1 Peter 4:4

4:4 So ¹  they are astonished ²  when you do not rush with them into the same flood of wickedness, and they vilify you. ³ 

1 Peter 4:14-16

4:14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, ⁴  who is the Spirit of God, ⁵  rests ⁶  on you. 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or thief or criminal or as a troublemaker. ⁷  4:16 But if you suffer as a Christian, ⁸  do not be ashamed, but glorify ⁹  God that you bear such a name. ¹⁰ 

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¹ 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.

² tn Or “are surprised, are taken aback.” The same verb occurs in 4:12.

³ tn Grk “blaspheming,” giving the result of their astonishment. Here the target of their “blasphemy/vilification” is not God but the Christian.

⁴ tc Many mss, some of them important and early ([א] A P 33 81 323 945 1241 1739 pm bo), add καὶ δυνάμεως (kai dunamew"; “and of power”) here. The shorter reading is supported by Ì⁷² B K L Ψ 049 pm). Although the evidence is evenly divided, the longer reading looks to be an explanatory or liturgical expansion on the text and for this reason should be considered secondary.

⁵ tn Grk “the Spirit of glory and of God.”

⁶ sn A quotation taken from Isa 11:2.

⁷ tn The meaning of the Greek word used here is uncertain. It may mean “spy, informer,” “revolutionary,” or “defrauder, embezzler.” But the most likely meaning is “busybody, one who meddles in the affairs of others, troublesome meddler.” The translation given in the text is intended to suggest this general idea.

⁸ tn The verb is implied by the context but not expressed; Grk “but if as a Christian.”

⁹ tn These are third-person imperatives in Greek (“if [one of you suffers] as a Christian, let him not be ashamed…let him glorify”), but have been translated as second-person verbs since this is smoother English idiom.

¹⁰ tn Grk “in this name.”