1 Peter 1:22–2:10

²²Since you have ^ain obedience to the truth ^bpurified your souls for a ^1csincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from ²the heart,

²³for you have been ^aborn again ^bnot of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring ^cword of God.

²⁴For,

“^aAll flesh is like grass,

And all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

And the flower falls off,

^25aBut the word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is ^bthe word which was ¹preached to you.

Chapter 2

As Newborn Babes

¹Therefore, ^aputting aside all ¹malice and all deceit and ²hypocrisy and envy and all ^bslander,

^2alike newborn babies, long for the ^1bpure ²milk of the word, so that by it you may ^cgrow ³in respect to salvation,

³if you have ^atasted ^1bthe kindness of the Lord.

As Living Stones

⁴And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been ^arejected by men, but is ¹choice and precious in the sight of God,

^5ayou also, as living stones, ¹are being built up as a ^bspiritual house for a holy ^cpriesthood, to ^doffer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁶For this is contained in ¹Scripture:

“^aBehold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a ^bprecious corner stone,

And he who believes in ²Him will not be ³disappointed.”

^7aThis precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,

“^bThe stone which the builders ^crejected,

This became the very corner stone,”

⁸and,

“^aA stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”;

^bfor they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, ^cand to this doom they were also appointed.

⁹But you are ^aa chosen race, a royal ^bpriesthood, a ^choly nation, ^da people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you ^eout of darkness into His marvelous light;

^10afor you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.