The previous paragraph (1 Peter 2:11–12) provided Peter’s introduction to the second part of his letter (1 Peter 2:11 – 4:11). He had instructed his readers—sojourners and exiles as they were within the culture in which they lived—to “abstain from the passions of the flesh.” In context, these “passions” were primarily a reference to the urge to blend in with their compatriots so as not to stick out as sojourners and aliens, and so protect themselves from abuse. In the first subsection of this second part of his letter (1 Peter 2:13 – 3:7) Peter works out what this abstaining from the passions of the flesh looks like in relation to society in general (1 Peter 2:13–17), to the master (1 Peter 2:18–25) and to marriage with an unbeliever (1 Peter 3:1–7).