Therefore, rid yourselvesu of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slanderv of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk,w so that by it you may grow upx in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.y

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

4 As you come to him, the living Stonez—rejected by humans but chosen by Goda and precious to him—5 you also, like living stones, are being builtb into a spiritual housea c to be a holy priesthood,d offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.e 6 For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,

a chosen and precious cornerstone,f

and the one who trusts in him

will never be put to shame.”b g

7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,h

“The stone the builders rejectedi

has become the cornerstone,”c j

8 and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble

and a rock that makes them fall.”d k

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.l

9 But you are a chosen people,m a royal priesthood,n a holy nation,o God’s special possession,p that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.q 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;r once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society

11 Dear friends,s I urge you, as foreigners and exiles,t to abstain from sinful desires,u which wage war against your soul.v 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deedsw and glorify Godx on the day he visits us.