1 Peter 3:14-15

3:14 But in fact, if you happen to suffer ¹  for doing what is right, ²  you are blessed. But do not be terrified of them ³  or be shaken. ⁴  3:15 But set Christ ⁵  apart ⁶  as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess. ⁷ 

Genesis 18:15

18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” ⁸ 

Isaiah 57:11

57:11 Whom are you worried about?

Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully

and not remember me

or think about me? ⁹ 

Because I have been silent for so long, ¹⁰ 

you are not afraid of me. ¹¹ 

Daniel 3:16-18

3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, ¹²  “We do not need to give you a reply ¹³  concerning this. 3:17 If ¹⁴  our God whom we are serving exists, ¹⁵  he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well. 3:18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Matthew 26:69-75

Peter’s Denials

26:69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A ¹⁶  slave girl ¹⁷  came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 26:70 But he denied it in front of them all: ¹⁸  “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” 26:71 When ¹⁹  he went out to the gateway, another slave girl ²⁰  saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.” 26:72 He denied it again with an oath, “I do not know the man!” 26:73 After ²¹  a little while, those standing there came up to Peter and said, “You really are one of them too – even your accent ²²  gives you away!” 26:74 At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment a rooster crowed. ²³  26:75 Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. ²⁴ 

Acts 4:8-13

4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, ²⁵  replied, ²⁶  “Rulers of the people and elders, ²⁷  4:9 if ²⁸  we are being examined ²⁹  today for a good deed ³⁰  done to a sick man – by what means this man was healed ³¹  – 4:10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ ³²  the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy. 4:11 This Jesus ³³  is the stone that was rejected by you, ³⁴  the builders, that has become the cornerstone. ³⁵  4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people ³⁶  by which we must ³⁷  be saved.”

4:13 When they saw the boldness ³⁸  of Peter and John, and discovered ³⁹  that they were uneducated ⁴⁰  and ordinary ⁴¹  men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:19

4:19 But Peter and John replied, ⁴²  “Whether it is right before God to obey ⁴³  you rather than God, you decide,

[3:14]  ¹ sn The Greek construction here implies that such suffering was not the norm, even though it could happen, and in fact may well have happened to some of the readers (cf. 4:4, 12-19).

[3:14]  ² tn Grk “because of righteousness.”

[3:14]  ³ tn Grk “do not fear their fear,” referring to those who cause their suffering. The phrase “their fear” may mean “what they fear” (subjective genitive), but in a situation of persecution it more likely means “fear of them” (objective genitive).

[3:14]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 8:12.

[3:15]  ⁵ tc Most later mss (P Ï) have θεόν (qeon, “God”) instead of Χριστόν (Criston; “Christ”) here. But Χριστόν is widely supported by excellent and early witnesses (Ì⁷² א A B C Ψ 33 1739 al latt sy co), and as a less common idiom better explains the rise of the other reading.

[3:15]  ⁶ tn Or “sanctify Christ as Lord.”

[3:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “the hope in you.”

[18:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[57:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “you do not place [it] on your heart.”

[57:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Is it not [because] I have been silent, and from long ago?”

[57:11]  ¹¹ sn God’s patience with sinful Israel has caused them to think that they can sin with impunity and suffer no consequences.

[3:16]  ¹² tc In the MT this word is understood to begin the following address (“answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar’”). However, it seems unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar’s subordinates would address the king in such a familiar way, particularly in light of the danger that they now found themselves in. The present translation implies moving the atnach from “king” to “Nebuchadnezzar.”

[3:16]  ¹³ tn Aram “to return a word to you.”

[3:17]  ¹⁴ tc The ancient versions typically avoid the conditional element of v. 17.

[3:17]  ¹⁵ tn The Aramaic expression used here is very difficult to interpret. The question concerns the meaning and syntax of אִיתַי (’itay, “is” or “exist”). There are several possibilities. (1) Some interpreters take this word closely with the participle later in the verse יָכִל (yakhil, “able”), understanding the two words to form a periphrastic construction (“if our God is…able”; cf. H. Bauer and P. Leander, Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen, 365, §111b). But the separation of the two elements from one another is not an argument in favor of this understanding. (2) Other interpreters take the first part of v. 17 to mean “If it is so, then our God will deliver us” (cf. KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB). However, the normal sense of ’itay is existence; on this point see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 45, §95. The present translation maintains the sense of existence for the verb (“If our God…exists”), even though the statement is admittedly difficult to understand in this light. The statement may be an implicit reference back to Nebuchadnezzar’s comment in v. 15, which denies the existence of a god capable of delivering from the king’s power.

