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1 Peter 3

1 Peter 3:20 KJV (With Strong’s)

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20
Which sometime
ho (Greek #3588)
the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
KJV usage: the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.
Pronounce: ho
Origin: ἡ (hay), and the neuter τό (to) in all their inflections
pote (Greek #4218)
indefinite adverb, at some time, ever
KJV usage: afore-(any, some-)time(-s), at length (the last), (+ n- )ever, in the old time, in time past, once, when.
Pronounce: pot-eh'
Origin: from the base of 4225 and 5037
were disobedient
apeitheo (Greek #544)
to disbelieve (wilfully and perversely)
KJV usage: not believe, disobedient, obey not, unbelieving.
Pronounce: ap-i-theh'-o
Origin: from 545
, when
hote (Greek #3753)
at which (thing) too, i.e. when
KJV usage: after (that), as soon as, that, when, while.
Pronounce: hot'-eh
Origin: from 3739 and 5037
once
hapax (Greek #530)
one (or a single) time (numerically or conclusively)
KJV usage: once.
Pronounce: hap'-ax
Origin: probably from 537
f the longsuffering
makrothumia (Greek #3115)
longanimity, i.e. (objectively) forbearance or (subjectively) fortitude
KJV usage: longsuffering, patience.
Pronounce: mak-roth-oo-mee'-ah
Origin: from the same as 3116
of God
ho (Greek #3588)
the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
KJV usage: the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.
Pronounce: ho
Origin: ἡ (hay), and the neuter τό (to) in all their inflections
theos (Greek #2316)
a deity, especially (with 3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very
KJV usage: X exceeding, God, god(-ly, -ward).
Pronounce: theh'-os
Origin: of uncertain affinity
waited
ekdechomai (Greek #1551)
to accept from some source, i.e. (by implication) to await
KJV usage: expect, look (tarry) for, wait (for).
Pronounce: ek-dekh'-om-ahee
Origin: from 1537 and 1209
in
en (Greek #1722)
"in," at, (up-)on, by, etc.
KJV usage: about, after, against, + almost, X altogether, among, X as, at, before, between, (here-)by (+ all means), for (... sake of), + give self wholly to, (here-)in(-to, -wardly), X mightily, (because) of, (up-)on, (open-)ly, X outwardly, one, X quickly, X shortly, (speedi-)ly, X that, X there(-in, -on), through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), under, when, where(-with), while, with(-in). Often used in compounds, with substantially the same import; rarely with verbs of motion, and then not to indicate direction, except (elliptically) by a separate (and different) preposition.
Pronounce: en
Origin: a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. a relation of rest (intermediate between 1519 and 1537)
the days
hemera (Greek #2250)
day, i.e. (literally) the time space between dawn and dark, or the whole 24 hours (but several days were usually reckoned by the Jews as inclusive of the parts of both extremes); figuratively, a period (always defined more or less clearly by the context)
KJV usage: age, + alway, (mid-)day (by day, (-ly)), + for ever, judgment, (day) time, while, years.
Pronounce: hay-mer'-ah
Origin: feminine (with 5610 implied) of a derivative of ἧμαι (to sit; akin to the base of 1476) meaning tame, i.e. gentle
of Noah
Noe (Greek #3575)
Noe, (i.e. Noach), a patriarch
KJV usage: Noe.
Pronounce: no'-eh
Origin: of Hebrew origin (05146)
, while the ark
kibotos (Greek #2787)
a box, i.e. the sacred ark and that of Noah
KJV usage: ark.
Pronounce: kib-o-tos'
Origin: of uncertain derivation
was a preparing
kataskeuazo (Greek #2680)
to prepare thoroughly (properly, by external equipment; whereas 2090 refers rather to internal fitness); by implication, to construct, create
KJV usage: build, make, ordain, prepare.
Pronounce: kat-ask-yoo-ad'-zo
Origin: from 2596 and a derivative of 4632
, wherein
eis (Greek #1519)
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etc.); also in adverbial phrases
KJV usage: (abundant-)ly, against, among, as, at, (back-)ward, before, by, concerning, + continual, + far more exceeding, for (intent, purpose), fore, + forth, in (among, at, unto, -so much that, -to), to the intent that, + of one mind, + never, of, (up-)on, + perish, + set at one again, (so) that, therefore(-unto), throughout, til, to (be, the end, -ward), (here-)until(-to), ...ward, (where-)fore, with. Often used in composition with the same general import, but only with verbs (etc.) expressing motion (literally or figuratively).
Pronounce: ice
Origin: a primary preposition
few
hos (Greek #3739)
the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, that
KJV usage: one, (an-, the) other, some, that, what, which, who(-m, -se), etc. See also 3757.
Pronounce: hos
Origin: ἥ (hay), and neuter ὅ (ho) probably a primary word (or perhaps a form of the article 3588)
oligos (Greek #3641)
puny (in extent, degree, number, duration or value); especially neuter (adverbially) somewhat
KJV usage: + almost, brief(-ly), few, (a) little, + long, a season, short, small, a while.
Pronounce: ol-ee'-gos
Origin: of uncertain affinity
, that
touto (Greek #5124)
that thing
KJV usage: here (-unto), it, partly, self(-same), so, that (intent), the same, there(-fore, -unto), this, thus, where(-fore).
Pronounce: too'-to
Origin: neuter singular nominative or accusative case of 3778
is
esti (Greek #2076)
he (she or it) is; also (with neuter plural) they are
KJV usage: are, be(-long), call, X can(-not), come, consisteth, X dure for a while, + follow, X have, (that) is (to say), make, meaneth, X must needs, + profit, + remaineth, + wrestle.
Pronounce: es-tee'
Origin: third person singular present indicative of 1510
, eight
oktos (Greek #3638)
"eight"
KJV usage: eight.
Pronounce: ok-to'
Origin: a primary numeral
souls
psuche (Greek #5590)
breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from 4151, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from 2222, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew 05315, 07307 and 02416)
KJV usage: heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.
Pronounce: psoo-khay'
Origin: from 5594
were saved
diasozo (Greek #1295)
to save thoroughly, i.e. (by implication or analogy) to cure, preserve, rescue, etc.
KJV usage: bring safe, escape (safe), heal, make perfectly whole, save.
Pronounce: dee-as-odze'-o
Origin: from 1223 and 4982
by
dia (Greek #1223)
through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)
KJV usage: after, always, among, at, to avoid, because of (that), briefly, by, for (cause) ... fore, from, in, by occasion of, of, by reason of, for sake, that, thereby, therefore, X though, through(-out), to, wherefore, with (-in). In composition it retains the same general importance.
Pronounce: dee-ah'
Origin: a primary preposition denoting the channel of an act
water
hudor (Greek #5204)
water (as if rainy) literally or figuratively
KJV usage: water.
Pronounce: hoo'-dore
Origin: ὕδατος (hoo'-dat-os), etc. from the base of 5205
.
f
Gen. 6•  (Gen. 6)

