who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.
Parallel translations
- WEB who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
- KJV Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
- NKJV who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
- NASB who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
- NLT those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.
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
These spirits had been disobedient in Noah's day while God patiently waited, and only eight people were saved through water in the ark. God's patience has limits, yet he preserves his faithful remnant.
Overview
Peter ties the 'spirits in prison' to the rebellious generation of Noah's time, when God 'waited patiently' before the flood. Though disobedience was widespread, God rescued 'eight souls' through the ark, saved 'through water.' This account of judgment and salvation sets up Peter's connection to baptism in the following verse and assures a small, pressured church that God preserves his faithful few.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Heb 11:7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
- 2 Pet 2:5if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;
- Gen 6:3So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.”
- Gen 6:5Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
- Gen 8:18So Noah came out, along with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives.
- Gen 6:13Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.
- Rom 2:4–5Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
- Matt 7:14But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.
- Gen 7:13On that very day Noah entered the ark, along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and his wife, and the three wives of his sons—
- Gen 7:17–23For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and the waters rose and lifted the ark high above the earth.
- Matt 24:37–39As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
- 2 Cor 2:15–16For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
- Rom 9:22What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction?
- Gen 8:1But God remembered Noah and all the animals and livestock that were with him in the ark. And God sent a wind over the earth, and the waters began to subside.
- Luke 13:24–25“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.
- 2 Pet 3:15Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him.
- Luke 12:32Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
- Isa 30:18Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
- Luke 17:26–30Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
- Eph 5:26to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 3:20 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.