1 Peter 3:9

Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing . St. Peter. like St. Paul ( Romans 12:17 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:15 ), repeats his Master's teaching in the sermon on the mount ( Matthew 5:39 ). He forbids revenge in word, as well as in deed. But contrariwise blessing . The word "blessing" is not the substantive, but the participle ( εὐλογοῦντες ), and thus corresponds with the participle "rendering" (comp. Matthew 5:44 , "Bless them that curse you"). Knowing that ye are thereunto called; rather , as in the Revised Version, for hereunto were ye called. The word "knowing" is omitted in the best manuscripts. Some commentators take these words with the preceding: "Ye were called to bless others, that so ye may inherit a blessing." But, on the whole, it seems better to connect them with the following clause: That ye should inherit a blessing. Christians bless others, not in order that they should inherit a blessing, but because it is God's will and their duty; and that duty follows from the fact that God has made them inheritors of his blessing. "Benedictionem aeternam," says Bengel, "cujus primitias jam nunc pit habent." God has blessed them; therefore they must bless others.