SEV Biblia, Chapter 4:3
Porque nos debe bastar que el tiempo pasado de nuestra vida hayamos hecho la voluntad de los gentiles, cuando conversbamos en lascivias, en concupiscencias, en embriagueces, en glotonerías, en orgías, y en abominables idolatrías.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 1 Peter 4:3
Verse 3. The time past of our life] This is a complete epitome of the Gentile or heathen state, and a proof that those had been Gentiles to whom the apostle wrote. 1. They walked in lasciviousness, en aselgeiaiv? every species of lechery, lewdness, and impurity.
2. In lusts, epiqumiaiv? strong irregular appetites, and desires of all kinds.
3. In excess of wine, oinoflugiaiv? wine, and fluw, to be hot, or to boil; to be inflamed with wine; they were in continual debauches.
4. In revellings, kwmoiv? lascivious feastings, with drunken songs, &c. See the note on Rom. xiii. 13.
5. In banquetings, potoiv? wine feasts, drinking matches, &c.
6. In abominable idolatries, aqemitoiv eidwlolatreiaiv? that is, the abominations practised at their idol feasts, where they not only worshipped the idol, but did it with the most impure, obscene, and abominable rites. This was the general state of the Gentile world; and with this monstrous wickedness Christianity had everywhere to struggle.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 3. For the time past of our life may suffice us , etc.] The word our is left out in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions. The Arabic version reads, the time of your past life; and to the same purpose the Ethiopic version; and which seems to be the more agreeable reading, since it can hardly be thought that the apostle would put himself among the Jews dispersed among the Gentiles, who had walked with them in their unregeneracy, in all the sins hereafter mentioned, and best agrees with the following verse: to have wrought the will of the Gentiles ; or when ye wrought, as the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions; when we walked , or were walking in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries. These converted persons, in the past time of their life, before conversion, walked in sin; which denotes a series and course of sinning, a persisting and progress in it, with delight and pleasure, promising themselves security and impunity: the particular sins they walked in are reducible to these three heads, unchastity, intemperance, and idolatry: in lasciviousness, lusts ; which belong to the head of uncleanness, and take in all kinds of it; as fornication, adultery, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural lusts: excess of wine, revellings, banquetings ; which refer to intemperance of every sort, by eating or drinking: as gluttony, drunkenness, surfeitings, and all luxurious feasts and entertainments, attended with riotings, revellings, and obscene songs; and which are here mentioned in the Syriac and Arabic versions, and which lead to lasciviousness, and every unclean lust: and abominable idolatries ; which some understand of worshipping of angels; but they seem rather to intend the idolatries the Jews were led into by the feasts of the Gentiles, either at their own houses, or in the idol's temple; by which means they were gradually brought to idolatry, and to all the wickedness and abominations committed by them at such times: and it is easy to observe, that the two former, uncleanness and intemperance, often lead men into idolatry; (see Exodus 32:6 Numbers 25:1,2).
Now when they walked in these things, they wrought the will of the Gentiles; they did the things which the sinners of the Gentiles, the worst of men, that knew not God, took pleasure in, and what they would have others do; and therefore, since the past time of their life had been spent in such a way, it was sufficient, and more than sufficient; (see Ezekiel 44:6), for no time is allowable for sin; and therefore it became them for the future, and in the remaining part of life, to behave in another manner; not to do the will of the Gentiles, but the will of God; to which that grace of God obliged them, that had made a difference between what they were themselves formerly, and themselves now, and between themselves, and others.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-6 - The strongest and best arguments against sin, are taken from the sufferings of Christ. He died to destroy sin; and though he cheerfull submitted to the worst sufferings, yet he never gave way to the leas sin. Temptations could not prevail, were it not for man's ow corruption; but true Christians make the will of God, not their ow lust or desires, the rule of their lives and actions. And tru conversion makes a marvellous change in the heart and life. It alter the mind, judgment, affections, and conversation. When a man is trul converted, it is very grievous to him to think how the time past of his life has been spent. One sin draws on another. Six sins are her mentioned which have dependence one upon another. It is a Christian' duty, not only to keep from gross wickedness, but also from things tha lead to sin, or appear evil. The gospel had been preached to thos since dead, who by the proud and carnal judgment of wicked men wer condemned as evil-doers, some even suffering death. But being quickene to Divine life by the Holy Spirit, they lived to God as his devote servants. Let not believers care, though the world scorns an reproaches them.
Greek Textus Receptus
αρκετος 713 γαρ 1063 ημιν 2254 ο 3588 παρεληλυθως 3928 5756 χρονος 5550 του 3588 βιου 979 το 3588 θελημα 2307 των 3588 εθνων 1484 κατεργασασθαι 2716 5664 πεπορευμενους 4198 5768 εν 1722 ασελγειαις 766 επιθυμιαις 1939 οινοφλυγιαις 3632 κωμοις 2970 ποτοις 4224 και 2532 αθεμιτοις 111 ειδωλολατρειαις 1495
Vincent's NT Word Studies
3. For the time past, etc. Compare Rom. xiii. 13. Us (hmin). The best texts omit.
Of our life (tou biou). The best texts omit.
Will (boulhma, the better reading for qelhma). Desire, inclination. See on Matt. i. 19.
When we walked (peporeumenouv). Rev., rightly, ye walked. Construe with to have wrought. The time past may suffice for you to have wrought the desire, etc., walking as ye have done; the perfect participle having an inferential reference to a course of life now done with.
Lasciviousness (aselgeiav). The following enumeration of vices is characteristic of Peter's style in its fulness and condensation. He enumerates six forms of sensuality, three personal and three social:
(1) 'Aselgeiaiv, wantonness. See on Mark vii. 22. Excesses of all kinds, with possibly an emphasis on sins of uncleanness.
(2) 'Epiqumiaiv, lusts. See on Mark iv. 19. Pointing especially to fleshly lusts, "the inner principles of licentiousness" (Cook).
(3) Oijnoflugiaiv, excess of wine. Only here in New Testament. The kindred verb occurs in the Septuagint, Deut. xxi. 20; Isa. xlvi. 12. From oinov, wine, and flew or fluw, to teem with abundance; thence to boil over or bubble up, overflow. It is the excessive, insatiate desire for drink, form which comes the use of the word for the indulgence of the desire - debauch. So Rev., wine-bibbings. The remaining three are revellings, banquetings, and idolatries.
Revellings (kwmoiv). The word originally signifies merely a merry-making; most probably a village festival, from kwmh, a village. In the cities such entertainments grew into carouses, in which the party of revellers paraded the streets with torches, singing, dancing, and all kinds of frolics. These revels also entered into religious observances, especially in the worship of Bacchus, Demeter, and the Idaean Zeus in Crete. The fanatic and orgiastic rites of Egypt, Asia Minor, and Thrace became engrafted on the old religion. Socrates, in the introduction to "The Republic," pictures himself as having gone down to the Piraeus to see the celebration of the festival of Bendis, the Thracian Artemis (Diana); and as being told by one of his companions that, in the evening, there is to be a torch-race with horses in honor of the goddess. The rites grew furious and ecstatic. "Crowds of women, clothed with fawns' skins, and bearing the sanctified thyrsus (a staff wreathed with vine-leaves) flocked to the solitudes of Parnassus, Kithaeron, or Taygetus during the consecrated triennial period, and abandoned themselves to demonstrations of frantic excitement, and dancing and clamorous invocation of the God. They were said to tear animals limb from limb, to devour the raw flesh, and to cut themselves without feeling the wound. The men yielded to a similar impulse by noisy revels in the streets, sounding the cymbals and tambourine, and carrying the image of the God in procession" (Grote, "History of Greece"). Peter, in his introduction, addresses the sojourners in Galatia, where the Phrygian worship of Cybele, the great mother of the gods, prevailed, with its wild orgies and hideous mutilations. Lucretius thus describes the rites:
"With vigorous hand the clamorous drum they rouse, And wake the sounding cymbal; the hoarse horn Pours forth its threatening music, and the pipe, With Phrygian airs distracts the maddening mind, While arms of blood the fierce enthusiasts wield To fright the unrighteous crowds, and bend profound Their impious souls before the power divine. Thus moves the pompous idol through the streets, Scattering mute blessings, while the throngs devout Strew, in return, their silver and their brass, Loading the paths with presents, and o'ershade The heavenly form; and all th' attending train, With dulcet sprays of roses, pluct profuse, A band select before them, by the Greeks Curetes called, from Phrygian parents sprung, Sport with fantastic chains, the measured dance Weaving infuriate, charmed with human blood, And madly shaking their tremendous crests." De Rerum Natura, ii., 618-631.
Banquetings (potoiv). Lit., drinking-bouts. Rev., carousings.
Abominable (aqemitoiv). Only here, and by Peter in the Acts x. 28. More literally, unlawful, emphasizing the idolatries as violations of divine law.
