11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
11 Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,
11 Dear friends, I warn you as "temporary residents and foreigners" to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Peter 2:11
Commentary on 1 Peter 2:11-12
(Read 1 Peter 2:11-12)
Even the best of men, the chosen generation, the people of God, need to be exhorted to keep from the worst sins. And fleshly lusts are most destructive to man's soul. It is a sore judgment to be given up to them. There is a day of visitation coming, wherein God may call to repentance by his word and his grace; then many will glorify God, and the holy lives of his people will have promoted the happy change.