3 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves^(A) to your own husbands^(B) so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over^(C) without words by the behavior of their wives, ² when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. ³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.^{(D) 4} Rather, it should be that of your inner self,^(E) the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.^{(F) 5} For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God^(G) used to adorn themselves.^(H) They submitted themselves to their own husbands, ⁶ like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord.^(I) You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

⁷ Husbands,^(J) in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

Suffering for Doing Good

⁸ Finally, all of you, be like-minded,^(K) be sympathetic, love one another,^(L) be compassionate and humble.^{(M) 9} Do not repay evil with evil^(N) or insult with insult.^(O) On the contrary, repay evil with blessing,^(P) because to this^(Q) you were called^(R) so that you may inherit a blessing.^{(S) 10} For,

¹³ Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?^{(U) 14} But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.^(V) “Do not fear their threats^[b]; do not be frightened.”^{[c](W) 15} But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer^(X) to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope^(Y) that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ keeping a clear conscience,^(Z) so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.^{(AA) 17} For it is better, if it is God’s will,^(AB) to suffer for doing good^(AC) than for doing evil. ¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once^(AD) for sins,^(AE) the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.^(AF) He was put to death in the body^(AG) but made alive in the Spirit.^{(AH) 19} After being made alive,^[d] he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits^(AI)— ²⁰ to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently^(AJ) in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.^(AK) In it only a few people, eight in all,^(AL) were saved^(AM) through water, ²¹ and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you^(AN) also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience^(AO) toward God.^[e] It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,^{(AP) 22} who has gone into heaven^(AQ) and is at God’s right hand^(AR)—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.^(AS)

Two Shepherds

⁴ This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.^{(H) 5} Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.^{(I) 6} For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors^(J) and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”^(K)

⁷ So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,^(L) particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. ⁸ In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.

The flock detested^(M) me, and I grew weary of them ⁹ and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.^(N) Let those who are left eat^(O) one another’s flesh.”

¹⁰ Then I took my staff called Favor^(P) and broke it, revoking^(Q) the covenant I had made with all the nations. ¹¹ It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.

¹² I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.^(R)

¹³ And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver^(S) and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.^(T)

¹⁴ Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. ¹⁶ For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.

Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed

12 A prophecy:^(X) The word of the Lord concerning Israel.

The Lord, who stretches out the heavens,^(Y) who lays the foundation of the earth,^(Z) and who forms the human spirit within a person,^(AA) declares: ² “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup^(AB) that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.^(AC) Judah^(AD) will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. ³ On that day, when all the nations^(AE) of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock^(AF) for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure^(AG) themselves. ⁴ On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.^{(AH) 5} Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong,^(AI) because the Lord Almighty is their God.’

⁶ “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot^(AJ) in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume^(AK) all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact^(AL) in her place.

⁷ “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.^{(AM) 8} On that day the Lord will shield^(AN) those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest^(AO) among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God,^(AP) like the angel of the Lord going before^(AQ) them. ⁹ On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations^(AR) that attack Jerusalem.^(AS)

Mourning for the One They Pierced

¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit^[a](AT) of grace and supplication.^(AU) They will look on^[b] me, the one they have pierced,^(AV) and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,^(AW) and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.^{(AX) 11} On that day the weeping^(AY) in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.^{(AZ) 12} The land will mourn,^(BA) each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, ¹³ the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, ¹⁴ and all the rest of the clans and their wives.^(BB)

Cleansing From Sin

13 “On that day a fountain^(BC) will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse^(BD) them from sin and impurity.

² “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols^(BE) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”^(BF) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets^(BG) and the spirit of impurity from the land. ³ And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies^(BH) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.^(BI)

⁴ “On that day every prophet will be ashamed^(BJ) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment^(BK) of hair^(BL) in order to deceive.^{(BM) 5} Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.^[c]’^{(BN) 6} If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body^[d]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered