Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, magenta:vocative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Similarly, wives, be subjected to your own husbands so that even if some are being disobedient to the word, they will be won without a word through the behavior of their wives,

UST In a similar way, you women who are believers, submit to your husbands. Do this in order that you may persuade any husbands who do not believe the message about the Messiah to become believers without you saying anything to them.

BLB Likewise wives, be subject to the own husbands so that, even if any are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without word by the conduct of the wives,

AICNT Likewise, wives, being submissive to your own husbands, so that [even][fn] if some are disobedient to the word, they may be won over without a word by the conduct of their wives,

3:1, even: Absent from some manuscripts. 𝔓81 B(03)

OEB Again, those of you who are married women should accept the authority of your husbands, so that if any of them reject the message they may be won over without a message by the conduct of their wives,

WEBBE In the same way, wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, so that, even if any don’t obey the Word, they may be won by the behaviour of their wives without a word,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live,

LSV Wives, be subject to your own husbands in like manner, that even if some are disobedient to the word, they may be won through the behavior of the wives without the word,

FBV Wives, accept your husbands' authority in the same way, so that if some husbands refuse to accept the word, they may still be won over without words by the way you behave,

TCNT In the same way, wives, submit to your own husbands, so that, [fn]even if some are disobedient to the word, they [fn]will be won without a word by the way you live

3:1 even ¦ — WH

3:1 will ¦ may TR

T4T You women believers, just like slaves should submit themselves to their masters, submit yourselves to your husbands. Do that in order that if any of them do not believe the message about Christ, they may become believers without it being necessary for you to say anything to them about their relationship to God.

LEB In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some are disobedient to the word, they may be won over without a word by the conduct of their wives,

BBE Wives, be ruled by your husbands; so that even if some of them give no attention to the word, their hearts may be changed by the behaviour of their wives,

Moff In the same way, you wives must be submissive to your husbands, so that even those who will not believe the Word may be won over without a word by the behaviour of their wives,

Wymth Married women, in the same way, be submissive to your husbands, so that even if some of them disbelieve the Message, they may, apart from the Message, be won over by the daily life of their wives, after watching your daily life—

ASV In like manner, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if any obey not the word, they may without the word be gained by the behavior of their wives;

DRA In like manner also let wives be subject to their husbands: that if any believe not the word, they may be won without the word, by the conversation of the wives.

YLT In like manner, the wives, be ye subject to your own husbands, that even if certain are disobedient to the word, through the conversation of the wives, without the word, they may be won,

Drby Likewise, wives, [be] subject to your own husbands, that, even if any are disobedient to the word, they may be gained without [the] word by the conversation of the wives,

RV In like manner, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if any obey not the word, they may without the word be gained by the behaviour of their wives;
(In like manner, ye/you_all wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if any obey not the word, they may without the word be gained by the behaviour of their wives; )

SLT Likewise, wives being subject to their own husbands; that also, if any believe not the word, by the turning back of wives might be gained without the word;

Wbstr Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the deportment of the wives;

KJB-1769 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
(Likewise, ye/you_all wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; )

KJB-1611 ¶ Likewise, ye wiues, be in subiection to your owne husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be wonne by the conuersation of the wiues:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Likewise ye wyues, be in subiectio to your husbandes, that euen they whiche obey not the word, may without the word, be wonne by the couersation of ye wiues,
(Likewise ye/you_all wives, be in subjectio to your husbands, that evening they which obey not the word, may without the word, be won by the coversation of ye/you_all wives,)

Gnva Likewise let the wiues bee subiect to their husbands, that euen they which obey not the worde, may without the worde be wonne by the conuersation of the wiues,
(Likewise let the wives be subject to their husbands, that evening they which obey not the word, may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives, )

Cvdl Likewyse let the wyues be in subieccion to their hussbandes, that euen they which beleue not the worde, maye without the worde be wonne by ye couersacion of the wyues,
(Likewise let the wives be in subjection to their hussbandes, that evening they which believe not the word, may without the word be won by ye/you_all coversacion of the wives,)

TNT Lykewyse let the wyves be in subieccion to their husbandes that even they which beleve not the worde maye with out the worde be wonne by the conversacion of the wyves:
(Likewise let the wyves be in subjection to their husbands that evening they which believe not the word may with out the word be won by the conversacion of the wyves: )

Wycl Also wymmen be thei suget to her hosebondis; that if ony man bileue not to the word, bi the conuersacioun of wymmen thei be wonnun with out word.
(Also women be they subject to her husbands; that if any man believe not to the word, by the conversacioun of women they be wonnun with out word.)

