1 PET 3:19 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

UST The Spirit also enabled him to go and announce God’s victory to the evil spirits whom God had imprisoned.

AICNT in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,

OEB And it was then that he went and preached to the imprisoned spirits,

WEBBE in whom he also went and preached to the spirits in prison,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET In it he went and preached to the spirits in prison,

LSV by which, having gone, He also preached to the spirits in prison,

FBV He went to speak to those “imprisoned”[fn]

3:19 Or “imprisoned souls.” There has been much debate over this phrase. The same word used for “souls” should note the same word is used for the eight people in verse 20. Some understand those “imprisoned” as those people at the time of the Flood who were “held captive” by their sinfulness (see Genesis 6:5).

TCNT in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison,

T4T The Spirit also helped him as he went to proclaim God’s victory to the evil spirits whom God had imprisoned in the heavens (OR, to the spirits of those who had died, and who were in the place where the spirits of dead people are).

LEB • in which also he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,

BBE By whom he went to the spirits in prison, preaching to those

Moff (It was in the Spirit that Enoch also went and preached to the imprisoned spirits

Wymth in which He also went and proclaimed His Message to the spirits that were in prison,

ASV in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison,

DRA In which also coming he preached to those spirits that were in prison:

YLT in which also to the spirits in prison having gone he did preach,

Drby in which also going he preached to the spirits [which are] in prison,

RV in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison,

SLT In which also having gone, he proclaimed to the spirits in prison;

Wbstr By which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison;

KJB-1769 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

KJB-1611 By which also he went and preached vnto the spirits in prison,
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps In which spirite, he also went & preached vnto the spirites that were in pryson,
(In which spirit, he also went and preached unto the spirits that were in prison,)

Gnva By the which hee also went, and preached vnto the spirits that are in prison.
(By the which he also went, and preached unto the spirits that are in prison. )

Cvdl In the which sprete he also wente, and preached vnto ye spretes that were in preson,
(In the which spirit he also went, and preached unto ye/you_all spirits that were in prison,)

TNT In which sprete he also wet and preached vnto the spretes that were in preson
(In which spirit he also wet and preached unto the spirits that were in prison )

Wycl For which thing he cam in spirit, and also to hem that weren closid togidre in prisoun prechide;
(For which thing he came in spirit, and also to hem that were closed together in prison preached;)

Luth In demselbigen ist er auch hingegangen und hat geprediget den Geistern im Gefängnis,
(In the_same is he also went_there and has preached the spirits/ghosts in_the prison/jail,)

ClVg In quo et his, qui in carcere erant, spiritibus veniens prædicavit:[fn]
(In where and his, who/which in/into/on prison they_were, spirits coming preached: )

3.19 In carcere. ID. Qui habent sensum obscuratum tenebris, merito etiam in hac vita dicuntur carcere inclusi, et in hoc interiori carcere mentis operibus injustis gravantur, donec carne soluti in exteriores tenebras projiciantur æternæ damnationis. Habent et justi hic carcerem, sed tribulationum, reprobi vero vitiorum.

3.19 In prison. ID. Who they_have sense darktum darkness, deservedly also in/into/on this_way life are_said prison inclusi, and in/into/on this interiori prison of_the_mind works injustis gravantur, until flesh/meat loose in/into/on exteriores darkness proyiciantur eternal of_condemnation. Habent and just this/here prison, but tribulationum, reprobate indeed/however of_vices.

UGNT ἐν ᾧ καὶ τοῖς ἐν φυλακῇ πνεύμασιν πορευθεὶς ἐκήρυξεν,
(en hō kai tois en fulakaʸ pneumasin poreutheis ekaʸruxen,)

SBL-GNT ἐν ᾧ καὶ τοῖς ἐν φυλακῇ πνεύμασιν πορευθεὶς ἐκήρυξεν,
(en hō kai tois en fulakaʸ pneumasin poreutheis ekaʸruxen,)

RP-GNT ἐν ᾧ καὶ τοῖς ἐν φυλακῇ πνεύμασιν πορευθεὶς ἐκήρυξεν,
(en hō kai tois en fulakaʸ pneumasin poreutheis ekaʸruxen,)

TC-GNT ἐν ᾧ καὶ τοῖς ἐν φυλακῇ πνεύμασι πορευθεὶς ἐκήρυξεν,
(en hō kai tois en fulakaʸ pneumasi poreutheis ekaʸruxen, )

Key for above GNTs: red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

Section 3:8–22: God’s people may have to suffer for doing what is right

In this section Peter taught that Christians should always do good and act kindly towards others, even if they are mistreated and made to suffer. They should do this because it pleases God, and because that was how Jesus Christ behaved.

