First Letter of Peter 3

¹ In the same way, wives should be obedient to their husbands. Then, if there are some husbands who have not yet obeyed the word, they may find themselves won over, without a word spoken, by the way their wives behave,

² when they see how faithful and conscientious they are.

³ Do not dress up for show: doing up your hair, wearing gold bracelets and fine clothes;

⁴ all this should be inside, in a person’s heart, imperishable: the ornament of a sweet and gentle disposition – this is what is precious in the sight of God.

⁵ That was how the holy women of the past dressed themselves attractively – they hoped in God and were tender and obedient to their husbands;

⁶ like Sarah, who was obedient to Abraham, and called him her lord. You are now her children, as long as you live good lives and do not give way to fear or worry.

⁷ In the same way, husbands must always treat their wives with consideration in their life together, respecting a woman as one who, though she may be the weaker partner, is equally an heir to the life of grace. This will stop anything from coming in the way of your prayers.

⁸ Finally: you should all agree among yourselves and be sympathetic; love the brothers, have compassion and be self-effacing.

⁹ Never pay back one wrong with another, or an angry word with another one; instead, pay back with a blessing. That is what you are called to do, so that you inherit a blessing yourself.

¹⁰ Remember: Anyone who wants to have a happy life and to enjoy prosperity must banish malice from his tongue, deceitful conversation from his lips;

¹¹ he must never yield to evil but must practise good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

¹² Because the face of the Lord frowns on evil men, but the eyes of the Lord are turned towards the virtuous.[*a]

¹³ No one can hurt you if you are determined to do only what is right;

¹⁴ if you do have to suffer for being good, you will count it a blessing. There is no need to be afraid or to worry about them.[*b]

¹⁵ Simply reverence the Lord[*c] Christ in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have.

¹⁶ But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience, so that those who slander you when you are living a good life in Christ may be proved wrong in the accusations that they bring.

¹⁷ And if it is the will of God that you should suffer, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.

¹⁸ Why, Christ himself, innocent though he was, had died once for sins, died for the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life,

¹⁹ and, in the spirit, he went to preach to the spirits in prison.

²⁰ Now it was long ago, when Noah was still building that ark which saved only a small group of eight people ‘by water’, and when God was still waiting patiently, that these spirits refused to believe.

²¹ That water is a type of the baptism which saves you now, and which is not the washing off of physical dirt but a pledge made to God from a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

²² who has entered heaven and is at God’s right hand, now that he has made the angels and Dominations and Powers his subjects.