Luth Desselbigengleichen sollen die Weiber ihren Männern untertan sein, auf daß auch die, so nicht glauben an das Wort, durch der Weiber Wandel ohne Wort gewonnen werden,
(Desselbigengleichen should the women your(pl) men subject/subservient be, on/in/to that also that, so not believe at/to the word, through the/of_the women change(n) without word won/gained become,)

ClVg Similiter et mulieres subditæ sint viris suis: ut etsi qui non credunt verbo, per mulierem conversationem sine verbo lucrifiant:
(Similarly/Likewise and women I_submitæ let_them_be men to_his_own: as even_though who/which not/no they_believe word, through woman conversation without word lucrifiant: )

UGNT ὁμοίως, γυναῖκες, ὑποτασσόμεναι τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν, ἵνα καὶ εἴ τινες ἀπειθοῦσιν τῷ λόγῳ, διὰ τῆς τῶν γυναικῶν ἀναστροφῆς ἄνευ λόγου κερδηθήσονται,
(homoiōs, gunaikes, hupotassomenai tois idiois andrasin, hina kai ei tines apeithousin tōi logōi, dia taʸs tōn gunaikōn anastrofaʸs aneu logou kerdaʸthaʸsontai,)

SBL-GNT ⸀Ὁμοίως γυναῖκες ὑποτασσόμεναι τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν, ἵνα ⸀καὶ εἴ τινες ἀπειθοῦσιν τῷ λόγῳ διὰ τῆς τῶν γυναικῶν ἀναστροφῆς ἄνευ λόγου κερδηθήσονται
(⸀Homoiōs gunaikes hupotassomenai tois idiois andrasin, hina ⸀kai ei tines apeithousin tōi logōi dia taʸs tōn gunaikōn anastrofaʸs aneu logou kerdaʸthaʸsontai)

RP-GNT Ὁμοίως, αἱ γυναῖκες, ὑποτασσόμεναι τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν, ἵνα, καὶ εἴ τινες ἀπειθοῦσιν τῷ λόγῳ, διὰ τῆς τῶν γυναικῶν ἀναστροφῆς ἄνευ λόγου κερδηθήσονται,
(Homoiōs, hai gunaikes, hupotassomenai tois idiois andrasin, hina, kai ei tines apeithousin tōi logōi, dia taʸs tōn gunaikōn anastrofaʸs aneu logou kerdaʸthaʸsontai,)

TC-GNT Ὁμοίως, [fn]αἱ γυναῖκες, ὑποτασσόμεναι τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν, ἵνα, [fn]καὶ εἴ τινες ἀπειθοῦσι τῷ λόγῳ, διὰ τῆς τῶν γυναικῶν ἀναστροφῆς ἄνευ λόγου [fn]κερδηθήσονται,
(Homoiōs, hai gunaikes, hupotassomenai tois idiois andrasin, hina, kai ei tines apeithousi tōi logōi, dia taʸs tōn gunaikōn anastrofaʸs aneu logou kerdaʸthaʸsontai, )

3:1 αι ¦ — SBL TH WH

3:1 και ¦ — WH

3:1 κερδηθησονται ¦ κερδηθησωνται TR

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–7: Husbands and wives should honor one another

In this section, Peter gave instructions about family life. The wife should accept her husband’s authority, even if he is not a Christian, and try to influence him to faith in Christ by her good behavior. Husbands also should show honor towards their wives. Peter also said that when both husband and wife are believers, they share equally in the blessings of their new life in Christ.

