1 Peter 2

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

The Chosen Stone and His Chosen People

⁴Coming to Him as to a living stone, ^erejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵you 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. ⁶Therefore 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.”

⁷Therefore, 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,”

⁸and

^h“A stone of stumbling

And a rock of offense.”

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

⁹But 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; ^10lwho 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

¹¹Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts ^mwhich war against the soul, ¹²ⁿhaving 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.

Submission to Government

^13pTherefore submit yourselves to every ³ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, ¹⁴or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. ¹⁵For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—^16qas free, yet not ^rusing liberty as a cloak for ⁴vice, but as bondservants of God. ¹⁷Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear ^sGod. Honor the king.

Submission to Masters

^18tServants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. ¹⁹For this is ^ucommendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. ²⁰For ^vwhat credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. ²¹For ^wto this you were called, because Christ also suffered for ⁵us, ^xleaving ⁶us an example, that you should follow His steps:

²²“Who ^ycommitted no sin,

Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;

^23zwho, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but ^acommitted Himself to Him who judges righteously; ^24bwho Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, ^cthat we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—^dby whose ⁷stripes you were healed. ²⁵For ^eyou were like sheep going astray, but have now returned ^fto the Shepherd and ⁸Overseer of your souls.