1 Peter 3:11

Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
eschew	ἐκκλινάτω ekklinatō	G1578	to deviate · verb — aorist active imperative, 3rd person singular
evil	κακοῦ kakou	G2556	worthless (intrinsically · adjective — genitive singular neuter
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
do	ποιησάτω poiēsatō	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — aorist active imperative, 3rd person singular
good	ἀγαθόν, agathon	G18	"good" (in any sense · adjective — accusative singular neuter
seek	ζητησάτω zētēsatō	G2212	to seek (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist active imperative, 3rd person singular
peace	εἰρήνην eirēnēn	G1515	peace (literally or figuratively) · noun — accusative singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
ensue	διωξάτω diōxatō	G1377	compare the base of G1169 (δειλός) and G1249 (διάκονος)) · verb — aorist active imperative, 3rd person singular
it	αὐτήν. autēn	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Psalms 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Romans 14:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Romans 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Peter 3:8-15

The apostle here passes from special to more general exhortations. I. He teaches us how Christians and friends should treat one another. He advises Christians to be all of one mind, to be unanimous in the belief of the same faith, and the practice of the same duties of religion; and, whereas the Christians at that time were many of them in a suffering condition, he charges them to have compassion one of another, to love as brethren, to pity those who were in distress, and to be courteous to all. Hence learn, 1. Christians should endeavour to be all of one mind in the great points of faith, in real affection, and in Christian practice; they should be like-minded one to another, according to C…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Peter 3:11

In oldest manuscripts, Greek, "Moreover (besides his words, in acts), let him." eschew--"turn from." ensue--pursue as a thing hard to attain, and that flees from one in this troublesome world.

Adam Clarke on 1 Peter 3:10

For he that will love life - This is a quotation from Psa 34:12-16, as it stands in the Septuagint; only the aorist of the imperative is changed from the second into the third person, etc. He who wishes to live long and prosperously, must act as he is here directed. 1. He must refrain from evil-speaking, lying, and slandering. 2. He must avoid flattery and fair speeches, which cover hypocritical or wicked intentions. 3. He must avoid evil, keep going away εκκλινατω, from evil. 4. He must do good; he must walk in the way of righteousness. 5. He must live peaceably with all men; seek peace where it has been lost; restore it where it has been broken; and pursue it where it seems to be flying aw…

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John Gill on 1 Peter 3:11

Let him eschew evil,.... Avoid all kinds of evil, hate it, abstain from the appearance of it, and have no fellowship with it; and particularly should avoid rendering evil for evil, or taking revenge on persons for doing him ill: and do good; everything that is good, all good works, according to the will of God, in the exercise of faith, from a principle of love, and with a view to the glory of God; and without trusting to them, and depending upon them for life and salvation; and particularly do good for evil; do good to all men, acts of kindness and beneficence, even to enemies, and especially to them that are of the household of faith. The Jewish interpreters (w) on the psalm from whence t…

The Church Fathers

These things do not come naturally to us, for bad thoughts are always entering our minds. But if a man is wise, he will put them aside and in their place choose thoughts which will be advantageous and profitable for him. This, I believe, is what it means to turn away from evil.
— John Chrysostom, CATENA

And if I glance around at their examples-(examples) of some David heaping up marriages for himself even through sanguinary means, of some Solomon rich in wives as well as in other riches-you are bidden to "follow the better things; " and you have withal Joseph but once wedded, and on this score I venture to say better than his father; you have Moses, the intimate eye-witness of God; you have Aaron the chief priest.
— Tertullian, On Monogamy

Exhortations and encouragements to godliness are of fundamental importance. It is essential to turn away from the tendency toward evil and from the evil path of acquiescence in wickedness, so as to reach out to what is good. We must first distance ourselves completely from everything evil if we want to enjoy genuine health, free from all disease. The person who seeks peace seeks Christ, for he is our peace, who made us both—Jew and Gentile—one new man, bringing peace by the blood of his cross. He will find it through faith, because our God and Father has called us to this inheritance.
— Basil of Caesarea, CATENA

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Eschew — From old French eschever, “to flee from” (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3; 1 Pet. 3:11).
Holiness · 2:17;5:22-25;6:15; — 2:17;5:22-25;6:15;
Longevity · 65:20; — 65:20;
Meekness · 1:4,19,21;3:13,17,18; — 1:4,19,21;3:13,17,18;
Peace · 12:18;14:19; — 12:18;14:19;
Reward · 6:1-3; — 6:1-3;
Righteousness · 2:17;7:10,11;9:10;10:5;13:5; — 2:17;7:10,11;9:10;10:5;13:5;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Peter 3:11

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Peter 3:8-15

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Peter 3:11

Adam Clarke on 1 Peter 3:10

John Gill on 1 Peter 3:11

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Peter 3:11

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Peter 3:8-15

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Peter 3:11

Adam Clarke on 1 Peter 3:10

John Gill on 1 Peter 3:11

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on 1 Peter 3:10-14

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Peter 3:10-12