1 Peter 3
The full text of 1 Peter 3 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, so that, even if some of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without a word by the conduct of their wives,
2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.
4 Rather, it should be the hidden person of the heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.
5 For this is how the holy women of the past, who put their hope in God, used to make themselves beautiful. They submitted themselves to their own husbands,
6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
7 Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives with understanding, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel and as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, sympathetic, loving as a family, compassionate, and humble.
9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
10 For,
"Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?
14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened."
15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
17 For it is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
19 in which also he went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison
20 who long ago did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water—
21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand, with angels, authorities, and powers in submission to him.
Translation notes (13)
- 1 Peter 3:1a Greek homoiōs (ὁμοίως), 'likewise', links this exhortation to the preceding calls to be subject (2:13–18) and to Christ's example of unjust suffering (2:21–25). The participle hypotassomenai (ὑποτασσόμεναι), 'submitting yourselves', functions imperativally here.
- 1 Peter 3:4a The phrase ho kryptos tes kardias anthropos (ὁ κρυπτὸς τῆς καρδίας ἄνθρωπος) is literally 'the hidden person of the heart', the inner self as opposed to outward appearance. The Greek en to aphtharto, literally 'in the imperishable', supplies no noun; 'unfading beauty' makes explicit the contrast with the perishable adornments of the previous verse.
- 1 Peter 3:6a Sarah's calling Abraham kyrios (κύριος), 'lord', alludes to Genesis 18:12, where the Septuagint uses the same word of her inward speech. The closing phrase is literally 'not fearing any terror', employing the rare noun ptoesis (πτόησις), 'terror' or 'intimidation', found in the New Testament only here; it echoes the Septuagint of Proverbs 3:25.
- 1 Peter 3:7a The Greek phrase skeuei asthenesteroi means "weaker vessel/instrument." The precise meaning (whether physical, social, or other) is disputed.
- 1 Peter 3:8a The Greek here is a series of five adjectives, three of which are compound words: homophrones, 'like-minded'; sympatheis, 'sympathetic'; and philadelphoi, 'loving as a family'.
- 1 Peter 3:10a Verses 10-12 quote Psalm 34:12-16, following the wording of the Septuagint, where the psalm is numbered 33. The Greek dolos (δόλος), 'deceit', rendered here as 'deceitful', echoes the same word in 2:1 and 2:22, where Christ himself is said to have had no deceit in his mouth.
- 1 Peter 3:12a 1 Peter cites Psalm 34:15–16 via the Septuagint (Psalm 33:16–17), omitting the clause 'to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.' The phrase prosopon kyriou epi (πρόσωπον Κυρίου ἐπὶ), 'the face of the Lord against,' uses epi with the accusative to denote hostile opposition. Deesis (δέησις), 'petition,' is rendered here as 'prayer'.
- 1 Peter 3:14a Peter here quotes Isaiah 8:12, where the prophet is told not to dread what the people dread. The Greek phrase ton phobon auton me phobethete is literally 'do not fear their fear', an idiom in which 'their fear' means the terror they inspire; it is rendered here as 'do not fear their threats'. The next verse continues the Isaiah passage, applying its call to sanctify the Lord to Christ.
- 1 Peter 3:15a Some later manuscripts read "revere the Lord God."
- 1 Peter 3:18a Some manuscripts read "died for sins" or "suffered for us." The contrast "in the body / in the Spirit" may also be rendered as "in the flesh / in the spirit."
- 1 Peter 3:19a The identity of the "spirits in prison" (whether fallen angels or the human dead of Noah's generation) and the content of the proclamation are much disputed.
- 1 Peter 3:21a The Greek word eperotema can mean "pledge," "appeal," or "response/request" to God. Its precise meaning here is disputed.
- 1 Peter 3:22a The phrase 'at God's right hand' echoes Psalm 110:1, the psalm most often applied to Christ's exaltation in the New Testament. The threefold list angeloi, exousiai, dynameis ('angels, authorities, powers') names classes of spiritual beings widely acknowledged in first-century cosmology; the participle hypotagentōn, 'having been subjected', declares them already placed under Christ's rule.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Greek and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of 1 Peter, is free to read here on the web.
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