1 Peter 3:10

Mace New Testament

" He that desires to live in prosperity, must restrain his tongue from detraction, and his lips from uttering falsehood:

Parallel Translations

New American Standard Bible (1995)
For, "THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT.

Simplified Cowboy Version
The Good Book says, "If you want to enjoy the life you have, keep your tongue from speaking ill and your lips from telling lies.

Bible in Basic English
For it is said, Let the man who has a love of life, desiring to see good days, keep his tongue from evil and his lips from words of deceit:

Darby Translation
For he that will love life and see good days, let him cause his tongue to cease from evil and his lips that they speak no guile.

World English Bible
For, "He who would love life, And see good days, Let him keep his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For he that loveth life and desireth to see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips, that they speak no guile:

Weymouth's New Testament
For "He who wishes to be well-satisfied with life and see happy days-- let him restrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from deceitful words;

King James Version (1611)
For hee that will loue life, and see good dayes, let him refraine his tongue from euil, and his lips that they speake no guile:

Literal Translation
"For the one desiring to love life, and to see good days, let him restrain his tongue from evil, even his lips not to speak guile.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For who so listeth to lyue, and wolde fayne se good dayes, Let him refrayne his tonge from euell, and his lippes yt they speake no gyle.

Amplified Bible
For, "THE ONE WHO WANTS TO ENJOY LIFE AND SEE GOOD DAYS [good—whether apparent or not], MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FREE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING GUILE (treachery, deceit).

American Standard Version
For, He that would love life, And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips that they speak no guile:

Revised Standard Version
For "He that would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
If eny ma longe after life and loveth to se good dayes let him refrayne his tonge fro evyll and his lippes that they speake not gyle.

Update Bible Version
For, He that would love life, And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips that they speak no guile:

Webster's Bible Translation
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him restrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

Young's Literal Translation
for `he who is willing to love life, and to see good days, let him guard his tongue from evil, and his lips -- not to speak guile;

New Century Version
The Scripture says, "A person must do these things to enjoy life and have many happy days. He must not say evil things, and he must not tell lies.

New English Translation
For the one who wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from uttering deceit .

Berean Standard Bible
For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.

Contemporary English Version
"Do you really love life? Do you want to be happy? Then stop saying cruel things and quit telling lies.

Complete Jewish Bible
For "Whoever wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit,

English Standard Version
For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;

Geneva Bible (1587)
For if any man long after life, and to see good dayes, let him refraine his tongue from euill, and his lippes that they speake no guile.

George Lamsa Translation
Now, therefore, he who desires eternal life and wants to see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

Christian Standard Bible®
For the one who wants to love life and to see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit,

Hebrew Names Version
For, "He who would love life, And see good days, Let him keep his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.

International Standard Version
ForPsalm 34:12; James 1:26; 1 Peter 2:1,22; Revelation 14:5;">[xr] "the person who wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.

Etheridge Translation
Who then willeth life, And loveth good days to see ? Let him keep his tongue from evil, And his lips that they speak not guile.

Murdock Translation
Therefore, whoever chooseth life, and desireth to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile;

New King James Version
For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.

New Living Translation
For the Scriptures say, "If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.

New Life Bible
For "If you want joy in your life and have happy days, keep your tongue from saying bad things and your lips from talking bad about others.

English Revised Version
For, He that would love life, And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips that they speak no guile:

New Revised Standard
For "Those who desire life and desire to see good days, let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For, he that desireth to love, life, and to see good days, Let him cause his tongue to cease from mischief, and lips, that they speak not deceit;

Douay-Rheims Bible
For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.

King James Version
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

Lexham English Bible
For "The one who wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips must not speak deceit.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
For he that doeth long after lyfe, and loueth to see good dayes, let hym refrayne his tongue from euyll, and his lippes, that they speake no guyle.

Easy-to-Read Version
The Scriptures say, "If you want to enjoy true life and have only good days, then avoid saying anything hurtful, and never let a lie come out of your mouth.

New American Standard Bible
For, "THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT.

Good News Translation
As the scripture says, "If you want to enjoy life and wish to see good times, you must keep from speaking evil and stop telling lies.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For he that wole loue lijf, and se goode daies, constreyne his tunge from yuel, and hise lippis, that thei speke not gile.

Contextual Overview

⁸ In a word, live all of you in perfect agreement and sympathy, be full of fraternal love, compassion, and affability. ⁹ don't return evil for evil, nor calumny for calumny; on the contrary, bestow your benedictions, considering that your vocation obliges you thereto, as a means to obtain the divine blessing. ¹⁰ " He that desires to live in prosperity, must restrain his tongue from detraction, and his lips from uttering falsehood: ¹¹ he must avoid vice, practise virtue, seek peace, and persevere in the enquiry. ¹² for the eyes of the Lord are upon the virtuous, and his ears attend to their prayers, but the wicked he discountenances." ¹³ for who can hurt you, if you strive to excel in virtue. ¹⁴ However, if you suffer in the cause of virtue, it is your happiness: and instead of being over-awed by their threats, and struck with concern, ¹⁵ adore the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready to show with modesty and respect to every one that asks it, what ground there is for the expectations you have:

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

he: Psalms 34:12-16

love: Deuteronomy 32:47, Job 2:4, Proverbs 3:2, Proverbs 3:18, Proverbs 4:22, Proverbs 8:35, Matthew 19:17, Mark 8:35, John 12:25

see: Job 7:7, Job 7:8, Job 9:25, Job 33:28, Psalms 27:13, Psalms 49:19, Psalms 106:5, Ecclesiastes 2:3, Matthew 13:16, Matthew 13:17

refrain: James 1:26, James 3:1-10

speak: 1 Peter 2:1, 1 Peter 2:22, John 1:47, Revelation 14:5

Reciprocal: Genesis 43:31 - refrained Deuteronomy 6:2 - thy days Deuteronomy 25:15 - that thy days Psalms 25:13 - inherit Psalms 119:101 - refrained Proverbs 19:8 - loveth Matthew 15:8 - draweth Romans 12:9 - cleave Titus 3:2 - speak James 3:2 - If

Cross-References

1 John 3:20
for if our conscience condemn us, God knows us better than we do our selves, he knoweth all things.

Revelation 16:15
"I shall come with surprize, happy he that is upon the watch, and keepeth his garments pure, that his vices may not put him to shame."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For he that will love life,.... This, with what follows here and in the two next verses, are taken out of Psalms 34:12 and are produced as a proof of what is before said; that it is a good man's duty not to do or speak evil in return for what is done or said to him; but on the contrary, it becomes him to avoid evil, do good, and seek peace as much as possible, and leave it with a righteous God to vindicate him and his cause, who will not fail to do it; and that such shall inherit the blessing both here and hereafter: in the psalm, these words are put by way of question, "what man is he that desireth life?" that wills it with pleasure, that loves it with a love of complacency and delight? and which is to be understood, not of natural life; for what man is there that do not love that? love of a natural life is natural to men; it is a first principle in nature to desire life, and a preservation of it, and to a great length; a man will give all that he has for it, as Satan said, Job 2:4, but both of a spiritual life, a life of faith on Christ, communion with him, and holiness from him; the life of God, or to live soberly, righteously, and godly, which carnal men are alienated from, and enemies to, and cannot desire, only spiritual men; and of an eternal one; and so some of the Jewish interpreters u understand by life and good days, in the psalm, such as are both in this world, and in that which is to come:

and see good days; not the days of this life, which are evil, even the days of a good man, Genesis 47:9 and the more so, the longer he lives; for the days of old age are evil days, in which there is no pleasure, Ecclesiastes 12:1, unless such days are meant, in which much good is done to the honour and glory of God, and in which gracious souls enjoy much of God, and see and taste of his grace and goodness in the land of the living; though, rather, the good days of eternity, even length of days for ever and ever, which holy men of God shall see, and enjoy in the other world, when they shall be possessed of fulness of joy, and of pleasure for evermore: in the psalm it is, "and loveth [many] days, that he may see good"; desires a blessed eternity of good things:

let him refrain his tongue from evil; bridle that unruly member, which has a world of iniquity in it; let him keep it as with a bit, from the vices incident to it; from all obscene words, filthy and corrupt communication, whatever is unsavoury and unedifying; from lying, cursing, swearing, and particularly from railing and evil speaking, in return for such language, which is chiefly meant; as well as from belching out blasphemies against God, and damnable heresies among men; for whoever would be thought a religious man, and lays no restraint on his tongue, his religion is a vain thing, James 1:26 and his lips that they speak no guile; as flatterers do, who speak that with their mouth which does not agree with their heart, and so beguile and deceive persons; and as false teachers, who use dishonest arts, walk in craftiness, handle the word of God deceitfully, use ambiguous phrases, and words of double meaning, and with their good words, and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple but such things do not become persons that seek for glory, honour, and immortality; that profess to be Israelites indeed; in these guile should not be found in their lips, nor in their lives.

u Kimchi in Psal. xxxiv. 17.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For he that will love life - Greek, “He willing, (θέλων thelōn,) or that wills to love life.” It implies that there is some positive desire to live; some active wish that life should be prolonged. This whole passage 1 Peter 3:10-12 is taken, with some slight variations, from Psalms 34:12-16. In the Psalm this expression is, “What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?” The sense is substantially the same. It is implied here that it is right to love life, and to desire many days. The desire of this is referred to by the psalmist and by the apostle, without any expression of disapprobation, and the way is shown by which length of days may be secured. Life is a blessing; a precious gift of God. We are taught so to regard it by the instinctive feelings of our nature; for we are so made as to love it, and to dread its extinction. Though we should be prepared to resign it when God commands, yet there are important reasons why we should desire to live. Among them are the following:

(1) Because, as already intimated, life, as such, is to be regarded as a blessing. We instinctively shrink back from death, as one of the greatest evils; we shudder at the thought of annihilation. It is not wrong to love that, in proper degree, which, by our very nature, we are prompted to love; and we are but acting out one of the universal laws which our Creator has impressed on us, when, with proper submission to his will, we seek “to lengthen out our days as far as possible.

