1 Peter 2:12 (DRB)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

1 Peter 2:10 Who in times past were not a people: but are now the people of God. Who had not obtained mercy: but now have obtained mercy.

1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul,

1 Peter 2:12 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.

1 Peter 2:13 Be ye subject therefore to every human creature for God's sake: whether it be to the king as excelling,

1 Peter 2:14 Or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of the good.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "good works", "having", "conversation", "gentiles", "whereas", "speak", "against", and "evildoers". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "good works" and "having", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Dearly beloved I beseech you as strangers..." into verse 13's "Be ye subject therefore to every human...", so "good works" and "having" belong inside that flow. In 1 Peter context, the local focus is hope in suffering, holy conduct, submission, and grace.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "good works" and "having" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.