[26:69]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[26:69]  ¹⁷ tn The Greek term here is παιδίσκη (paidiskh), referring to a slave girl or slave woman.

[26:70]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he denied it…saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[26:71]  ¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:71]  ²⁰ tn The words “slave girl” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the feminine singular form ἄλλη (allh).

[26:73]  ²¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:73]  ²² tn Grk “your speech.”

[26:74]  ²³ tn It seems most likely that this refers to a real rooster crowing, although a number of scholars have suggested that “cockcrow” is a technical term referring to the trumpet call which ended the third watch of the night (from midnight to 3 a.m.). This would then be a reference to the Roman gallicinium (ἀλεκτοροφωνία, alektorofwnia; the term is used in Mark 13:35 and is found in some mss [Ì^37vid,45 ˹] in Matt 26:34) which would have been sounded at 3 a.m.; in this case Jesus would have prophesied a precise time by which the denials would have taken place. For more details see J. H. Bernard, St. John (ICC), 2:604. However, in light of the fact that Mark mentions the rooster crowing twice (Mark 14:72) and in Luke 22:60 the words are reversed (ἐφώνησεν ἀλέκτωρ, efwnhsen alektwr), it is more probable that a real rooster is in view. In any event natural cockcrow would have occurred at approximately 3 a.m. in Palestine at this time of year (March-April) anyway.

[26:75]  ²⁴ sn When Peter went out and wept bitterly it shows he really did not want to fail here and was deeply grieved that he had.

[4:8]  ²⁵ sn Filled with the Holy Spirit. The narrator’s remark about the Holy Spirit indicates that Peter speaks as directed by God and for God. This fulfills Luke 12:11-12 (1 Pet 3:15).

[4:8]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Spirit, said to them.”

[4:8]  ²⁷ tc The Western and Byzantine texts, as well as one or two Alexandrian witnesses, read τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (tou Israhl, “of Israel”) after πρεσβύτεροι (presbuteroi, “elders”; so D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï it), while most of the better witnesses, chiefly Alexandrian (Ì⁷⁴ א A B 0165 1175 vg sa bo), lack this modifier. The longer reading was most likely added by scribes to give literary balance to the addressees in that “Rulers” already had an adjunct while “elders” was left absolute.

[4:9]  ²⁸ tn This clause is a first class condition. It assumes for the sake of argument that this is what they were being questioned about.

[4:9]  ²⁹ tn Or “questioned.” The Greek term ἀνακρίνω (anakrinw) points to an examination similar to a legal one.

[4:9]  ³⁰ tn Or “for an act of kindness.”

[4:9]  ³¹ tn Or “delivered” (σέσωται [seswtai], from σώζω [swzw]). See 4:12.

[4:10]  ³² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[4:11]  ³³ tn Grk “This one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:11]  ³⁴ tn The word “you” is inserted into the quotation because Peter is making a direct application of Ps 118:22 to his hearers. Because it is not in the OT, it has been left as normal type (rather than bold italic). The remarks are like Acts 2:22-24 and 3:12-15.

[4:11]  ³⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22 which combines the theme of rejection with the theme of God’s vindication/exaltation.

[4:12]  ³⁶ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[4:12]  ³⁷ sn Must be saved. The term used here (δεῖ, dei, “it is necessary”) reflects the necessity set up by God’s directive plan.

[4:13]  ³⁸ tn Or “courage.”

[4:13]  ³⁹ tn Or “and found out.”

[4:13]  ⁴⁰ sn Uneducated does not mean “illiterate,” that is, unable to read or write. Among Jews in NT times there was almost universal literacy, especially as the result of widespread synagogue schools. The term refers to the fact that Peter and John had no formal rabbinic training and thus, in the view of their accusers, were not qualified to expound the law or teach publicly. The objection is like Acts 2:7.

[4:13]  ⁴¹ tn For the translation of ἰδιῶται (idiwtai) as “ordinary men” see L&N 27.26.

[4:19]  ⁴² tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[4:19]  ⁴³ tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw; see L&N 36.14).