3 if you have tastedd that the Lord is good.C,e 4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored byD God—5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthoodE 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 honoredF cornerstone,h

and the one who believes in him

will never be put to shame.G,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,H,j

8 and

A stone to stumble over,

and a rock to trip over.I,k

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

9 But you are a chosen race,J,K,m a royal priesthood,L,n a holy nation,M,o a people for his possession,N,p so that you may proclaim the praisesO,P,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 12 Conductx yourselves honorably among the Gentiles,Q so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.y