1 Peter 5:12

Final Greetings

5:12 Through Silvanus, ¹  whom I know to be a faithful brother, ²  I have written to you briefly, in order to encourage you and testify ³  that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. ⁴ 

1 Peter 3:8

Suffering for Doing Good

3:8 Finally, all of you be harmonious, ⁵  sympathetic, affectionate, compassionate, and humble.

1 Peter 5:9

5:9 Resist him, ⁶  strong in your faith, because you know ⁷  that your brothers and sisters ⁸  throughout the world ⁹  are enduring ¹⁰  the same kinds of suffering. ¹¹ 

1 Peter 2:17

2:17 Honor all people, love the family of believers, ¹²  fear God, honor the king.

1 Peter 1:22

1:22 You have purified ¹³  your souls by obeying the truth ¹⁴  in order to show sincere mutual love. ¹⁵  So ¹⁶  love one another earnestly from a pure heart. ¹⁷ 

1 Peter 4:9

4:9 Show hospitality ¹⁸  to one another without complaining.

1 Peter 2:11

2:11 Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul,

1 Peter 4:12

4:12 Dear friends, do not be astonished ¹⁹  that a trial by fire is occurring among you, ²⁰  as though something strange were happening to you.

[5:12]  ¹ sn The phrase Through Silvanus means either that Silvanus was the secretary (amanuensis) who assisted Peter in writing or composing the letter (cf. Rom 16:22) or that he carried the letter to the churches. The latter sense is more likely since this is the meaning of the Greek wording when it is used elsewhere (cf. Acts 15:23; Ignatius, Letter to the Romans 10:1; Letter to the Philadelphians 11:2; Letter to the Smyrnaeans 12:1; Polycarp, Letter to the Philippians 14), though it is perhaps possible that both ideas could be incorporated by this expression. For a detailed argument regarding this issue, see E. R. Richards, “Silvanus Was Not Peter’s Secretary: Theological Bias in Interpreting διὰ Σιλουανοῦ…ἔγραψα,” JETS 43 (September 2000): 417-32.

[5:12]  ² tn Grk “the faithful brother, as I think.”

[5:12]  ³ tn These are participles (“encouraging and testifying”) showing purpose. The pronoun object “you” is omitted in Greek but implied by the context.

[5:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “in which stand fast.” For emphasis, and due to constraints of contemporary English, this was made a separate sentence in the translation.

[3:8]  ⁵ tn There is no main verb in this verse (Grk “Finally, all [ ] harmonious”), but it continues the sense of command from the previous paragraphs.

[5:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “whom,” referring to the devil in v. 8. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[5:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “knowing,” a participle that usually denotes a reason for the related action.

[5:9]  ¹¹ tn Grk “your brotherhood.” The Greek term “brotherhood” is used in a broad sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God (cf. BDAG 19 s.v. ἀδελφότης 1). Another alternative translation would be “your fellow believers,” though this would weaken the familial connotations. This same word occurs in 2:17; there it has been translated “family of believers.”

[5:9]  ¹² tn Grk “your brotherhood in the world,” referring to the Christian community worldwide.

[5:9]  ¹³ tn This verb carries the nuance “to accomplish, complete,” emphasizing their faithful endurance in suffering. The verb is passive in Greek (“suffering is being endured by your brotherhood”), but has been translated as an active to give a smoother English style.

[5:9]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the same things of sufferings.”

[2:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “love the brotherhood.” The Greek term “brotherhood” is used in a broad sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God. BDAG 19 s.v. ἀδελφότης 1 suggests “a fellowship,” but in the present context “love the fellowship of believers” could be taken to mean “love to participate in fellowship with believers,” whereas the present verse suggests the Christian community as a whole, in familial terms, is in view. This same word occurs in 5:9; there it has been translated “brothers and sisters.”

[1:22]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “having purified,” as the preparation for the love described in the second half of the verse.

[1:22]  ¹⁸ tc Most later mss (P Ï) have διὰ πνεύματος (dia pneumato", “through the spirit”) after ἀληθείας (ajlhqeia", “truth”), while the words are lacking in a broad spectrum of early and important witnesses (Ì⁷² א A B C Ψ 33 81 323 945 1241 1739 al vg sy co). On external grounds, the shorter reading cannot be easily explained if it were not original. The longer reading is clearly secondary, added to show more strongly God’s part in man’s obedience to the truth. But the addition ignores the force that the author gives to “purified” and ruins the balance between v. 22 and v. 23 (for in v. 23 the emphasis is on God’s part; here, on man’s part).

[1:22]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “for sincere brotherly love.”

[1:22]  ²⁰ tn Verses 22-23 are a single sentence in the Greek text. To improve clarity (and because contemporary English tends to use shorter sentences) these verses have been divided into three sentences in the translation. In addition, “So” has been supplied at the beginning of the second English sentence (v. 22b) to indicate the relationship with the preceding statement.

[1:22]  ²¹ tc A few mss (A B 1852 pc) lack καθαρᾶς (kaqaras, “pure”) and read simply καρδίας (kardias, “from the heart”), but there is excellent ms support (Ì⁷² א* C P Ψ 33 1739 Ï co) for the word. The omission may have been accidental. In the uncial script (kaqaras kardias) an accidental omission could have happened via homoioteleuton or homoioarcton. καθαρᾶς should be considered original.

[4:9]  ²¹ tn There is no main verb in this verse (“showing hospitality” translates the adjective φιλόξενοι [filoxenoi]), but it continues the sense of command from v. 7.

[4:12]  ²⁵ tn Or “do not be surprised, taken aback.” The same verb occurs in 4:4.

[4:12]  ²⁶ tn Grk “at the burning among you, occurring to you for testing.”