1 Peter 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. ¹¹Beloved, I call upon you, as strangers and sojourners, to keep from the fleshly desires, that war against the soul, ¹²having your behaviour among the nations right, that in that which they speak against you as evil-doers, of the good works having beheld, they may glorify God in a day of inspection.

¹³Be subject, then, to every human creation, because of the Lord, whether to a king, as the highest, ¹⁴whether to governors, as to those sent through him, for punishment, indeed, of evil-doers, and a praise of those doing good; ¹⁵because, so is the will of God, doing good, to put to silence the ignorance of the foolish men; ¹⁶as free, and not having the freedom as the cloak of the evil, but as servants of God; ¹⁷to all give ye honour; the brotherhood love ye; God fear ye; the king honour ye. ¹⁸The domestics! be subjecting yourselves in all fear to the masters, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the cross; ¹⁹for this is gracious, if because of conscience toward God any one doth endure sorrows, suffering unrighteously; ²⁰for what renown is it, if sinning and being buffeted, ye do endure it? but if, doing good and suffering for it, ye do endure, this is gracious with God, ²¹for to this ye were called, because Christ also did suffer for you, leaving to you an example, that ye may follow his steps, ²²who did not commit sin, nor was guile found in his mouth, ²³who being reviled—was not reviling again, suffering—was not threatening, and was committing himself to Him who is judging righteously, ²⁴who our sins himself did bear in his body, upon the tree, that to the sins having died, to the righteousness we may live; by whose stripes ye were healed, ²⁵for ye were as sheep going astray, but ye turned back now to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

Chapter 3