17 And if you call on the Father, who awithout partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your 6stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with 7corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but bwith the precious blood of Christ, cas of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 dHe indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was 8manifest ein these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, fwho raised Him from the dead and ggave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

The Enduring Word

22 Since you hhave purified your souls in obeying the truth 9through the Spirit in 1sincere ilove of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 jhaving been born again, not of 2corruptible seed but 3incorruptible, kthrough the word of God which lives and abides 4forever, 24 because

l“All flesh is as grass,

And all 5the glory of man as the flower of the grass.

The grass withers,

And its flower falls away,

25 mBut the 6word of the Lord endures forever.”

nNow this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

2 Therefore, alaying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 bas newborn babes, desire the pure cmilk of the word, that you may grow 1thereby, 3 if indeed you have dtasted that the Lord is gracious.

The Chosen Stone and His Chosen People

4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, erejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

f“Behold, I lay in Zion

A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,

And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who 2are disobedient,

g“The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone,”

8 and

h“A stone of stumbling

And a rock of offense.”

iThey stumble, being disobedient to the word, jto which they also were appointed.

9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of kdarkness into His marvelous light; 10 lwho once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Living Before the World

11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts mwhich war against the soul, 12 nhaving your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, othey may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.