More on:

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God,
Noah,
Sometime; Sometimes,
Soul; Spirit

Cross References

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Ministry on This Verse

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sometime.
Gen. 6:3,5,13• 3And Jehovah said, My Spirit shall not always plead with Man; for he indeed is flesh; but his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.
 5And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of Man was great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil continually.
 13And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is full of violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (Gen. 6:3,5,13)
the longsuffering.
Isa. 30:18• 18And therefore will Jehovah wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he lift himself up, that he may have mercy upon you; for Jehovah is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. (Isa. 30:18)
;
Rom. 2:4‑5• 4or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads thee to repentance?
 5but, according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up to thyself wrath, in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, (Rom. 2:4‑5)
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Rom. 9:22• 22And if God, minded to shew his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering vessels of wrath fitted for destruction; (Rom. 9:22)
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2 Peter 3:15• 15and account the longsuffering of our Lord to be salvation; according as our beloved brother Paul also has written to you according to the wisdom given to him, (2 Peter 3:15)
the days.
Matt. 24:37‑39• 37But as the days of Noe, so also shall be the coming of the Son of man.
 38For as they were in the days which were before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day on which Noe entered into the ark,
 39and they knew not till the flood came and took all away; thus also shall be the coming of the Son of man. (Matt. 24:37‑39)
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Luke 17:26‑30• 26And as it took place in the days of Noe, thus also shall it be in the days of the Son of man:
 27they ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them;
 28and in like manner as took place in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
 29but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven, and destroyed all of them:
 30after this manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed. (Luke 17:26‑30)
while.
Gen. 6:14‑22• 14Make thyself an ark of gopher wood: with cells shalt thou make the ark; and pitch it inside and outside with pitch.
 15And thus shalt thou make it: let the length of the ark be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
 16A light shalt thou make to the ark; and to a cubit high shalt thou finish it above. And the door of the ark shalt thou set in its side: with a lower, second, and third story shalt thou make it.
 17For I, behold, I bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy all flesh under the heavens in which is the breath of life: everything that is on the earth shall expire.
 18But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt go into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
 19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee: they shall be male and female.
 20Of fowl after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of each shall go in to thee, to keep them alive.
 21And take thou of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee, that it may be for food for thee and for them.
 22And Noah did it; according to all that God had commanded him, so did he. (Gen. 6:14‑22)
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Heb. 11:7• 7By faith, Noah, oracularly warned concerning things not yet seen, moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Heb. 11:7)
wherein.
Gen. 7:1‑7,13,23• 1And Jehovah said to Noah, Go into the ark, thou and all thy house; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
 2Of all clean beasts thou shalt take to thee by sevens, a male and its female; but of the beasts that are not clean two, a male and its female.
 3Also of the fowl of the heavens by sevens, male and female; to keep seed alive on the face of all the earth.
 4For in yet seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living being which I have made will I destroy from the ground.
 5And Noah did according to all that Jehovah had commanded him.
 6And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was on the earth.
 7And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
 13On the same day went Noah, and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
 23And every living being was destroyed that was on the ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping things, and fowl of the heavens; and they were destroyed from the earth. And Noah alone remained, and what was with him in the ark. (Gen. 7:1‑7,13,23)
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Gen. 8:1,18• 1And God remembered Noah, and all the animals, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.
 18And Noah went out, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him. (Gen. 8:1,18)
