Texts in Conversation
1 Peter 4 quotes the Greek Septuagint translation of Proverbs 11, retaining its form to underscore the contrast between the narrow rescue of the righteous and the fate of the unrighteous, using a form of argument common in Jewish interpretation.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Proverbs 11:31
Septuagint
28 He that trusts in wealth shall fall; but he that helps righteous men shall rise. 29 He that does not deal graciously with his own house shall inherit the wind; and the fool shall be servant to the wise man. 30 Out of the fruit of righteousness grows a tree of life; but the souls of transgressors are cut off before their time. 31 If the righteous is scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
1 Peter 4:18
New Testament
16 But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear such a name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin, starting with the house of God. And if it starts with us, what will be the fate of those who are disobedient to the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of the ungodly and sinners? 19 So then let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator as they do good.
Date: 80–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... This conditional statement structurally and conceptually anticipates the following scriptural warrant, i.e., the citation of Proverbs 11 in verse 18. The rhetorical question in the apodosis is used for the sake of emphasis, stressing how terrible will be the judgment upon unbelievers (on this function of rhetorical questions, see 2:20 on ποῖον ... κλέος). Peter uses an a fortiori argument here (an argument moving from the lesser “to the stronger”): the beginning is not as severe as the later full brunt of the judgment ..."
Mark Dubis, 1 Peter: A Handbook on the Greek Text, BHGNT (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2010), 155.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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