1 Peter 2:1–12

A Living Stone and a Holy People

2^jSo put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ^2kLike newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual ^lmilk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³if indeed you have ^mtasted that the Lord is good.

⁴As you come to him, a living stone ⁿrejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ^5oyou yourselves like living stones are being built up as ^pa spiritual house, to be ^qa holy priesthood, ^rto offer spiritual sacrifices ^sacceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For it stands in Scripture:

^t“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,

a cornerstone chosen and precious,

^uand whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

⁷So the honor is for you who ^vbelieve, but for those who ^vdo not believe,

^w“The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone,”¹

⁸and

^x“A stone of stumbling,

and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, ^yas they were destined to do.

⁹But you are ^za chosen race, ^aa royal ^bpriesthood, ^ca holy nation, ^da people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^eout of darkness into ^fhis marvelous light. ^10gOnce you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹Beloved, I urge you ^has sojourners and exiles ⁱto abstain from the passions of the flesh, ^jwhich wage war against your soul. ^12kKeep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, ^lthey may see your good deeds and glorify God on ^mthe day of visitation.