1 Peter 2:12
New International Version
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

New Living Translation
Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

English Standard Version
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Berean Standard Bible
Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

Berean Literal Bible
keeping your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that wherein which they speak against you as evildoers, through having witnessed the good deeds, they may glorify God in the day of visitation.

King James Bible
Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

New King James Version
having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

New American Standard Bible
Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God on the day of visitation.

NASB 1995
Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

NASB 1977
Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Legacy Standard Bible
by keeping your conduct excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good works, as they observe them, glorify God in the DAY OF VISITATION.

Amplified Bible
Keep your behavior excellent among the [unsaved] Gentiles [conduct yourself honorably, with graciousness and integrity], so that for whatever reason they may slander you as evildoers, yet by observing your good deeds they may [instead come to] glorify God in the day of visitation [when He looks upon them with mercy].

Christian Standard Bible
Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do what is evil, they will, by observing your good works, glorify God on the day of visitation.

American Standard Version
having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And let your way of life be beautiful before all children of men, those who speak wicked words of you, that they may see your beautiful works and praise God in the day of examination.

Contemporary English Version
Always let others see you behaving properly, even though they may still accuse you of doing wrong. Then on the day of judgment, they will honor God by telling the good things they saw you do.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Having your conversation good among the Gentiles: that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by the good works, which they shall behold in you, glorify God in the day of visitation.

English Revised Version
having your behaviour seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Live decent lives among unbelievers. Then, although they ridicule you as if you were doing wrong while they are watching you do good things, they will praise God on the day he comes to help you.

Good News Translation
Your conduct among the heathen should be so good that when they accuse you of being evildoers, they will have to recognize your good deeds and so praise God on the Day of his coming.

International Standard Version
Continue to live such upright lives among the gentiles that, when they slander you as practicers of evil, they may see your good actions and glorify God when he visits them.

Literal Standard Version
having your behavior right among the nations, so that whenever they speak against you as evildoers, seeing [your] good works, they may glorify God in [the] day of inspection.

Majority Standard Bible
Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

New American Bible
Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that if they speak of you as evildoers, they may observe your good works and glorify God on the day of visitation.

NET Bible
and maintain good conduct among the non-Christians, so that though they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears.

New Revised Standard Version
Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.

New Heart English Bible
having good behavior among the nations, so in that of which they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they see, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Webster's Bible Translation
Having your manner of life honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Weymouth New Testament
Live honourable lives among the Gentiles, in order that, although they now speak against you as evil-doers, they may yet witness your good conduct, and may glorify God on the day of reward and retribution.

World English Bible
having good behavior among the nations, so in that of which they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good works and glorify God in the day of visitation.

Young's Literal Translation
having your behaviour among the nations right, that in that which they speak against you as evil-doers, of the good works having beheld, they may glorify God in a day of inspection.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Living Stone
11Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul. 12 Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. 13Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,…

Cross References
Isaiah 10:3
What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?

Daniel 6:4
Thus the administrators and satraps sought a charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find no charge or corruption, because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was found in him.

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 9:8
When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Luke 19:44
They will level you to the ground--you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God."

John 13:31
When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.

Acts 28:22
But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect."


Treasury of Scripture

Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

your conversation.

1 Peter 3:2
While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

Psalm 37:14
The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.

Psalm 50:23
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

honest.

Romans 12:17
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

Romans 13:13
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

2 Corinthians 8:21
Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

among.

Genesis 13:7,8
And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land…

Philippians 2:15,16
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; …

that.

1 Peter 3:1,16
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; …

1 Peter 4:14-16
If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified…

Matthew 5:11
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

whereas.

Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Titus 2:7,8
In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, …

glorify.

1 Peter 4:11
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

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1 Peter 2
1. He exhorts to put away wickedness;
4. showing that Christ is the foundation whereupon they are built.
11. He beseeches them also to abstain from sinful desires;
13. to be obedient to authorities;
18. and teaches servants how to obey their masters;
20. patiently suffering for well doing, after the example of Christ.














(12) Conversation.--A favourite word with St. Peter, occurring (substantive and verb) seven times in this Epistle, and thrice in the second--i.e., as often as in all the other New Testament writings put together. It means the visible conduct of the daily walk in life. This, as among Gentiles--i.e., heathen (the words are synonymous, though St. Paul generally says "those without" when he means heathen as opposed to Christian)--is to be "honest." We have no word adequate to represent this charming adjective. It is rendered "good" immediately below and in John 10:11 ("the Good Shepherd"), "worthy" in James 2:7, "goodly" in Luke 21:5. But it is the ordinary Greek word for "beautiful," and implies the attractiveness of the sight, the satisfaction afforded by an approach to ideal excellence.

That whereas.--The marginal version is more literal, and in sense perhaps preferable, "wherein." It means that the very fact of the heathen having slandered them will make their testimony "in the day of visitation" all the more striking, as (by way of illustration) the doubts of St. Thomas tend to "the more confirmation of the faith." So in Romans 2:1, "wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself;" or Hebrews 2:18 (lit.), "wherein He Himself hath suffered, being tempted." . . .