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Matt. 7:14• 14For narrow the gate and straitened the way that leads to life, and they are few who find it. (Matt. 7:14)
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Luke 12:32• 32Fear not, little flock, for it has been the good pleasure of your Father to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)
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Luke 13:24‑25• 24Strive with earnestness to enter in through the narrow door, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in and will not be able.
 25From the time that the master of the house shall have risen up and shall have shut the door, and ye shall begin to stand without and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us; and he answering shall say to you, I know you not whence ye are: (Luke 13:24‑25)
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2 Peter 2:5• 5and spared not the old world, but preserved Noe, the eighth, a preacher of righteousness, having brought in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; (2 Peter 2:5)
by.
Gen. 7:17‑23• 17And the flood was forty days on the earth. And the waters increased, and bore up the ark; and it was lifted up above the earth.
 18And the waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth; and the ark went on the face of the waters.
 19And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth; and all the high mountains that are under all the heavens were covered.
 20Fifteen cubits upward the waters prevailed; and the mountains were covered.
 21And all flesh that moved on the earth expired, fowl as well as cattle, and beasts, and all crawling things which crawl on the earth, and all mankind:
 22everything which had in its nostrils the breath of life, of all that was on the dry land, died.
 23And every living being was destroyed that was on the ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping things, and fowl of the heavens; and they were destroyed from the earth. And Noah alone remained, and what was with him in the ark. (Gen. 7:17‑23)
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2 Cor. 2:15‑16• 15For we are a sweet odour of Christ to God, in the saved and in those that perish:
 16to the one an odour from death unto death, but to the others an odour from life unto life; and who is sufficient for these things? (2 Cor. 2:15‑16)
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Eph. 5:26• 26in order that he might sanctify it, purifying it by the washing of water by the word, (Eph. 5:26)
• the only ones said to be the objects of His preaching were that generation of mankind which had been favored with the pleading of His Spirit in Noah. Such a favor when they were alive would much more naturally have weighed against the alleged visitation after death, even if other scriptures did not prove its needlessness for saints and its unavailingness for sinners. (“1 Peter 3:19-20” by W. Kelly)
• The clear bearing of the teaching is to contrast the disobedient mass of spirits (in the prison of the separate state for such) with the few who in the ark were brought safe through water. The unbelieving Jews who objected to the fewness of the Christians were thus powerfully met, as well as their contempt for preaching as having no serious effect, whether believed or rejected. (“1 Peter 3:19-20” by W. Kelly)
• These spirits then are in prison, because they did not hearken to the Spirit of Christ in Noah (compare 2 Peter 2:5-9). (“1 Peter 3” by J.N. Darby)

J. N. Darby Translation

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20
heretofore disobedienti, when the longsufferingk of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was preparing, into which few, that is, eight souls, were savedl through waterm:

JND Translation Notes

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i
Or "disbelieving." see John 3.36 and ch. 2.7,8.
k
Makrothumia. see Note.f, Jas. 5.7.
l
The Greek means "arrive safe into a place of security through difficulty or danger," as Acts 27.44.
m
This does not mean, I think, that they went through the water to get in, i.e. through the course of the flood. The apostle's mind does not turn to the flood, but to the water as an instrument. Water was ruin and death, and they were saved through it.

W. Kelly Translation

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20
disobedienta aforetimeb when the long-suffering of God was waitingc in Noah’s days, while an ark was being prepared, in which few, that is eight souls, were brought safe through waterd;

WK Translation Notes

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a
The absence of the article before "disobedient" proves the participle to be part of the predicate and assigns the reason for their present imprisonment, "disobedient as heretofore they were when" etc.
b
It is not accurate to render apeithēsasin pote "which aforetime were disobedient" as this would require the article tois. Is not the force rather "disobedient as they once proved when," etc. Their being in prison was in consequence of their previous disobedience to God’s patient warning.
c
The word apexedecheto, "was waiting," is unquestionably correct, only one ancient MSS. being adverse.
d
"Through water" is right, not "by" it. Water was the destructive element, through which grace saved Noah and those with him in the ark.