1 Peter 3:10

3:8-13 Though Christians cannot always be exactly of the same mind, yet they should have compassion one of another, and love as brethren. If any man desires to live comfortably on earth, or to possess eternal life in heaven, he must bridle his tongue from wicked, abusive, or deceitful words. He must forsake and keep far from evil actions, do all the good he can, and seek peace with all men. For God, all-wise and every where present, watches over the righteous, and takes care of them. None could or should harm those who copied the example of Christ, who is perfect goodness, and did good to others as his followers.

{13} For he that will love life, and {h} see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: (13) A secret objection: But this our patience shall be nothing else but an inciting and hardening of the wicked in their wickedness, to make them set upon us more boldly and destroy us. Indeed (faith the apostle by the words of David) to live without doing harm, and to follow after peace when it flies away, is the way to that happy and quiet peace. If so be any man be afflicted for doing justly, the Lord marks all things, and will in his time deliver the godly, who cry to him, and will destroy the wicked. (h) Lead a blessed and happy life.

1 Peter 3:10-13 . He that will love life — That would make life amiable and desirable; and see good days — Namely, such as are prosperous and happy; let him refrain his tongue from evil — From railing, back-biting, tale-bearing, from all rash and provoking expressions; and his lips that they speak no guile — No deceit; nothing contrary to sincerity and simplicity. See on Psalm 32:2 . In this and the following verses the apostle offers three arguments, of great importance, to induce men to the practice of piety and virtue: 1st, It secures the happiness both of the present and of the future life: 2d, It ensures the favour and protection of God, 1 Peter 3:12 : 3d, It disarms the malice of men, 1 Peter 3:13 . Let him eschew evil — Εκκλινατω απο κακου , let him turn away from evil, of every kind, and from evil dispositions, as well as evil words and actions; and do good — To the utmost extent of his power. Let him seek peace — Endeavour, as much as in him lieth, to live peaceably with all men: and pursue it — When it appears to flee from him. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous — Are continually set upon them, to watch over and protect them; and his ears are open to their prayers — Especially when they are in distress. But the face of the Lord — His countenance, full of wrath and resentment; is against them that do evil — Against all that live in known sin, whether high or low, rich or poor.

And who is he that shall harm you — That shall have the ability to do you any real harm; if ye be followers of that which is good — Or imitators of the good One, as the original expression, του αγαθου μιμηται , may be rendered: that is, if you copy after the benevolence of your heavenly Father, and of his beloved Son, your great Master, whose whole life was so illustrious an example of the most diffusive generosity and goodness to his followers?

1 Peter 3:10 . Ὁ γὰρ θέλων ζωὴν ἀγαπᾷν καὶ ἰθεῖν ἡμέρας ἀγαθὰς , he who wishes to love life and to see good days ) If you wish, says Peter, to taste of that inheritance, you must abstain from evil in speaking and in practice. Psalm 34:12-16 , Septuagint: Τίς ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὁ θέλων ζωὴν , ἀγκπῶν ἡμέρας ἰδεῖν ἀγαθάς ; What man is there who wishes life, loving to see good days? And thus the Hebrew has it in that passage, and the Syriac Version in this. Peter, without altering the sense, imparts to it fresh vivacity: θέλων ζωὴν ἀγαπᾷν , who wishes so to live, that he may not be wearied of life . Opposed to this is ἐμίσησα τὴν ζωὴν , Ecclesiastes 2:17 ; that is, I became weary of life . And so Genesis 27:46 ; Numbers 11:15 .— παυσάτω τὴν γλῶσσαν αὐτοῦ , let him refrain his tongue ) The Septuagint has παῦσον τὴν γλῶσσάνσου , refrain thy tongue , and the remainder of the passage in the second person, as far as the words διʼωξον αὐτήν , ensue it .

He that will love life; he that earnestly desires to lead a quiet and comfortable life here, and to enjoy eternal life hereafter. And see good days; peaceable and prosperous; as evil days are such as are grievous and calamitous, Genesis 47:9 . Let him refrain his tongue from evil: from evil-speaking, railing, reviling, open detraction. And his lips that they speak no guile; tell no lies of his neighbour: or, this may imply whispering, backbiting, or any way secretly and closely speaking evil of him. Under these two, all the vices of the tongue, whereby our neighbour may be wronged, are contained, and the contrary virtues commanded, under the name of blessing.

1 Peter 3:10-12 = Psalm 34:12-17 a. introduced by mere γάρ as familiar. The lips of Christians who wish to love life must be free from cursing and from guile as were Christ’s ( cf. Isa. apud ii. 23). If Jehovah is to hear their petition as He heard Christ’s they also must turn from evil and do good ( cf. ἀγαθοποιεῖν above) seeking peace within and without the Church.

10. will love—Greek, "wishes to love." He who loves life (present and eternal), and desires to continue to do so, not involving himself in troubles which will make this life a burden, and cause him to forfeit eternal life. Peter confirms his exhortation, 1Pe 3:9, by Ps 34:12-16. refrain—curb, literally, "cause to cease"; implying that our natural inclination and custom is to speak evil. "Men commonly think that they would be exposed to the wantonness of their enemies if they did not strenuously vindicate their rights. But the Spirit promises a life of blessedness to none but those who are gentle and patient of evils" [Calvin]. evil … guile—First he warns against sins of the tongue, evil-speaking, and deceitful, double-tongued speaking; next, against acts of injury to one's neighbor.

10–12 . For he that will love life ] The three verses are from the LXX. version of Psalm 34:12-16 . It is characteristic of St Peter that he thus quotes from the Old Testament without any formula of citation. (See 2 Peter 2:22 .) In this case, however, the quotation does not agree with the extant text of the LXX. which gives “What man is he that would fain have life, loving good days?” The English version of the first clause hardly expresses the force of the Greek, which gives literally, he that willeth to love life . The combination may have been chosen to express the strength of the yearning for life in its lower or higher forms which the words imply, or more probably that the object wished for is not mere life, as such, but a life that a man can love, instead of hating with the hatred that is engendered, on the one hand, by the satiety of the pleasure seeker, and on the other, by bitterness and wrath. It need hardly be said that the Apostle uses the words of the Psalmist in a higher meaning. “Life” with him is “life eternal,” and the “good days” are not those of outward prosperity, but of the peace that passeth understanding. let him refrain his tongue from evil ] The last words were probably those which determined the choice of the quotation.

Verse 10. - For he that will love life ; literally, he that willeth to love life. St. Peter deviates somewhat from the Septuagint Version of Psalm 34:12-16 , which he is quoting. The literal rendering of it is, "What man is he that desireth life, loving good days?" His connection of the participle θέλων with ἀγαπᾶν is remarkable. Perhaps the meaning is best given by Bengel, "Qui vult ita vivere, nt ipsum non taedeat vitro" - " Who wishes to live so that he will not weary of life;" so that he may love it, so that he may have a life really worth living. There is a love of life which can only lead to the loss of the true life ( John 12:25 ). St. Peter is teaching us to love life wisely, not with that selfish love which Christ condemns. And see good days . Not necessarily in outward prosperity, but in the favor of God; days of suffering may be good days in the truest souse. Let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. We have here the usual parallelism of Hebrew poetry. The word "refrain" ( παυσάτω , literally, "let him make it cease") implies a natural tendency to sins against charity. 1 Peter 3:10