You, too, who are wives must be submissive to your husbands. Some of these still refuse credence to the word; it is for their wives to win them over, not by word but by example;

by the modesty and reverence they observe in your demeanour.

Your beauty must lie, not in braided hair, not in gold trinkets, not in the dress you wear,

but in the hidden features of your hearts, in a possession you can never lose, that of a calm and tranquil spirit; to God’s eyes, beyond price.

It was thus that the holy women of old time adorned themselves, those women who had such trust in God, and paid their husbands such respect.

Think how obedient Sara was to Abraham, how she called him her lord; if you would prove yourselves her children, live honestly, and let no anxious thoughts disturb you.

You, too, who are husbands must use marriage considerately, paying homage to woman’s sex as weaker than your own. The grace of eternal life belongs to both, and your prayers must not suffer interruption.✻

In a word, think the same thoughts, all of you, and share the same feelings; be lovers of the brethren. I would see you tender-hearted, modest, and humble,

not repaying injury with injury, or hard words with hard words, but blessing those who curse you. This God’s call demands of you, and you will inherit a blessing in your turn.

Yes, long life and prosperous days, who would have these for the asking? My counsel is, keep thy tongue clear of harm, and thy lips free from every treacherous word.

Neglect the call of evil, and rather do good; let peace be all thy quest and aim.

On the upright, the Lord’s eye ever looks favourably; his ears are open to their pleading. Perilous is his frown for the wrong-doers.✻

And who is to do you wrong, if only what is good inspires your ambitions?

If, after all, you should have to suffer in the cause of right, yours is a blessed lot. Do not be afraid or disturbed at their threats;

enthrone Christ as Lord in your hearts. If anyone asks you to give an account of the hope which you cherish, be ready at all times to answer for it,

but courteously and with due reverence. What matters is that you should have a clear conscience; so the defamers of your holy life in Christ will be disappointed in their calumny.

It may be God’s will that we should suffer for doing right; better that, than for doing wrong.

It was thus that Christ died as a ransom, paid once for all, on behalf of our sins, he the innocent for us the guilty, so as to present us in God’s sight. In his mortal nature he was done to death, but endowed with fresh life in his spirit,

and it was in his spirit that he went and preached to the spirits who lay in prison.

Long before, they had refused belief, hoping that God would be patient with them, in the days of Noe. That ark which Noe was then building, in which a few souls, eight in all, found refuge as they passed through the waves,✻

was a type of the baptism which saves us now. Our baptism is not a putting away of outward defilement; it is the test which assures us of a good conscience before God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.✻

He sits, now, at the right hand of God, annihilating death, to make us heirs of eternal life; he has taken his journey to heaven, with all the angels and powers and princedoms made subject under his feet.✻