Not a Greek expert...participles as commands?
Could someone explain why in 1 Pet 1:13 the NASB translates the 2 participles as imperatives? Are they "sharing" the imperativeness from "fix your hope"?
Thanks for your help!
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Could someone explain why in 1 Pet 1:13 the NASB translates the 2 participles as imperatives?
I don't know why the translators made that choice but they are not alone
And I found these comments helpful:
It has been thought that the author of 1 Peter commonly uses participles as imperatives (Grudem 1988: 76; Michaels 1988: 51; Moulton 1985: 181; Snyder 1995; Stibbs 1979: 85), but it is not clear that this is how they are being used here. Rather, the two participial phrases, literally, “binding up the loins of your mind” (ἀναζωσάμενοι τὰς ὀσφύας τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν, anazōsamenoi tas osphyas tēs dianoias hymōn) and “being self-controlled” (νήφοντες, nēphontes), are probably adverbial (for a discussion of imperatival participles in 1 Peter, see the second additional note on 1:13). The first specifies the mode in which one is to set one’s hope fully, by preparing one’s mind for action; the second indicates the mode by which one “binds up the loins of one’s mind,” by being self-controlled. They both acquire an imperative sense by virtue of their relationship to the main verb, elpisate, which is in the imperative mood.
Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005), 110–111.
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"They both acquire an imperative sense by virtue of their relationship to the main verb, elpisate, which is in the imperative mood."
Yes, this is what I'm thinking. I'm wondering if it's a "rule". This came to my attention today as I'm looking at James 1:21 where the ESV translates the part as an imperative..."put away all filthiness...." This part. comes prior to the imperative "receive".
Wondering if there is a rule to help guide the translation. I'm guessing there isn't since I find these conflicting examples...Here ESV translates it as an imp but in 1 Pet 1:13 as a part.
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The most well-known example of these is the Great Commission.
If you want to win some trivia contests, ask what the first command is in the Great Commission. (Hint: There's only one imperative verb...'make disciples.') 'Go,' 'baptize,' and 'teach' are all participles.
Eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a van down by the river.
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Wondering if there is a rule to help guide the translation. I'm guessing there isn't since I find these conflicting examples...Here ESV translates it as an imp but in 1 Pet 1:13 as a part.
Logos has some tagging related to this. If you want to examine more examples, try this search:
SGNTSyntacticForce:"participle with imperative force"
Maybe finding some more verse examples will help you find more discussions in the grammars in your library.
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Some other GREAT advice.
I learn best by example/illustration. If I said "Answer the door by getting off the couch!" 'getting' is participial, but has imperative force. You can't 'answer the door' without 'getting off the couch'
One can't set his hope firmly without preparing the mind and being sober-minded.
Making Disciples! Logos Ecosystem = LogosMax on Microsoft Surface Pro 7 (Win11), Android app on tablet, FSB on iPhone & iPad mini, Proclaim (Proclaim Remote on Fire Tablet).
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That makes sense. Thank you for that. The part. before the imperative is a necessary condition for the command and thus have an imperatival force. Is that right?
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The urgent mood is used to deliver directives probably most frequently in the Bible. If the verb is in the imperative form, it tells us we are supposed to do something. Yet, a participle can also be used frequently with imperatival force. The distinction between an imperative and a participle may matter when multiple orders are given at once. The behaviors demanded or commanded by a participle may be seen as inferior to the message sent by an imperative.
For such purposes, Peter sees no great value in excessive subtlety. The genitive τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν makes it obvious even to the most literal-minded of readers that he is speaking metaphorically, and at the same time interprets the metaphor (in 4:1 the metaphor of “arming” oneself is similarly interpreted with reference to one’s ἔννοια, or “intention”). It is likely that in focusing on the διανοια (“mind” or “understanding”) of his readers, Peter has in view not the natural human intellect but a capacity that is theirs by virtue of their redemption in Jesus Christ (contrast the ἄγνοια of their former way of life in v 14; Paul describes the unbelieving Gentiles in Eph 4:18 as darkened “in their understanding” [τῆ διανοίᾳ] and alienated from God because of their “ignorance” [διά τὴν ἄγνοιαν]). The currency of the term διάνοια in the Roman church to refer to the heart of the Christian turned toward God can be seen in 1 Clement (21.8, 35.5, and 36.2), although it was also applied to the natural intellect (33.4) and, in 2 Clement (1.6, 19.2), to the darkened mind of the pagan, as in Eph 4:18. Peter’s choice of the term may also have been influenced by the Gospel tradition (Mark 12:30 // Matt 22:37 // Luke 10:27) and/or the LXX texts of Deut 6:5 on which the Gospel writers’ quotations were based. Certainly the emphasis on fastening one’s understanding totally on a single supreme purpose aptly builds on the thought of Jesus’ reference to Deut 6:4–6. Peter believes the time has come for those who love God with heart and soul and mind to prepare themselves with the same concentration for “the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
J. Ramsey Michaels, 1 Peter, vol. 49 of Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1988), 54–55.
While most modern translations render the first phrase of 1 Peter 1:13 as something along the lines of “preparing your minds for action” (ESV), a fascinating word-picture lies at the background of this phrase. The KJV captures this image in the translation “gird up the loins of your mind.” In ancient society, both men and women generally wore robes or tunics. Although equestrian “nomadic herders” from China wore pants as early as ca. 1,000 BC (see Bower 2014), pants were extremely rare in ancient society. In biblical times, men “wore the kethoneth, a knee-length, wool tunic with half sleeves,” which “was held at the waist with a belt” (Matthews 2015, 21). The higher class, including priests and members of the royal family, wore a type of robe known as the me’il (Matthews 2015, 126). Performing certain activities in such a garment, especially the longer robes, would present quite a challenge. The act of “girding it up” consisted of collecting the extremities of the robe and tucking them into the belt, thus freeing the legs for running and other rigorous activities. Elliot (2000, 355) and Jobes (2005, 111) suggest that “rolling up the shirt sleeves” is an equivalent modern metaphor and both note a possible allusion to Exodus 12:11. What does this phrase mean on the spiritual level? Since the adverbial participial phrase “gird up the loins of your mind” modifies the imperative “hope,” Jobes (2005, 111) correctly states, “Peter’s point is that one sets one’s hope on future grace, not by idle wishfulness or unfounded optimism, but by a mental resolve to live in such a way as to manifest the ‘living hope’ of the Christian believer.” This is further clarified by the words connected to the second participle, nēphontesPaul A. Himes, 1 Peter, ed. Douglas Mangum, Elizabeth Vince, and Abigail Salinger, Lexham Research Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), 1 Pe 1:13.
These are two good articles as well: Clothing and Personal Adornment (Matthews 2015, 126–28) and Physical Appearance and Fashion (Matthews 2015, 20–22) | The Cultural World of the Bible: An Illustrated Guide to Manners and Customs
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The distinction between an imperative and a participle may matter when multiple orders are given at once. The behaviors demanded or commanded by a participle may be seen as inferior to the message sent by an imperative.
Makes sense! Thanks.
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