1 Peter 3:12-4:2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
12 because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and His ears are open to their request.
But the face of the Lord is against
those who do what is evil.[a]
Undeserved Suffering
13 And who will harm[b] you if you are deeply committed to what is good?[c] 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness,(A) you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear(B) or be disturbed,(C)[d] 15 but honor[e] the Messiah[f] as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason[g] for the hope that is in you.(D) 16 However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscience clear,[h][i](E) so that when you are accused,[j] those who denounce your Christian life[k] will be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer(F) for doing good, if that should be God’s will,[l] than for doing evil.
18 For Christ also suffered(G) for sins once for all,[m](H)
the righteous for the unrighteous,[n]
that He might bring you[o] to God,(I)
after being put to death in the fleshly realm[p](J)
but made alive in the spiritual realm.[q]
19 In that state[r] He also went and made a proclamation to the spirits(K) in prison[s] 20 who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah(L) while an ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people[t](M)—were saved through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not the removal of the filth of the flesh,(N) but the pledge[u] of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.(O) 22 Now that He has gone into heaven,(P) He is at God’s right hand(Q) with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.(R)
Following Christ
4 Therefore, since Christ suffered[v] in the flesh,[w] equip[x] yourselves also with the same resolve[y]—because the one who suffered in the flesh has finished(S) with sin[z]— 2 in order to live the remaining time in the flesh, no longer for human desires,[aa] but for God’s will.(T)
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 3:12 Ps 34:12-16
- 1 Peter 3:13 Or mistreat, or do evil to
- 1 Peter 3:13 Or you are partisans for the good; lit you are zealots
- 1 Peter 3:14 Is 8:12
- 1 Peter 3:15 Or sanctify; lit set apart
- 1 Peter 3:15 Other mss read set God
- 1 Peter 3:15 Or who demands of you an accounting
- 1 Peter 3:16 Lit good
- 1 Peter 3:16 Or keeping a clear conscience
- 1 Peter 3:16 Other mss read when they speak against you as evildoers
- 1 Peter 3:16 Lit your good behavior in Christ
- 1 Peter 3:17 Lit if the will of God should will
- 1 Peter 3:18 Other mss read died for sins on our behalf; other mss read died for our sins; other mss read died for sins on your behalf
- 1 Peter 3:18 Or the Righteous One in the place of the unrighteous many
- 1 Peter 3:18 Other mss read us
- 1 Peter 3:18 Or in the flesh
- 1 Peter 3:18 Or in the spirit, or in the Spirit
- 1 Peter 3:19 Or In whom, or At that time, or In which
- 1 Peter 3:19 Perhaps fallen supernatural beings or angels; 2Pt 2:4; Jd 6
- 1 Peter 3:20 Lit souls
- 1 Peter 3:21 Or the appeal
- 1 Peter 4:1 Other mss read suffered for us
- 1 Peter 4:1 The phrase “in the flesh” probably means in human experience.
- 1 Peter 4:1 Or arm
- 1 Peter 4:1 Or perspective, or attitude
- 1 Peter 4:1 Or the one who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin
- 1 Peter 4:2 Lit for desires of human beings
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