3.2.4 Commands in 1 Peter

Commands in 1 Peter The Greek text contains 35 finite imperative verbs: 25 aorist imperatives and 10 present imperatives. The wording below is a concise English paraphrase rather than a quotation from one particular translation. MorphGNT Greek text and parsing, imperative count.

Chapter 1

1. 1:13 — Set your hope fully on the grace to be given when Jesus Christ is revealed.
2. 1:15 — Be holy in all your conduct.
3. 1:17 — Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your earthly exile.
4. 1:22 — Love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

• 1:13 — Prepare your minds for action; be sober-minded.
• 1:14 — Do not conform yourselves to your former desires.
• 1:16 — “You shall be holy, because I am holy.” This quotation reiterates 1:15.

Chapter 2

5. 2:2 — Long for pure spiritual milk, so that through it you may grow into salvation.
6. 2:13 — Submit to every human authority for the Lord’s sake.
7. 2:17 — Honor everyone.
8. 2:17 — Love the family of believers.
9. 2:17 — Fear God.
10. 2:17 — Honor the emperor.

• 2:1 — Put away all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.
• 2:11 — Abstain from fleshly desires that wage war against the soul.
• 2:12 — Maintain honorable conduct among unbelievers.
• 2:16 — Live as free people, but do not use freedom as a cover for evil; live as God’s servants.
• 2:18 — Household servants, submit to your masters with proper respect.

Chapter 3

11. 3:3–4 — Do not let your adornment be merely external; let it be the hidden person of the heart, characterized by a gentle and quiet spirit.
12. 3:10 — Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.
13. 3:11 — Turn away from evil.
14. 3:11 — Do good.
15. 3:11 — Seek peace.
16. 3:11 — Pursue peace.
17. 3:15 — Honor—or set apart—Christ as Lord in your hearts. Commands 12–16 occur in Peter’s quotation of Psalm 34, but they remain grammatical imperatives within the epistle.

• 3:1 — Wives, submit to your own husbands.
• 3:6 — Do good and do not give way to fear.
• 3:7 — Husbands, live considerately with your wives and show them honor as fellow heirs of grace.
• 3:8 — Be united in mind, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, and humble.
• 3:9 — Do not repay evil for evil or insult for insult; instead, bless.
• 3:14 — Do not fear their threats, and do not be troubled.
• 3:15–16 — Always be ready to explain your hope, doing so with gentleness, respect, and a clear conscience.

Chapter 4

18. 4:1 — Arm yourselves with Christ’s attitude toward suffering.
19. 4:7 — Be self-controlled.
20. 4:7 — Be sober-minded for the sake of prayer.
21. 4:12 — Do not be surprised by the fiery trial among you.
22. 4:13 — Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings.
23. 4:15 — Let none of you suffer as a murderer, thief, evildoer, or meddler.
24. 4:16 — If someone suffers as a Christian, let that person not be ashamed.
25. 4:16 — Let that person glorify God for bearing Christ’s name.
26. 4:19 — Let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to their faithful Creator while doing good.

• 4:8 — Maintain earnest love for one another.
• 4:9 — Be hospitable to one another without complaining.
• 4:10 — Use your gifts to serve one another as faithful stewards of God’s grace.
• 4:11 — Speak as one communicating God’s words; serve with the strength God supplies.

Chapter 5

27. 5:2 — Shepherd God’s flock among you.
28. 5:5 — Younger believers, submit yourselves to the elders.
29. 5:5 — All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.
30. 5:6 — Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand.
31. 5:8 — Be sober-minded.
32. 5:8 — Be watchful.
33. 5:9 — Resist the devil, firm in the faith.
34. 5:12 — Stand firm in the true grace of God.
35. 5:14 — Greet one another with a kiss of love.

• 5:2–3 — Exercise oversight willingly and eagerly, not for dishonest gain; do not domineer over those entrusted to you, but become examples to the flock.
• 5:7 — Cast all your anxieties on God because he cares for you.

Additional command-like instructions

Several instructions are not finite Greek imperatives. They are participles, infinitives, adjectives, or prohibitive subjunctives that English translations frequently render as commands. Their exact grammatical classification is sometimes debated, but a comprehensive study should include them:

Thus, 35 is the precise count when “commands” means finite Greek imperatives. The second list captures the broader set of exhortations that function as commands in the letter. The complete English text can be checked in the public-domain World English Bible edition of 1 Peter.