The Meaning of 1 Peter 3:12 Explained

1 Peter 3:12

KJV: For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

YLT: because the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears -- to their supplication, and the face of the Lord is upon those doing evil;'

Darby: because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears towards their supplications; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

ASV: For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, And his ears unto their supplication: But the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For  the eyes  of the Lord  [are] over  the righteous,  and  his  ears  [are open] unto  their  prayers:  but  the face  of the Lord  [is] against  them that do  evil. 

What does 1 Peter 3:12 Mean?

Study Notes

righteous
.
righteousness
Righteousness here, and in the passages which refer to Romans 10:10 , means that righteousness of God which is judicially reckoned to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; believers are the righteous.
(See Scofield " Romans 3:21 ") .

Context Summary

1 Peter 3:1-12 - Christian Family-Life
In the previous chapter the Apostle had been urging the poor slaves of wealthy householders to submit quietly to wrongs, leaving God to vindicate. Here he turns to the wives of unbelieving husbands, showing that their chaste behavior, their meek and quiet spirit, their pleasant subordination of self, are the greatest arguments for our religion. What we are is more important than what we say. Our life is our best sermon. If we would expend as much care on the hidden man of the heart as many do on the outer, what lovely characters would result! When Massillon had preached on this subject of the inner and outer man before Louis XIV, the king exclaimed as he left the church, "I know those two men!"
The same temper becomes us all. Let us be compassionate to the faults of others, even when they repay our good with evil and revile our blessing. God sends rain and sun irrespective of the character of the recipients. In this way we shall inherit the blessedness to which we have been called, and see good days. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Peter 3

1  He teaches the duty of wives and husbands to each other;
8  exhorting all men to unity and love;
14  and to suffer persecution
19  He declares also the benefits of Christ toward the old world

Greek Commentary for 1 Peter 3:12

Upon [επι]
In the case of righteous (δικαιους — dikaious in the O.T. sense like δικαιον Λοτ — dikaion Lot in 2 Peter 2:7) for their good, but in the case of men “that do evil” (επι ποιουντας κακα — epi poiountas kaka “upon men doing evil things”) “the face of the Lord” (προσωπον κυριου — prosōpon kuriou) is not for their good, επι — epi here approaching “against” in idea. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Peter 3:12

1 Peter 4:18 And if the righteous is scarcely saved [και ει ο δικαιος μολις σωζεται]
First-class condition again with ει — ei and present passive indicative of σωζω — sōzō Quotation from Proverbs 11:31. See 1 Peter 3:12, 1 Peter 3:14; Matthew 5:20. But the Christian is not saved by his own righteousness (Philemon 3:9; Revelation 7:14). For μολις — molis see Acts 14:18 and for ασεβης — asebēs (ungodly, without reverence) see Romans 4:5; 2 Peter 2:5. [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Peter 3:12 mean?

Because [the] eyes of [the] Lord [are] on [the] righteous and [the] ears of Him toward prayer of them [The] face however [is] against those doing evil
ὅτι ὀφθαλμοὶ Κυρίου ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ ὦτα αὐτοῦ εἰς δέησιν αὐτῶν πρόσωπον δὲ ἐπὶ ποιοῦντας κακά

ὅτι  Because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
ὀφθαλμοὶ  [the]  eyes 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ὀφθαλμός  
Sense: the eye.
Κυρίου  of  [the]  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
ἐπὶ  [are]  on 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
δικαίους  [the]  righteous 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: δίκαιος  
Sense: righteous, observing divine laws.
ὦτα  [the]  ears 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Plural
Root: οὖς  
Sense: the ear.
αὐτοῦ  of  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
εἰς  toward 
Parse: Preposition
Root: εἰς  
Sense: into, unto, to, towards, for, among.
δέησιν  prayer 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: δέησις  
Sense: need, indigence, want, privation, penury.
αὐτῶν  of  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
πρόσωπον  [The]  face 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: πρόσωπον  
Sense: the face.
δὲ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
ἐπὶ  [is]  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
ποιοῦντας  those  doing 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: ποιέω  
Sense: to make.
κακά  evil 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: κακός  
Sense: of a bad nature.