1 Petrus 1:14

1:14 Like obedient children, do not comply with ¹  the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance, ² 

1 Petrus 1:24

1:24 For

all flesh ³  is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of the grass; ⁴ 

the grass withers and the flower falls off,

1 Petrus 4:4

4:4 So ⁵  they are astonished ⁶  when you do not rush with them into the same flood of wickedness, and they vilify you. ⁷ 

1 Petrus 4:6

4:6 Now it was for this very purpose ⁸  that the gospel was preached to those who are now dead, ⁹  so that though ¹⁰  they were judged in the flesh ¹¹  by human standards ¹²  they may live spiritually ¹³  by God’s standards. ¹⁴ 

[1:14]  ¹ tn Or “do not be conformed to”; Grk “not being conformed to.”

[1:14]  ² tn Grk “the former lusts in your ignorance.”

[1:24]  ³ sn Here all flesh is a metaphor for humanity – human beings as both frail and temporary.

[1:24]  ⁴ tn Or “a wildflower.”

[4:4]  ⁵ tn Grk “in/by which,” referring to the change of behavior described in v. 3. The unbelievers are astonished by the readers’ moral transformation. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:4]  ⁶ tn Or “are surprised, are taken aback.” The same verb occurs in 4:12.

[4:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “blaspheming,” giving the result of their astonishment. Here the target of their “blasphemy/vilification” is not God but the Christian.

[4:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “since for this purpose the gospel was preached even to the dead,” referring to the purpose described in the clause to follow in v. 6b.

[4:6]  ⁹ sn In context the phrase those who are dead refers to those now dead who had accepted the gospel while they were still living and had suffered persecution for their faith. Though they “suffered judgment” in this earthly life (i.e., they died, in the midst of physical abuse from the ungodly), they will enjoy life from God in the spiritual, heavenly realm because of the gospel (v. 6b). It clearly does not assume a second chance for conversion offered to unbelievers who had died; why would Peter urge people to suffer in this life for the sake of the gospel if he believed that mercy would be extended to all the dead in the hereafter (cf. 2:7-8; 4:1-5, 12-19)?

[4:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “so that they may be judged…but may live.” Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[4:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “in their earthly lives,” since “flesh” here denotes the physical, earthly life. The phrase “in the flesh” is retained to preserve the links with 3:18 and 4:1 which use the same wording.

[4:6]  ¹² tn Grk “according to men.”

[4:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “in spirit,” referring to the heavenly, eternal realm of existence (cf. 3:18).

[4:6]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “according to God.”