The reason for the footnote in the Good News Translation is that the Greek text is ambiguous. Translated literally, the Greek is: They inquired into which (or into whom) and what kind of time was indicated by the spirit of Christ in them when they were predicting the sufferings of (or into) Christ and the glories afterward. The Greek expression eis tina may be understood either as referring to a time (with tina understood as a neuter pronoun) or as referring to a person (with tina understood as a masculine pronoun). Some translations reflect this latter understanding (for example, Barclay, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “they tried to discover who this person was and when this would occur”). Most commentaries and translations, however, understand it the way Good News Translation does. The verse is still talking about the salvation which is the subject of the prophets’ search and investigation. When the time would be refers to the time when this salvation is made known, and how it would come refers to the circumstances connected with the revelation of this salvation.
They tried to find out is perhaps best rendered as “they tried to determine” or “… decide.” In the rendering of to find out it is important to avoid an expression which might suggest “inquiring of other persons,” for one would not wish to communicate or suggest the idea that “they were trying to find out from someone….”
It is of course possible to connect the pronominal expressions “into which” and “what kind of time” with what follows, namely, the sufferings that Christ would have to endure and the glories that would follow. This is reflected in some translations (for example, Jerusalem Bible “The Spirit of Christ which was in them foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would come after them, and they tried to find out at what time and in what circumstances all this was to be expected”; also Phillips, Knox). It is, however, much better to take the pronominal expressions not as pointing forward but backward, that is, referring to the salvation mentioned in verse 10 (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Time here is the same as in 1.5, namely, time for a specific purpose.
A completely literal rendering of when the time would be and how it would come could be misunderstood and obscure. For example, when the time would be might be understood as merely “what time of day it would be,” and how it would come might be particularly obscure in view of the fact that it might not refer to salvation. Accordingly, it may be useful to translate when the time would be and how it would come as “when this salvation would take place and how it would come about” or “… how it would happen.”
The rendering of This was the time may be better expressed in some languages as “this was the occasion” or even “this was the day,” especially if a receptor-language term for “day” indicates not just a period of 24 hours but a particular occasion.
In their search, the prophets were not without help, for they were aided by Christ’s Spirit. This expression occurs only here and in Romans 8.9. It was common belief among the Jews that prophets were inspired by the Spirit of God; this belief naturally was taken over by the Christians, but here the Spirit of God is now substituted by the Spirit of Christ. It is possible that Peter here is referring to the activity of Christ before the incarnation, and that it is his Spirit who inspired the Old Testament prophets. But it is more likely that he is here reflecting the common understanding among the early Christians, in which the expressions “the Spirit of God,” “the Spirit of the Lord,” and the “Spirit of Christ” are regarded as having identical meanings (for “the Spirit of the Lord,” see Phil 1.19; Gal 4.6; and Acts 16.7).
Christ’s Spirit in them may be rendered as “Christ’s Spirit which lives in them.” It may be difficult to speak of “a time to which something was pointing.” One may, however, often use an expression such as “the occasion to which Christ’s Spirit was referring.”
The time of salvation is associated with the sufferings that Christ would have to endure and the glory that would follow. These, probably, are the events through which salvation comes, and the Spirit pointed to the time of salvation when he predicted the coming of these events. (For pointed, see Phillips “was referring”; for predicted, see Barclay “declared beforehand”; compare Gal 3.1.) The sufferings that Christ would have to endure is literally “the sufferings into Christ.” Some have taken this to mean the sufferings of Christians for the cause of Christ (for example, Knox “the sufferings which Christ’s cause brings with it”), although most interpreters understand it as referring to the sufferings of Christ himself (compare New American Bible “sufferings destined for Christ”; Barclay, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Glory is plural in the Greek, referring probably to a series of events. For those who understand “the sufferings of Christ” as sufferings of Christians in behalf of Christ, “glories” is understood as triumphs, or victory instead of defeat. If, however, “sufferings into Christ” refers to the sufferings that Christ himself experienced, that is, his death on the cross, then “glories” would refer to the events following that: his resurrection, his exaltation, the gift of the Spirit to the Church, the winning of both Jews and Gentiles to the Christian faith, and finally Christ’s return in victory.
It may be important to specify clearly the agent of predicting, so that the final part of verse 11 may be rendered as “when Christ’s Spirit predicted the sufferings that Christ would endure and the glory that would follow.”
The sufferings that Christ would have to endure may be rendered as “the way in which Christ would have to suffer” or “the manner in which Christ must suffer.”
A literal rendering of the glory that would follow might be particularly confusing, especially since in many languages one can not speak of an abstract such as glory actually “following.” A more satisfactory equivalent may be “the later glorious events” or “the wonderful things that later happen.”
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The First Letter from Peter. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .