As already mentioned, verses 11 and 12 serve as an introduction to Peter’s advice on how Christians should act towards their non-Christian neighbors. Verse 11 starts off with “Beloved” (Good News Translation my friends), a term of address which is frequently used by New Testament writers for their readers (compare 4.12; Rom 1.7; 1 Cor 10.14; etc.). Since it is based on the Greek word for “love” (agape), some see in the term an expression of the writer’s intimate endearment to his readers (for example, Phillips “as those whom I love”). It is best, however, to take it simply as a form of address, and its use here signals the beginning of a new section in the letter.
The phrase my friends may in many instances be best placed at the beginning of this paragraph as an expression of direct address, for example, “My friends, I appeal to you.”
I appeal to you (literally “beseech”) is frequently used to introduce ethical teaching. I appeal to you may be rendered as “I ask you strongly” or figuratively as “I ask you with my heart exposed” or “I speak to you with strong words.”
Strangers and refugees recalls 1.1 and 1.17. Some see a distinction of meaning between the two terms, with strangers denoting peoples living in another country, and refugees referring to people who visit another country for a brief stay (compare Phillips “strangers and temporary residents”; Revised Standard Version “aliens and exiles”). Others do not delineate the difference between the two terms, but take them as expressing one meaning (for example, New English Bible “aliens in a foreign land”). Taken together, these terms may signify one of three things: (1) that the readers are residing in countries other than their country of citizenship; (2) that they are living among non-Christians and are strangers to the pagan world; or (3) that they are strangers in this world, since their real citizenship is in heaven. Many translations retain the ambiguity by rendering the terms without descriptions; others who make adjustments seem to lean towards the third of these alternatives (for example, Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Barclay “exiles of eternity and strangers in this world”). The eschatological tone of the letter favors this alternative, but the actual situation of the readers favors the first and the second (compare New English Bible “aliens in a foreign land”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “strangers who live outside their country”).
It may be extremely difficult to address persons directly as strangers and refugees. A more satisfactory equivalent may be “you who live as strangers and refugees in this world” or “you who live as strangers and without any permanent homes in this world.”
At any rate, the fact of their being strangers now becomes a basis for an appeal to them not to withdraw from the world, but to be involved in it in terms of proper behavior. The appeal contains both a negative and a positive aspect. Negatively, they are not to give in to bodily passions. Do not give in is literally “abstain,” with the idea not only of refraining from indulging in something, but of not allowing it to dominate one’s life. Bodily passions is literally “desires of the flesh.” “Flesh” may be interpreted in several ways. (1) In the light of 1.24 (compare 3.18; 4.1, 6), it could be taken as denoting the physical nature of a person, without necessarily including the idea that such nature is bad (compare Knox “natural appetites”). (2) It could also represent that part of a person which wars against God and does not submit to him (compare Phillips “lower nature”). “Flesh” then would be in opposition to “soul,” or the higher spiritual nature of a person. (3) Or it could refer to the person himself, left without the help of God, and with all his tendency to sin and to revolt against God (for example, Barclay “sinful human nature”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “human desires”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “your desires”). All three are possible, although the first may be preferable, since it agrees with the way the writer uses “flesh” in other parts of the letter.
The interpretation of “desires” depends on how one understands “flesh.” If “flesh” is a morally neutral term, then it follows that “desires” should also be interpreted as morally neutral. If, however, “flesh” is used in an ethical sense (as the second alternative would suggest), then “desires” should also be so interpreted.
If the phrase bodily passions is to be understood in a more neutral sense, one may sometimes translate the phrase as “desires which we have in our bodies” or “desires which our bodies possess” or “desires which are felt in our bodies.” If the phrase bodily passions is to be understood in a negative sense, then one may translate “the bad desires which we experience in our bodies” or “… which our bodies have”
Similar difficulties arise in the interpretation of “soul.” (1) It could be taken to mean the person himself (in the light of 1.9). Taking “flesh” in the sense of “physical nature,” the meaning then would be that if bodily appetites dominate a person, they are a detriment to himself and to his life as a child of God. (2) On the other hand, “soul” could refer to that part of a person which submits to God, as against his lower nature (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “your inner lives”). The first is to be preferred, since it agrees with the usage of “soul” elsewhere in the letter.
The expression which are always at war is a very strong figure of speech, and in many instances can only be represented as “which are always against” or “which are always opposed to.” In this context the soul may be rendered as “our better self” or even “our true self.” On the other hand, in some languages the closest equivalent is a term which is used for “spirit,” that is to say, that part of a person which can relate directly to God’s Spirit, and the opposition between the physical nature of man and the spiritual nature of man is brought into effective contrast.
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 .