(2) That we may see the works of God, and survey the wonders of his hand on earth. The world is full of wonders, evincing the wisdom and goodness of the Deity; and the longest life, nay, many such lives as are allotted to us here, could be well employed in studying his works and ways.

(3) That we may make preparation for eternity. Man may, indeed, make preparation in a very brief period; but the longest life is not too much to examine and settle the question whether we have a well-founded hope of heaven. If man had nothing else to do, the longest life could be well employed in inquiries that grow out of the question whether we are suited for the world to come. In the possibility, too, of being deceived, and in view of the awful consequences that will result from deception, it is desirable that length of days should be given us that we may bring the subject to the severest test, and so determine it, that we may go sure to the changeless world.

(4) That we may do good to others. We may, indeed, do good in another world; but there are ways of doing good which are probably confined to this. What good we may do hereafter to the inhabitants of distant worlds, or what ministrations, in company with angels, or without them, we may exercise toward the friends of God on earth after we leave it, we do not know; but there are certain things which we are morally certain we shall not be permitted to do in the future world. We shall not:

(a)Personally labor for the salvation of sinners, by conversation and other direct efforts;

(b)We shall not illustrate the influence of religion by example in sustaining us in trials, subduing and controlling our passions, and making us dead to the world;

(c)We shall not be permitted to pray for our impenitent friends and kindred, as we may now;

(d)We shall not have the opportunity of contributing of our substance for the spread of the gospel, or of going personally to preach the gospel to the perishing;

(e)We shall not be employed in instructing the ignorant, in advocating the cause of the oppressed and the wronged, in seeking to remove the fetters from the slave, in dispensing mercy to the insane, or in visiting the prisoner in his lonely cell;

(f)We shall not have it in our power to address a kind word to an impenitent child, or seek to guide him in paths of truth, purity, and salvation.

What we can do personally and directly for the salvation of others is to be done in this world; and, considering how much there is to be done, and how useful life may be on the earth, it is an object which we should desire, that our days may be lengthened out, and should use all proper means that it may be done. While we should ever be ready and willing to depart when God calls us to go; while we should not wish to linger on these mortal shores beyond the time when we may be useful to others, yet, as long as he permits us to live, we should regard life as a blessing, and should pray that, if it be his will, we may not be cut down in the midst of our way.

“Love not thy life, nor hate; but what thou livest.

Live well; how long, or short, permit to heaven.”

Paradise Lost.

And see good days - In the Psalm Psalms 34:12 this is, “and loveth many days, that he may see good.” The quotation by Peter throughout the passage is taken from the Septuagint, excepting that there is a change of the person from the second to the third: in the psalm, e. g., “refrain thy tongue from evil,” etc.; in the quotation, “let him refrain his tongue from evil,” etc. “Good days” are prosperous days; happy days; days of usefulness; days in which we may be respected and loved.

Let him refrain his tongue from evil - The general meaning of all that is said here is, “let him lead an upright and pious life; doing evil to no one, but seeking the good of all men.” To refrain the tongue from evil, is to avoid all slander, falsehood; “obscenity, and profaneness, and to abstain from uttering erroneous and false opinions. Compare James 1:26; James 3:2.

And his lips that they speak no guile - No deceit; nothing that will lead others astray. The words should be an exact representation of the truth. Rosenmuller quotes a passage from the Hebrew book Musar, which may be not an inappropriate illustration of this: “A certain Assyrian wandering through the city, cried and said, “Who will receive the elixir of life?” The daughter of Rabbi Jodus heard him, and went and told her father. “Call him in,” said he. When he came in, Rabbi Jannei said to him, “What is that elixir of life which thou art selling?” He said to him, “Is it not written, What man is he that desireth life, and loveth days that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile. Lo, this is the elixir of life which is in the mouth of a man!””

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 10. For he that will love life — This is a quotation from Psalms 34:12-16, as it stands in the Septuagint; only the aorist of the imperative is changed from the second into the third person, c. 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 away. He who lives thus must live happy in himself. And as excess in action and passion always tends to the shortening of life, and nothing preys on the constitution more than disorderly passions, he must live not only happiest but longest who avoids them. It is an edifying story that is told in the book Mussar, chap. 1., quoted by Rosenmuller: "A certain person, travelling through the city, continued to call out, Who wants the elixir of life? The daughter of Rabbi Joda heard him, and told her father. He said, Call the man in. When he came in, the rabbi said, What is that elixir of life thou sellest? He answered, Is it not written, What man is he that loveth life, and desireth to see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile? This is the elixir of life, and is found in the mouth of man."