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1 Peter 3:20

in 1 Peter 3

who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water:

KJV

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

This verse in 1 Peter 3

Commentary

23 notes on this verse

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

When the longsuffering of God waited - For an hundred and twenty years; all the time the ark was preparing: during which Noah warned them all to flee from the wrath to come.

This site's exposition

went and preached to the spirits

on 1 Peter 3:19-20

Christ went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago in Noah's day. They are read as the angels of Genesis 6, with 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6, or Noah's hearers, or the dead in Hades.

This site's exposition

in the days of Noah

John Wesley counts God's patience as the hundred and twenty years the ark was being built, while Noah warned his neighbours. Eight people came through the water. Augustine and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the preaching of verse 19 as given in Noah's own day.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers5 voices

A commentator

Clement of Alexandria

From the Latin Translation of Cassiodorus · Written before 215.

proposed

"When the long-suffering of God" holds out. God is so good, as to work the result by the teaching of salvation.

A commentator

Augustine of Hippo

LETTERS 164 · Written before 430.

proposed

Consider, however, I pray you, whether all that the Apostle Peter says concerning spirits shut up in prison, who were unbelieving in the days of Noah, may not after all have been written without any reference to hell, but rather to those times the typical character of which he has transferred to the present time. For that transaction had been typical of future events, so that those who do not believe the gospel in our age, when the Church is being built up in all nations, may be understood to be like those who did not believe in that age while the ark was a preparing; also, that those who have believed and are saved by baptism may be compared to those who at that time, being in the ark, were saved by water; wherefore he says, "So baptism by a like figure saves you." Let us therefore interpret the rest of the statements concerning them that believed not so as to harmonise with the analogy of the figure, and refuse to entertain the thought that the gospel was once preached, or is even to this hour being preached in hell in order to make men believe and be delivered from its pains, as if a Church had been established there as well as on earth.… And let it not be regarded as an objection to the interpretation now given, that the Apostle Peter says that Christ Himself preached to men shut up in prison who were unbelieving in the days of Noah, as if we must consider this interpretation inconsistent with the fact that at that time Christ had not come. […]

A commentator

Irenaeus

Against Heresies Book I · Written before 202.

proposed

Further, they declare that the arrangement made with respect to the ark in the Deluge, by means of which eight persons were saved, most clearly indicates the Ogdoad which brings salvation.

A commentator

Tertullian

Pseudo-Tertullian Against All Heresies · Written before 220.

proposed

But (in vain): for they who had originated those of the former seed sent into the ark (secretly and stealthily, and unknown to that Mother-Virtue), together with those "eight souls," the seed likewise of Ham, in order that the seed of evil should not perish, but should, together with the rest, be preserved, and after the deluge be restored to the earth, and, by example of the rest, should grow up and diffuse itself, and fill and occupy the whole orb.

A commentator

Tertullian

On Monogamy · Written before 220.

proposed

Once more, "two (joined) into one flesh" undertake (the duty of) "growing and multiplying,"-Noah, (namely), and his wife, and their sons, in single marriage. Even in the very animals monogamy is recognised, for fear that even beasts should be born of adultery.
15 more voices on this verse

The Church Fathers4 voices

A commentator

Book of Enoch

1 Enoch, Chapters 9-11 · Written before -300.

proposed

And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. And they said one to another: 'The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice of their cryingst …

A commentator

Shepherd of Hermas

Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 3 · Written before 160.

proposed

For the tower was founded on the word of the almighty and glorious Name and it is kept together by the invisible power of the Lord.

A commentator

Clement of Rome

Letter to the Corinthians (Clement) · Written before 99.

proposed

Let us turn to every age that has passed, and learn that, from generation to generation, the Lord has granted a place of repentance to all such as would be converted unto Him. Noah preached repentance, and as many as listened to him were saved. Jonah proclaimed destruction to the Ninevites; [Jonah 3] but they, repenting of their sins, propitiated God by prayer, and obtained salvation, although they were aliens [to the covenant] of God.

A commentator

Cyprian

Epistle LXXV · Written before 258.

proposed

"In the ark "says he, "of Noah, few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water, as also baptism shall in like manner save you.". Peter also, showing this, set forth that the Church is one, and that only they who are in the Church can be baptized; and said, "In the ark of Noah, few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water; the like figure where-unto even baptism shall save you; "

The Medieval Church4 voices

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Question 52. Christ's descent into hell, Article 2 · Written before 1274.

proposed

These words of Peter [1 Peter 3:19] are referred by some to Christ's descent into hell: and they explain it in this sense: "Christ preached to them who formerly were unbelievers, and who were shut up in prison"—that is, in hell—"in spirit"—that is, by His …

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on 1 Peter · Written before 1107.

proposed

He set this down as a resolution of the objection. Someone might say: "Who else preached before Christ, and who were condemned for not obeying?" Like the Apostle Paul (Rom. 2:15), he could have pointed to the rational powers innate in us: for those who …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles · Written before 735.

proposed

Those who had once been unbelievers, etc. For even the patience of God was a proclamation of His, when Noah, for a hundred years, persisted in the works of the ark, demonstrating daily through the execution of this work what was to come upon the …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles · Written before 735.

proposed

In which few, that is, eight souls were saved, etc. The form of baptism is likened to the ark and the waters of the flood. And rightly so, because the very construction of the ark from hewn wood signifies the building of the Church, which …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Which sometime were disobedient,....