Some other headings for this section are:

Wives and Husbands (NIV)

Instructions for wives and husbands

3:1a

Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands,

¶ Similarly, you wives, you should submit/defer to your husbands,
¶ Also, married women should accept their husbands’ authority

Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands: Peter wanted each married woman to accept the authority of her husband. He expected that each wife would have one husband and that each husband would have one wife. In some languages it may be necessary to make this clear by using the singular forms. For example:

Let each wife submit to her husband

Every married woman should be submissive to her husband

in the same way: The Greek word that the BSB translates as in the same way here introduces a new subject on the same general theme. Peter gave another example of how Christians should behave respectfully towards those who are in authority over them. Some other ways to translate this are:

in a similar way (NLT)

Likewise (RSV)

submit yourselves to your husbands: The Greek word that the BSB translates as submit yourselves is the same as in 2:18a. Peter wanted women who were believers to choose to respect their husbands, even if their husbands were not believers. Some other ways to translate this phrase include:

accept the authority of your husbands (NLT)

place yourselves under your husbands’ authority (GW)

3:1b

so that even if they refuse to believe the word,

so that those who reject the word of God
in order that those men/husbands who do not believe God’s message

so that: The Greek word that the BSB translates as so that introduces a purpose or goal. This purpose is stated in 3:1c. Here is another way to translate this:

then (NET)

even if they refuse to believe the word: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as even if they refuse to believe the word assumes that some husbands refused to believe the word. Peter had no doubt that there were many such men. In some languages it may be necessary to make this clear. For example, it may be possible to say:

as many as do not obey the word

those who do not believe the word

refuse to believe the word: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as refuse to believe the word is literally “disobey the word.” Here it means “disobey the message from God by not believing in Jesus.” Peter was referring to men who were not Christians. The verb refuse to believe is the same as in 2:8c (note on “disobey the word”).

the word: The phrase the word refers to the word of God and means “the word that comes from God.” If people in your area would not understand that, you may want to include the implied words.

Some other ways the word has been translated include:

God’s word (GW)

God’s teaching (NCV)

the Good News (NLT)

3:1c

they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives

will be won over to the faith by your^(fem/plur) behavior, without any words being spoken.
may be persuaded to believe in Christ by the excellent way their wives behave. Their wives will not need to preach to them^(masc),

they will be won over…by the behavior of their wives: The Greek expression that the BSB translates as they will be won over…by the behavior of their wives is in the passive. In some languages it may be necessary to use an active verb:

the behavior of their wives might win them over

the way their wives behave will win them

won over: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as won over here is a figure of speech. It means “gained for the Lord,” that is, convinced or persuaded to become a Christian. Some other ways to translate this expression are:

Keep the figure. For example:
win these men for Christ (GW)
win them over to believe (GNT)
Translate the meaning. For example:
persuaded to believe (NCV)
convinced to believe in Christ

of their wives: If you translated 3:1a as a direct command to wives, it may be natural to translate of their wives as:

of you, their wives

your^(fem/plur)

without words: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as without words here means “without the wife talking to her husband about Jesus.” It does not mean that the wife refuses to talk to her husband, or that she never even tells him that she is a Christian. It means that the way she acts should be so attractive to her husband that she will not need to keep on speaking to him about Jesus. Some other ways to translate this phrase include:

without saying anything (GW)

It will not be necessary for you to say a word (GNT)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

General Information:

In [3:1–6](../03/01.md) Peter gives instructions specifically to women who are wives.

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τινες ἀπειθοῦσιν τῷ λόγῳ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὁμοίως γυναῖκες ὑποτασσόμεναι τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν ἵνα καί εἰ τινές ἀπειθοῦσιν τῷ λόγῳ διά τῆς τῶν γυναικῶν ἀναστροφῆς ἄνευ λόγου κερδηθήσονται)

Here, being disobedient to the word could refer to: (1) refusing to believe the gospel message, as in [2:8](../02/08.md). Alternate translation: [some do not believe the message about Jesus] (2) disobeying the commands God gave in his word. Alternate translation: [some do not obey what God commands in his word]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

κερδηθήσονται

˱they˲_˓will_be_being˒_won

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [you will win them]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

κερδηθήσονται

˱they˲_˓will_be_being˒_won

Here, won is an idiom that means that the unbelieving husbands will become believers in Jesus. If your readers would not understand this, you could use an equivalent idiom or use plain language. Alternate translation: [they will be persuaded to believe in Christ]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

ἄνευ λόγου

apart_from word

Peter is leaving out some of the words that a clause would need in many languages to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply these words from the context. Alternate translation: [without you saying a word.]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy