Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
Parallel translations
- WEB Now who is he who will harm you, if you become imitators of that which is good?
- KJV And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
- NKJV And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?
- NASB And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?
- NLT Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Generally, no one will harm those who are eager to do good. A life devoted to good usually disarms hostility.
Overview
Peter asks rhetorically who would harm those passionate for good, expecting that zealous goodness normally wins favor rather than persecution. This is a general principle, not an absolute guarantee, as the very next verse acknowledges that righteous suffering does occur. It encourages believers that doing good is the wisest and safest path, even in a hostile setting.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Prov 16:7When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.
- Rom 8:28And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- 1 Th 5:15Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
- 3 Jn 1:11Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
- Ps 38:20Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.
- Rom 13:3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval.
- 1 Cor 14:1Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.
- 1 Tim 5:10and well known for good deeds such as bringing up children, entertaining strangers, washing the feet of the saints, imparting relief to the afflicted, and devoting herself to every good work.
- Prov 15:9The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but He loves those who pursue righteousness.
- Eph 5:1Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children,
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Christ at the center
The lamb without blemish foreknown before the world, who bore our sins in his body on the tree, by whose wounds we are healed — the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.
How 1 Peter 3:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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