1 Peter 3:3-7

3:3 Let your ¹  beauty ²  not be external – the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry ³  or fine clothes – 3:4 but the inner person ⁴  of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. 3:5 For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands, 3:6 like Sarah who obeyed ⁵  Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children ⁶  when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so. ⁷  3:7 Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners ⁸  and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers. ⁹ 

¹ tn Grk “whose,” referring to the wives.

² tn Or “adornment.”

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.

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.

⁵ tn Grk “as Sarah obeyed.”

⁶ tn Grk “whose children you become.”

⁷ tn Grk “doing good and not fearing any intimidation.”

⁸ tn Grk “living together according to knowledge, as to the weaker, female vessel.” The primary verbs of vs. 7 are participles (“living together…showing honor”) but they continue the sense of command from the previous paragraphs.

⁹ tn Grk “so that your prayers may not be hindered.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek, this clause was translated as a separate sentence.