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Wives and Husbands

In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then,[a] even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live,[b] when they see your pure and reverent conduct.[c] Let your[d] beauty[e] not be external—the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry[f] or fine clothes— but the inner person[g] of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands, like Sarah who obeyed[h] Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children[i] when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so.[j]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Peter 3:1 tn Grk “that…they may be won over,” showing the purpose of “being subject” (vs. 1b). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  2. 1 Peter 3:1 tn Grk “by the wives’ behavior.”
  3. 1 Peter 3:2 tn Grk “behavior,” the same word translated “the way you live” in vs. 1.
  4. 1 Peter 3:3 tn Grk “whose,” referring to the wives.
  5. 1 Peter 3:3 tn Or “adornment.”
  6. 1 Peter 3:3 tn The word “jewelry” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate that gold ornaments or jewelry is intended; otherwise the reader might assume wearing gold-colored clothing was forbidden.
  7. 1 Peter 3:4 tn Grk “the hidden man.” KJV’s “the hidden man of the heart,” referring to a wife, could be seriously misunderstood by the modern English reader.
  8. 1 Peter 3:6 tn Grk “as Sarah obeyed.”
  9. 1 Peter 3:6 tn Grk “whose children you become.”
  10. 1 Peter 3:6 tn Grk “doing good and not fearing any intimidation.”

Wives and Husbands

In the same way, wives,(A) submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the word,(B) they may be won over(C) without a word by the way their wives live(D) when they observe your pure, reverent lives.(E) Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes,(F) but rather what is inside the heart[a](G)—the imperishable quality of a gentle(H) and quiet(I) spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For in the past, the holy(J) women who put their hope(K) in God also adorned themselves in this way, submitting to their own husbands, just as Sarah(L) obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You have become her children when you do what is good and do not fear any intimidation.(M)

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Footnotes

  1. 3:4 Or rather, the hidden person of the heart