You slaves must submit yourselves to your masters, even if they mistreat you. Imitate Christ in the way in which he suffered unjustly.

1 Peter 2:18-25

18 You slaves who are believers, submit yourselves to your masters and completely respect them. Submit yourselves not only to those who act in a good and kind [DOU] way towards you, but also submit yourselves to those who act in a harsh way towards you. 19 You should do that because God is pleased with those who, knowing that he is aware of what is happening to them, endure the pain that they suffer because of being treated unjustly by their masters {their masters have treated them unjustly}. 20 God will certainly not [RHQ] be pleased with you if you do something that is wrong and as a result you are beaten {someone beats you}! But if, instead of doing something that is wrong, you do what is good, and as a result of that, you suffer for doing something that is good, and you endure that suffering, God will ◄commend/be pleased with► you. 21 One of the reasons why God chose you is that you would suffer. When Christ suffered for you, he became an example for you, in order that you would ◄imitate what/do like► he did. 22 Remember how Christ conducted himself:

He never sinned,

And he never said [MTY] anything to deceive people.

23 When people insulted him, he did not insult them in return.

When people caused him to suffer, he did not threaten ◄to get revenge/to cause them to suffer►.

Instead, he decided to let God, who always judges justly, prove that he ◄was innocent/had done nothing that is wrong► (OR, he left his case in the hands of God, who always judges justly).

24 He himself endured physically the punishment for our sins when he died on the cross,

in order that we would stop sinning (OR, no longer respond to sinful desires) and start living righteous lives.

It is because he was wounded {they wounded him} that your souls have been saved [MET] from being sinful, as people’s bodies are healed from being sick. 25 Truly you were like sheep that had gone astray [SIM], but now you have returned to Jesus, who cares for your souls as a shepherd cares for his sheep [MET].