1 Peter 1:22–2:10

²²Your souls having purified in the obedience of the truth through the Spirit to brotherly love unfeigned, out of a pure heart one another love ye earnestly, ²³being begotten again, not out of seed corruptible, but incorruptible, through a word of God—living and remaining—to the age.

²⁴Because all flesh is as grass, and all glory of man as flower of grass; wither did the grass, and the flower of it fell away, ²⁵and the saying of the Lord doth remain—to the age; and this is the saying that was proclaimed good news to you.

Chapter 2

¹Having put aside, then, all evil, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envyings, and all evil speakings, ²as new-born babes the word’s pure milk desire ye, that in it ye may grow, ³if so be ye did taste that the Lord is gracious.

⁴To whom coming—a living stone—by men, indeed, having been disapproved of, but with God choice, precious, ⁵and ye yourselves, as living stones, are built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶Wherefore, also, it is contained in the Writing: ‘Lo, I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, choice, precious, and he who is believing on him may not be put to shame;’ ⁷to you, then, who are believing is the preciousness; and to the unbelieving, a stone that the builders disapproved of, this one did become for the head of a corner, ⁸and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence—who are stumbling at the word, being unbelieving,—to which also they were set; ⁹and ye are a choice race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired, that the excellences ye may shew forth of Him who out of darkness did call you to His wondrous light; ¹⁰who were once not a people, and are now the people of God; who had not found kindness, and now have found kindness.