Some other headings for this section are:

Suffering for Doing Right (CEV)

Dedicate Your Lives to Jesus (GW)

3:19–22

Verses 19–22 are difficult to understand. For more details of the debates, see the UBS Translator’s Handbook on 1 Peter. There is also a fairly long discussion in KBT on Translators Workplace, in the article on Spirit, sense A1(d). Because the interpretation of these verses is uncertain, it is best to translate them literally. Supply as little implied information as possible.

3:19

in whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison

and in this way he went to the spirits who were guarded/imprisoned and preached to them.
In this spiritual realm/sphere Christ went and declared/announced his victory to the spirits whom God was restricting/restraining.

in whom: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as in whom can also be translated as “in which.” Here it refers to the sphere of the Spirit and spiritual life mentioned in 3:18e. The GNT makes this explicit:

in his spiritual existence (GNT)

He also went and preached to the spirits in prison: The Greek text does not say exactly where the spirits in prison were. One way to translate this is:

he went to the spirits in prison and preached to them

also: The Greek word that the BSB translates as also seems to function to introduce more information about the “spiritual realm” in 3:18e. It can also be translated as “even.” It is not translated in some versions such as the RSV. Translate it in a way that is natural in your language.

preached: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as preached can also be translated as “proclaimed” or “announced.” The text does not say what Christ proclaimed to the spirits in prison. Commentators suggest two possibilities:

Christ proclaimed his victory over the spiritual forces of darkness.
Christ preached about the need to repent and come to God for salvation.

If you must choose, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), which has the support of most commentaries. This is based on the interpretation of “spirits” as evil spiritual beings. See the following note for more information.

Some other ways preached can be translated are:

proclaim his victory (GW)

made a proclamation (NRSV)

the spirits: There are two ways to understand the Greek word that the BSB translates as spirits:

It refers to evil spiritual beings such as demons or fallen angels.
It refers to the souls of dead people.

It is recommended that you use an expression that could refer to either of these. If you must choose between them, it is recommended that you choose interpretation (1). This is the normal meaning of spirits in the New Testament. It is also the view of the majority of modern commentators.For example, see Selwyn, pages 198–199; Michaels, pages 107–109; Achtemeier pages 260–261; Kelly pages 153–155; Marshall pages 125–127. For an opposing view (that of Augustine and Aquinas) that Christ preached through Noah to the disobedient people alive in Noah’s time, see Grudem. Bigg (page 162–3) believes that Christ here gave the spirits of dead people a chance to repent.

in prison: The Greek word that the BSB translates as prison refers to a place where people are guarded and cannot leave. Presumably the spirits were in prison because they were waiting for God to judge them. Your translation should not give the idea that the spirits were in an earthly prison, but rather that they were held in some kind of custody so that they could not escape.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

who are being held/restrained

who are waiting for the judgment of God

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐν ᾧ

in which

Here, which refers to “spirit” in the previous verse. As in the previous verse, this could refer to: (1) the Holy Spirit. Alternate translation: [by means of the Spirit] (2) Jesus’ spiritual existence. Alternate translation: [in the spiritual realm]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

ἐκήρυξεν

˱he˲_proclaimed

Peter is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply these words from the context. This phrase could mean: (1) Jesus proclaimed God’s victory over sin and death, which he accomplished through his death and resurrection. Alternate translation: [he proclaimed God’s victory] (2) Jesus preached the gospel to wicked people indirectly through the preaching of Noah during the time before the great flood. This interpretation is less likely to be correct, because it would mean that Noah was actually the one preaching and Peter does not mention Noah preaching or Jesus’ pre-incarnate existence anywhere in this letter. Alternate translation: [he preached the gospel]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τοῖς ἐν φυλακῇ πνεύμασιν

˱to˲_the in prison ˱to˲_spirits

Here, spirits could refer to: (1) evil spirits whom God imprisoned because of what they did before the flood that occurred in Noah’s time (See: [2 Peter 2:4–5](../2pe/02/04.md); [Jude 6–7](../jud/01/06.md); [Genesis 6:1–4](../gen/06/01.md)), as in the UST. (2) the spirits of people who died during the flood that occurred in Noah’s time. This interpretation is a less likely to be correct because Peter never refers to people as spirits, but rather “souls,” as in the next verse. Alternate translation: [to those people who had died and were in prison]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐν φυλακῇ

in in prison

Here Peter uses prison as a metaphor. It could refer to: (1) a place where God imprisoned certain evil spirits whom he will judge when he judges the whole world (See: [2 Peter 2:4–5](../2pe/02/04.md); [Jude 6–7](../jud/01/06.md)). Alternate translation: [whom God had imprisoned to await judgment] (2) the place where sinful people go when they die. Alternate translation: [in hell]

Parallel 1 PET 3:19

Section 3:8–22: God’s people may have to suffer for doing what is right

3:19–22

3:19

Parallel 1 PET 3:19