베드로전서 3

Wives and husbands

¹In the same way, wives, submit to your own husbands. Then if any of them do not obey the word, your way of life will win them over even without your saying a word, ²as they watch how pure your conduct is and how you live in reverence for God.^{a 3}Do not let your adornment be the outward kind: braided hair, gold ornaments, and the clothes you put on. ⁴Let it be the hidden self of the heart, adorned with what never decays, a gentle and quiet spirit, which God values highly. ⁵This is how the holy women of the past who put their hope in God made themselves beautiful: they submitted to their own husbands. ⁶So Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You have become her daughters, as long as you do what is good and let nothing terrify you.

⁷Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives with understanding. Give honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, and as one who will inherit the grace of life together with you, so that nothing stands in the way of your prayers.^bc

Blessing instead of insult

⁸To sum up: all of you, be united in mind, share one another’s feelings, love each other as brothers and sisters, be tender in heart and humble in mind. ⁹Do not pay back evil with evil or abuse with abuse. Instead, bless, because this is what you were called to, so that you may inherit a blessing.^{d 10}For whoever wants to love life and see good days must hold back the tongue from evil and the lips from speaking deceit, ¹¹must turn away from evil and do good, must look for peace and go after it. ¹²For the Lord keeps his eyes on the righteous and turns his ears to their prayer, but the Lord’s face is set against those who do evil.

Suffering for doing good

¹³And who will do you harm if you are devoted to doing what is good? ¹⁴But suppose you do suffer because of righteousness: even then you are blessed. Do not be afraid of what they threaten, and do not be shaken. ¹⁵Instead, in your hearts set Christ apart as the holy Lord. Be ready at all times to make your defense to anyone who asks you for the reason behind the hope you hold. ¹⁶Yet answer with gentleness and with reverence for God, keeping a good conscience, so that when people speak evil of you, those who insult your good life in Christ will be ashamed.^{efg 17}It is better, after all, to suffer while doing good, if God wills that, than to suffer while doing wrong. ¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous one for the unrighteous, so that he might lead you to God. In the flesh he was put to death, but in the spirit he was made alive. ¹⁹In that spirit he also went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, ²⁰who had disobeyed long before, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In that ark a few people, eight in all, came safely through the water.^{hijk 21}This water points ahead to baptism, which now saves you as well. Baptism is not washing dirt off the body, but the pledge of a good conscience made to God. It saves you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. ²²He went into heaven and is now at God’s right hand, and angels, authorities, and powers have been made subject to him.^lmn