ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 Peter 3.18

Book: 1 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

16. 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.

18. Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

  1. in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, 20. that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water: (1 Peter 3:16-20, ASV)
WEB

16. 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.

18. Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

  1. in which he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20. who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. (1 Peter 3:16-20, WEB)
KJV

16. 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.

18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

  1. By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20. Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (1 Peter 3:16-20, KJV)
YLT

16. 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;

18. because also Christ once for sin did suffer, righteous for unrighteous, that he might lead us to God, having been put to death indeed, in the flesh, and having been made alive in the spirit,

  1. in which also to the spirits in prison having gone he did preach, 20. who sometime disbelieved, when once the long-suffering of God did wait, in days of Noah, an ark being preparing, in which few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water; (1 Peter 3:16-20, 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

Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.

A compact statement of the atonement, and every phrase is deliberate.

Hapax, once. The same emphasis Hebrews makes repeatedly. The sufficiency of the offering is asserted through its non-repetition.

For sins, peri hamartion, is the Septuagint's standard phrase for a sin offering. Peter is using sacrificial vocabulary rather than a general notion of altruism.

The righteous for the unrighteous states substitution about as plainly as language allows: dikaios hyper adikon. The preposition hyper carries on-behalf-of and, in this construction, in-place-of. Any account of the atonement that eliminates substitution has to do something with this clause.

That he might bring us to God. Prosagage is the verb behind prosagoge, access, and it belongs to the vocabulary of introduction at court or approach in the temple. The purpose named is not primarily escape from punishment but access, which is the same emphasis as Hebrews 10:19-22 and Ephesians 2:18.

Being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit closes the verse and opens the notorious passage that follows. The contrast is most likely between the sphere of his death and the sphere of his vindication rather than between his body and his soul. See Penal Substitutionary Atonement and Atonement.

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:

Lexicon:

Passages:

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.