Verse 12. - Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles. If we read ἀπέχεσθαι, in ver. 11 (some ancient manuscripts have ἀπέχεσθε), there is a slight irregularity in the construction, as the participle ἔνοντες is nominative; it gives more force and vividness to the sentence (comp. in the Greek, Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:16). The conversation (ἀναστροφή, mode of life or behavior) of the unconverted is described as "vain" in 1 Peter 1:18; the conversation of Christians must be seemly (καλή), exhibiting the beauty of holiness. The Churches to which St. Peter wrote were in Gentile countries; they must be careful, for the honor of their religion, to set a good example among the heathen - a warning, alas! too often neglected in modern as well as in ancient times. That, whereas they speak against you as evil-doers; literally, wherein, in the matter in which they speak, i.e. in reference to manner of life. Christians were commonly accused of "turning the world upside down;" of doing "contrary to the decrees of Caesar," as at Thessalonica (Acts 17:6, 7); of being atheists and blasphemers of the popular idolatry, as at Ephesus (Acts 19:37). Suetonius calls them a "genus hominum superstitionis novae et maleficse" ('Vit. Neron.,' 1 Peter 16.). Probably the grosser accusations of Thyestean banquets, etc., came later. They may by your good works, which they shall be hold, glorify God in the day of visitation. The word rendered, "which they shall be bold" (ἐποπτεύσαντες, or, according to some of the older manuscripts, ἐποπτεύοντες, beholding), occurs only here and in 1 Peter 3:2. It implies close attention; the Gentiles watched the conduct of the Christians, narrowly scrutinizing it to discover faults and inconsistencies. The use of the corresponding substantive, ἐπόπτης, in 2 Peter 1:16 is a coincidence to be noticed. It is not probable that there is any reference to the heathen use of the word in connection with the Eleusinian Mysteries. St. Peter hopes that this close observation of the lives of Christian people would lead the Gentiles to glorify God; he was thinking, perhaps, of our Lord's words in the sermon on the mount: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.' Perhaps in the following clause also we may trace an echo of the Savior's words in Luke 19:44, "Because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (ἐπισκοπῆς, as here). St. Peter hopes that the holy lives of Christians may be made the means of saving many Gentile souls in the time of visitation; that is, when God should visit the heathen with his converting grace, seeking to draw them to himself, whether by gracious chastisement or by the preaching of his servants. This seems more natural than to understand the words of God's visitation of the Christians in the persecutions which were impending; though it is true that many Gentiles were won to Christ by the calm and holy bearing of suffering Christians.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Conduct
ἔχοντες (echontes)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2192: To have, hold, possess. Including an alternate form scheo skheh'-o; a primary verb; to hold.

yourselves
ὑμῶν (hymōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

with such honor
καλήν (kalēn)
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2570: Properly, beautiful, but chiefly good, i.e. Valuable or virtuous.

among
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

the
τοῖς (tois)
Article - Dative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Gentiles
ἔθνεσιν (ethnesin)
Noun - Dative Neuter Plural
Strong's 1484: Probably from etho; a race, i.e. A tribe; specially, a foreign one.

that,
ἵνα (hina)
Conjunction
Strong's 2443: In order that, so that. Probably from the same as the former part of heautou; in order that.

though
(hō)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3739: Who, which, what, that.

they slander
καταλαλοῦσιν (katalalousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 2635: To speak evil of, rail at, slander. From katalalos; to be a traducer, i.e. To slander.

you
ὑμῶν (hymōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

as
ὡς (hōs)
Adverb
Strong's 5613: Probably adverb of comparative from hos; which how, i.e. In that manner.

evildoers,
κακοποιῶν (kakopoiōn)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 2555: Doing evil; subst: an evil-doer. From kakos and poieo; a bad-doer;, a criminal.

they may see
ἐποπτεύοντες (epopteuontes)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2029: To be an eyewitness of, behold, look upon. From epi and a derivative of optanomai; to inspect, i.e. Watch.

[your]
τῶν (tōn)
Article - Genitive Neuter Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

good
καλῶν (kalōn)
Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural
Strong's 2570: Properly, beautiful, but chiefly good, i.e. Valuable or virtuous.

deeds
ἔργων (ergōn)
Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural
Strong's 2041: From a primary ergo; toil; by implication, an act.

[and] glorify
δοξάσωσιν (doxasōsin)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1392: To glorify, honor, bestow glory on. From doxa; to render glorious.

God
Θεὸν (Theon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2316: A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very.

on
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

[the] day
ἡμέρᾳ (hēmera)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2250: A day, the period from sunrise to sunset.

He visits us.
ἐπισκοπῆς (episkopēs)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 1984: From episkeptomai; inspection; by implication, superintendence; specially, the Christian 'episcopate'.


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NT Letters: 1 Peter 2:12 Having good behavior among the nations so (1 Pet. 1P iP i Pet)
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