1 Peter 2:5–10

⁵And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. ⁶As the Scriptures say,

“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,

chosen for great honor,

and anyone who trusts in him

will never be disgraced.”

⁷Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him,

“The stone that the builders rejected

has now become the cornerstone.”

⁸And,

“He is the stone that makes people stumble,

the rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.

⁹But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

¹⁰“Once you had no identity as a people;

now you are God’s people.

Once you received no mercy;

now you have received God’s mercy.”