SEV Biblia, Chapter 4:18
Y si el justo con dificultad se salva; ¿en dnde aparecer el infiel y el pecador?
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 1 Peter 4:18
Verse 18. And if the righteous scarcely be saved] If it shall be with extreme difficulty that the Christians shall escape from Jerusalem, when the Roman armies shall come against it with the full commission to destroy it, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Where shall the proud Pharisaic boaster in his own outside holiness, and the profligate transgressor of the laws of God, show themselves, as having escaped the Divine vengeance? The Christians, though with difficulty, did escape, every man; but not one of the Jews escaped, whether found in Jerusalem or elsewhere. It is rather strange, but it is a fact, that this verse is the Septuagint translation of Prov. xi. x21: Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more the wicked and the sinner. For this the Septuagint and St. Peter have, If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Such a latitude of construction can scarcely be accounted for. The original is this: atwjt [r yk Pa ly rab qydx h hen tsaddik baarets yeshullam, aph ki rasha vechote: "Behold, to the righteous it shall be returned on the earth; and also to the wicked and the transgressor." The Chaldee paraphrast has given this a different turn: Behold, the righteous shall be strengthened in the earth; but the ungodly and the sinners shall be consumed from the earth.
The Syriac thus: If the righteous scarcely live, the ungodly and the sinner where shall he stand? The Arabic is nearly the same as the Septuagint and the apostle; the Vulgate follows the Hebrew.
I have on several occasions shown that, when Cestius Gallus came against Jerusalem, many Christians were shut up in it; when he strangely raised the siege the Christians immediately departed to Pella in Coele-syria, into the dominions of King Agrippa, who was an ally of the Romans, and there they were in safety; and it appears, from the ecclesiastical historians, that they had but barely time to leave the city before the Romans returned under the command of Titus, and never left the place till they had destroyed the temple, razed the city to the ground, slain upwards of a million of those wretched people, and put an end to their civil polity and ecclesiastical state.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 18. And if the righteous scarcely be saved , etc.] Reference is had to ( Proverbs 11:31) where in the Septuagint version are the same words as here: the righteous are such, not who are so in their own opinion, or merely in the esteem of others, nor on account of their vility, morality, and external righteousness before men, or by the deeds of the law; but who are made righteous by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them: and such are scarcely saved; not as if they were but in part saved, for they are completely saved; Christ has wrought out and finished a complete salvation for them; and they are saved from all enemies, and everything that might hurt them; from sin, Satan, the law, the world, hell, and death; and they are completely justified, and have all their sins pardoned, and shall be perfectly saved: nor as if their salvation was doubtful; for though they are scarcely, yet certainly saved; for they are chosen to salvation, and Christ has obtained it for them, and they have the application of it already made to them by the blessed Spirit; and being justified, or made righteous persons, nothing is more certain than that they shall be glorified: but they are said to be scarcely saved, because of the difficulty of it, both with respect to Christ, who met with difficulties in working out their salvation; by reason of the strictness of divine justice, and the demands of the righteous law, which would make no abatement; the sins of his people he had to bear, and make atonement for; the many enemies he had to grapple with, and the accursed death of the cross, he had to undergo; though they were such he was able to surmount, and did: and especially with respect to the saints themselves; for though their salvation is certain and complete, being finished by Christ, yet their enjoyment of it is attended with many difficulties; by reason of the corruptions of nature, a law in their members warring against the law of their minds; the frequent temptations of Satan, who seeks to devour them, and their wrestlings with principalities and powers, which are above their match; and also by reason of various afflictions and persecutions, and many tribulations, which make their way to eternal life a strait way, and through which they must enter into the kingdom of heaven: and if this be their case, as it is, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear ? the profane sinner, the Christless, impenitent, unbelieving, and unregenerate man; otherwise all men are sinners, in themselves; but here it means such as are destitute of the sanctifying grace of the Spirit, and the justifying righteousness of Christ, and that live and die in their sins: where shall such appear? not in the congregation of the righteous; nor at the right hand of Christ; nor in heaven, into which no defiled sinner shall enter; nor even on earth, among and under the rocks and mountains, which will not be able to hide them from the face of the Judge, and his wrath, when he shall come; but at Christ's left hand, and in hell, and among the devils and damned there.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 12-19 - By patience and fortitude in suffering, by dependence on the promise of God, and keeping to the word the Holy Spirit hath revealed, the Holy Spirit is glorified; but by the contempt and reproaches cast upo believers, he is evil spoken of, and is blasphemed. One would thin such cautions as these were needless to Christians. But their enemie falsely charged them with foul crimes. And even the best of men need to be warned against the worst of sins. There is no comfort in sufferings when we bring them upon ourselves by our own sin and folly. A time of universal calamity was at hand, as foretold by our Saviour, Mt 24:9 10. And if such things befall in this life, how awful will the day of judgment be! It is true that the righteous are scarcely saved; eve those who endeavour to walk uprightly in the ways of God. This does no mean that the purpose and performance of God are uncertain, but onl the great difficulties and hard encounters in the way; that they go through so many temptations and tribulations, so many fightings withou and fears within. Yet all outward difficulties would be as nothing were it not for lusts and corruptions within. These are the worst clog and troubles. And if the way of the righteous be so hard, then how har shall be the end of the ungodly sinner, who walks in sin with delight and thinks the righteous is a fool for all his pains! The only way to keep the soul well, is, to commit it to God by prayer, and patien perseverance in well-doing. He will overrule all to the final advantag of the believer __________________________________________________________________
Greek Textus Receptus
ωστε 5620 CONJ και 2532 CONJ οι 3588 T-NPM πασχοντες 3958 5723 V-PAP-NPM κατα 2596 PREP το 3588 T-ASN θελημα 2307 N-ASN του 3588 T-GSM θεου 2316 N-GSM ως 5613 ADV πιστω 4103 A-DSM κτιστη 2939 N-DSM παρατιθεσθωσαν 3908 5744 V-PPM-3P τας 3588 T-APF ψυχας 5590 N-APF εαυτων 1438 F-3GPM εν 1722 PREP αγαθοποιια 16 N-DSF
