THE LIVING STONE AND A HOLY PEOPLE

2 Therefore, rid yourselves ofa all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.b 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word,E,c so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, 3 if you have tastedd that the Lord is good.F,e 4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored byG God—5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthoodH to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Godf through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

See, I lay a stone in Zion,g

a chosen and honoredI cornerstone,h

and the one who believes in him

will never be put to shame.J,i

7 So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving,

The stone that the builders rejected—

this one has become the cornerstone,K,j

8 and

A stone to stumble over,

and a rock to trip over.L,k

They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destinedl for this.

9 But you are a chosen race,M,N,m a royal priesthood,O,n a holy nation,P,o a people for his possession,Q,p so that you may proclaim the praisesR,S,q of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.r 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy,s but now you have received mercy.

A CALL TO GOOD WORKS

11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exilest to abstainu from sinfulv desires that wage war against the soul.w