1 Peter 3
New American Standard Bible
Godly Living
3 (A)In the same way, you wives, (B)be subject to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be (C)won over without a word by the behavior of their wives, 2 as they observe your pure [a]and respectful behavior. 3 (D)Your adornment must not be merely the external—braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on apparel; 4 but it should be (E)the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. 5 For in this way the holy women of former times, (F)who hoped in God, also used to adorn themselves, being subject to their own husbands, 6 just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, (G)calling him lord; and you have proved to be her children if you do what is right [b](H)without being frightened by any fear.
7 (I)You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with [c](J)someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
8 [d]To sum up, (K)all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, [e](L)loving, (M)compassionate, and (N)humble; 9 (O)not returning evil for evil or (P)insult for insult, but giving a (Q)blessing instead; for (R)you were called for the very purpose that you would (S)inherit a blessing. 10 For,
“(T)The one who desires life, to love and see good days,
Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
11 (U)He must turn away from evil and do good;
He must seek peace and pursue it.
12 (V)For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears attend to their prayer,
But the face of the Lord is against evildoers.”
13 (W)And who is [f]there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should (X)suffer for the sake of righteousness, (Y)you [g]are blessed. (Z)And do not fear their [h]intimidation, and do not be in dread, 15 but [i]sanctify (AA)Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready (AB)to make a [j]defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the (AC)hope that is in you, but (AD)with gentleness and (AE)respect; 16 [k]and keep a (AF)good conscience so that in the thing in which (AG)you are slandered, those who disparage your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. 17 For (AH)it is better, (AI)if [l]God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. 18 For (AJ)Christ also [m]suffered for sins (AK)once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might (AL)bring us to God, having been put to death (AM)in the flesh, but made alive (AN)in the [n]spirit; 19 in [o]which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20 who once were disobedient when the (AO)patience of God (AP)kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of (AQ)the ark, in which a few, that is, (AR)eight (AS)persons, were brought safely through the water. 21 (AT)Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—(AU)not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God [p]for a (AV)good conscience—through (AW)the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 (AX)who is at the right hand of God, (AY)having gone into heaven, (AZ)after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 3:2 Lit with respect
- 1 Peter 3:6 Lit and are not
- 1 Peter 3:7 Lit a weaker vessel
- 1 Peter 3:8 Or Finally
- 1 Peter 3:8 I.e., as brothers and sisters
- 1 Peter 3:13 Lit the one who will harm you
- 1 Peter 3:14 Or would be
- 1 Peter 3:14 Lit fear
- 1 Peter 3:15 I.e., set apart
- 1 Peter 3:15 Or argument; or explanation
- 1 Peter 3:16 Lit having a good
- 1 Peter 3:17 Lit the will of God
- 1 Peter 3:18 One early ms died
- 1 Peter 3:18 Or Spirit
- 1 Peter 3:19 Or whom
- 1 Peter 3:21 Or from
1 Peter 3
New King James Version
Submission to Husbands
3 Wives, likewise, be (A)submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, (B)they, without a word, may (C)be won by the conduct of their wives, 2 (D)when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. 3 (E)Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— 4 rather let it be (F)the hidden person of the heart, with the [a]incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. 5 For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, (G)calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
A Word to Husbands
7 (H)Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, (I)as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, (J)that your prayers may not be hindered.
Called to Blessing
8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be [b]courteous; 9 (K)not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary (L)blessing, knowing that you were called to this, (M)that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For
(N)“He who would love life
And see good days,
(O)Let him [c]refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him (P)turn away from evil and do good;
(Q)Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
(R)And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Suffering for Right and Wrong
13 (S)And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 (T)But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. (U)“And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15 But [d]sanctify [e]the Lord God in your hearts, and always (V)be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the (W)hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 (X)having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Christ’s Suffering and Ours
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring [f]us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, [g]when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21 (Y)There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (Z)(not the removal of the filth of the flesh, (AA)but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and (AB)is at the right hand of God, (AC)angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 3:4 imperishable
- 1 Peter 3:8 NU humble
- 1 Peter 3:10 restrain
- 1 Peter 3:15 set apart
- 1 Peter 3:15 NU Christ as Lord
- 1 Peter 3:18 NU, M you
- 1 Peter 3:20 NU, M when the longsuffering of God waited patiently
1 Peter 3
New Testament for Everyone
Marriage and its challenges
3 In the same way, let me say a word to the women. You should be subject to your husbands, so that if there should be some who disobey the word, they may be won, without a word, through the behavior of their wives, 2 as they notice you conducting yourselves with reverence and purity. 3 The beauty you should strive for ought not to be the external sort—elaborate hairdressing, gold trinkets, fine clothes! 4 Rather, true beauty is the secret beauty of the heart, of a sincere, gentle and quiet spirit. That is very precious to God. 5 That is how the holy women of old, who hoped in God, used to make themselves beautiful in submission to their husbands. 6 Take Sarah, for instance, who obeyed Abraham and called him “Master.” You are her children if you do good and have no fear of intimidation.
7 You men, in the same way, think out how to live with your wives. Yes, they are physically weaker than you, but they deserve full respect. They are heirs of the grace of life, just the same as you. That way nothing will obstruct your prayers.
The new way of life
8 The aim of this is for you all to be like-minded, sympathetic and loving to one another, tender-hearted and humble. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil, or slander for slander, but rather say a blessing. This is what you were called to, so that you may inherit a blessing.
10 For the one who wants to love life and see good days
should guard the tongue from evil, and the lips from speaking deceit;
11 should turn away from evil and do good;
should seek peace, and follow after it.
12 For the Lord’s eyes are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
13 Who is there, then, to harm you if you are eager to do what is right? 14 But if you do suffer because of your righteous behavior, God’s blessing is upon you! “Don’t fear what they fear; don’t be disturbed.” 15 Sanctify the Messiah as Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to make a reply to anyone who asks you to explain the hope that is in you. 16 Do it, though, with gentleness and respect. Hold on to a good conscience, so that when people revile your good behavior in the Messiah they may be ashamed.
Suffering for doing right
17 It’s better to suffer for good conduct (if God so wills it) than for bad. 18 For the Messiah, too, suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the spirit. 19 In the spirit, too, he went and made the proclamation to the spirits in prison 20 who had earlier on been disobedient during the days of Noah, when God waited in patience. Noah built the ark, in which a few people, eight in fact, were rescued through water. 21 That functions as a signpost for you, pointing to baptism, which now rescues you—not by washing away fleshly pollution, but by the appeal to God of a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. 22 He has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand, with angels, authorities and powers subject to him.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
