1 Peter 3
3
Submission to Husbands
1 In the same way, wives, be subject to your* own husbands, so that even if some are disobeying the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their* wives, 2 when they observe your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Let not your adornment be external—braiding of hair and putting on of gold jewelry, or wearing of garments, 4 but the hidden man of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is extremely valuable in the sight of God. 5 For in this way, the holy women of the past, who fixed their hope in God, also used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their* own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose children you have become by doing good and not being intimidated by any fear.
Instruction for Husbands
7 Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives* according to knowledge, showing honour to the female as to the weaker vessel, as also fellow heirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Called to Inherit a Blessing
8 And finally, all of you be of one mind, sympathetic, loving the brothers, compassionate, humble. 9 Do not return evil in response to evil, nor insult in response to insult; but on the contrary, bless, because to this purpose, you were called, so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,
“The one who wants to love life
and see good days must keep his* tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit.
11 And he must turn away from evil and engage in good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are inclined to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who engage in evil.”*
Suffering for Righteous Cause
13 And who is the one who will harm you if you become zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, you are blessed. And “do not be afraid of their intimidation, nor be troubled.”* 15 But set apart Christ* as Lord in your hearts, always ready to give a defence to anyone who asks you for an account of the hope that is in you—yet with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience—so that in the thing in which you are spoken against, those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if it aligns with the will of God,* than for doing evil.
The Example and Purpose of the Suffering of Jesus
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous,* so that He might bring you* to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, 19 in which He also went and preached to the spirits in prison— 20 to those who formerly disobeyed, when the patience of God was waiting in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were brought to safety through water. 21 Corresponding to this, baptism now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the flesh, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, with angels and authorities and powers made subject to Him.
Notes
1 Greek the . In this context, the Greek definite article functions pronominally, hence the translation your
1 Greek the . In this context, the Greek definite article functions pronominally, hence the translation their
5 Greek the . In this context, the Greek definite article functions pronominally, hence the translation their
7 The possessive noun phrase your wives is supplied to the text based on context for the sake of clarity
10 Greek the . In this context, the Greek definite article functions pronominally, hence the translation his
10-12 Quoted from Ps. 34:12-16
14 Quoted from Is. 8:12b
15 Some ancient manuscripts read God
17 Greek if the will of God wills it
18 One ancient Greek manuscript omits the nominative substantive with a genitive prepositional phrase of substitution: the righteous for the unrighteous
18 Some ancient manuscripts read us
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
