ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 Peter 3.14-15

Book: 1 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

12. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, And his ears unto their supplication: But the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil. 13. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be zealous of that which is good?

14. But even if ye should suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed are ye: and fear not their fear, neither be troubled; 15. but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear:

  1. having a good conscience; that, wherein ye are spoken against, they may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ. 17. For it is better, if the will of God should so will, that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing. (1 Peter 3:12-17, ASV)
WEB

12. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears open to their prayer; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13. Now who is he who will harm you, if you become imitators of that which is good?

14. But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “Don’t fear what they fear, neither be troubled.” 15. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear:

  1. having a good conscience; that, while you are spoken against as evildoers, they may be disappointed who curse your good way of life in Christ. 17. For it is better, if it is God’s will, that you suffer for doing well than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:12-17, WEB)
KJV

12. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. against: Gr. upon 13. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?

14. But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; 15. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: fear: or, reverence

  1. Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. 17. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. (1 Peter 3:12-17, KJV)
YLT

12. because the eyes of the Lord [are] upon the righteous, and His ears, to their supplication, and the face of the Lord [is] upon those doing evil;' 13. and who [is] he who will be doing you evil, if of Him who is good ye may become imitators?

14. but if ye also should suffer because of righteousness, happy [are ye]! and of their fear be not afraid, nor be troubled, 15. and the Lord God sanctify in your hearts. And [be] ready always for defence to every one who is asking of you an account concerning the hope that [is] in you, with meekness and fear;

  1. having a good conscience, that in that in which they speak against you as evil-doers, they may be ashamed who are traducing your good behaviour in Christ; 17. for [it is] better doing good, if the will of God will it, to suffer, than doing evil; (1 Peter 3:12-17, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Peter, writing through Silvanus (5:12)
  • Audience: scattered believers across five Roman provinces of Asia Minor, described as sojourners and exiles and facing social hostility rather than state persecution
  • Location: written from "Babylon" (5:13), most likely a designation for Rome
  • Time period: c. AD 62 to 64, before the Neronian persecution

Theological reading

But sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear.

The charter text for Apologetics, and the surrounding clauses control how it should be used.

The word is apologia, a reasoned defence given to someone entitled to ask, the same term Paul uses at 1 Corinthians 9:3 and Acts 22:1. It is courtroom vocabulary, and the setting Peter envisages is interrogation by hostile neighbours rather than a debate hall.

The command is preceded by a heart posture. Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts comes first, adapting Isaiah 8:13, where it is the LORD of hosts who is to be sanctified. Peter substitutes Christ into a YHWH text without comment, which is a Christological datum worth noting. See Cumulative Case for the Deity of Christ.

The occasion is the hope that is in you. The question arises because the readers' hope is visible and strange, given their circumstances. Apologetics in this verse is responsive: it presupposes a life that provokes the question.

With meekness and fear is not decoration. Verse 16 adds having a good conscience, and the aim is that revilers be put to shame by observing good behaviour. A defence delivered contemptuously fails Peter's stated purpose even if every proposition in it is true.

Verse 14, fear not their fear, neither be troubled, quotes Isaiah 8:12 and frames the whole as instruction for the intimidated.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

Guides:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.