Go to Related Reading
About this book

1 Peter

About this book
Chapter 4

1 So, since Christ suffered in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same attitude because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin, 2 in that he spends the rest of his time on earth concerned about the will of God and not human desires. 3 For the time that has passed was sufficient for you to do what the non-Christians desire. You lived then in debauchery, evil desires, drunkenness, carousing, drinking bouts, and wanton idolatries.⁠ 4 So they are astonished when you do not rush with them into the same flood of wickedness, and they vilify you. 5 They will face a reckoning before Jesus Christ who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 Now it was for this very purpose that the gospel was preached to those who are now dead, so that though they were judged in the flesh by human standards they may live spiritually by God’s standards.⁠ 7 For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer. 8 Above all keep your love for one another fervent because love covers a multitude of sins.⁠ 9 Show hospitality to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, let it be with God’s words. Whoever serves, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. 12 Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice in the degree that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice and be glad. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, who is the Spirit of God, rests on you.⁠ 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or thief or criminal or as a troublemaker. 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.

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Proverbs 11:31 and 1 Peter 4:18

Septuagint · New Testament

Share:

Summary

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.

Passages

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?
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Proverbs

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.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Peter

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.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

LXX Proverbs 11:31 and 1 Peter 4:18

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library