Le terme grec suggère l’idée de protestation ou de déplaisir. La La Bible du Semeur et la Parole de Vie disent « sans vous plaindre ». On pourra aussi dire « Ouvrez vos maisons les uns aux autres. Ne vous en plaignez pas ».

Une telle allusion à la situation locale fournit une transition naturelle vers les exhortations de Pierre concernant les devoirs communautaires qui suivent.

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