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

once--not in the oldest manuscripts. when . . . the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah--Oldest manuscripts. Greek, "was continuing to wait on" (if haply men in the hundred twenty years of grace would repent) until the end of His waiting came in their death by the flood. This refutes ALFORD'S idea of a second day of grace having been given in Hades.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

When once the long-suffering of God waited - In Pirkey Aboth, cap. v.
Which sometime were disobedient - Which were “once,” or “formerly,” (ποτε pote,) disobedient or rebellious. The language here does not imply that they had ceased to be disobedient, or that they had become obedient at the time when the apostle wrote; but the object is to direct the attention to a former race of people characterized by disobedience, and to show the patience evinced under their provocations, in endeavoring to do them good. To say that people were formerly rebellious, or rebellious in a specified age, is no evidence that they are otherwise now. The meaning here is, that they did not obey the command of God when he called them to repentance by the preaching of Noah. Compare 2Pe 2:5, where Noah is called “a preacher of righteousness.” When once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah - God waited on that guilty race for 120 years, Gen 6:3, a period sufficiently protracted to evince his long-suffering toward one generation. It is not improbable that during that whole period Noah was, in various ways, preaching to that wicked generation. Compare the notes at Heb 11:7. While the ark was a preparing - It is probable that preparations were made for building the ark during a considerable portion of that time. Peter’s, at Rome, was a much longer time in building; and it is to be remembered that in the age of the world when Noah lived, and with the imperfect knowledge of the arts of naval architecture which must have prevailed, it was a much more serious undertaking to construct an ark that would hold such a variety and such a number of animals as that was designed to, land that would float safely for more than a year in an universal flood, than it was to construct such a fabric as Peter’s, in the days when that edifice was raised. Wherein few, that is, eight souls - Eight persons - Noah and his wife, his three sons and their wives, Gen 7:7. […]

Modern Voices3 voices

A commentator

Douglas Wilson

Hell and Hellenism · Written before 2020.

proposed

The final place of torment is Gehenna, which I take as the lake of fire. There is an intermediate place of torment, which is located within Hades. We can tell they are distinct because at a certain point, death and Hades are thrown into the …

A commentator

Douglas Wilson

Just What Siddhartha Wanted · Written before 2020.

proposed

"Wilson blithely asserts that the "Jewish name for Elysium was Abraham's bosom, or Paradise". Where is the evidence for that?" This is my "quacks like a duck" argument. Hades had two compartments, Tartarus and Elysium. The New Testament uses the names of two of these …

A commentator

Douglas Wilson

The Apostles Creed 11: He Descended Into Hades · Written before 2020.

proposed

In the time before the Messiah came, the expectation of the godly was to die and go to Sheol. Jonah (most likely) actually died and cried out to God from the depths of Sheol (Jon. 2:1). The psalmist expected that Sheol would swallow him up …

The words behind it

23 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Genesis 6:5

    Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 15:19

      For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.

    • Romans 1:28–31

      Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

    • Mark 7:21–23

      For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

    • Jeremiah 4:14

      Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?

    • Jeremiah 17:9

      The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

  • Through

    Hebrews 11:7

    By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes…

    it leads to

    • Genesis 6:13

      Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.

    • Ezekiel 14:14

      then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.

  • Through

    Genesis 6:3

    So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.”

    it leads to

    • Nehemiah 9:30

      You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Peter

St. Peter in Prison (The Apostle Peter Kneeling), Rembrandt, 1631. Public domain.
St. Peter in Prison (The Apostle Peter Kneeling), Rembrandt, 1631. Public domain.
This page draws on 22 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Letters 164; Augustine of Hippo, LETTERS 164; Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles; Book of Enoch, 1 Enoch, Chapters 9-11; Clement of Alexandria, From the Latin Translation of Cassiodorus; Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians (Clement); Cyprian, Epistle LXXV; Douglas Wilson, Hell and Hellenism; Douglas Wilson, Just What Siddhartha Wanted; Douglas Wilson, The Apostles Creed 11: He Descended Into Hades; Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book I; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Shepherd of Hermas, Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 3; Tertullian, Pseudo-Tertullian Against All Heresies; Tertullian, On Monogamy; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Peter and Thomas Aquinas, Question 52. Christ's descent into hell, Article 2.