²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for ^(A)a sincere brotherly love, ^(B)love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ^23 (C)since you have been born again, ^(D)not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through ^(E)the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴ for

And this word ^(H)is the good news that was preached to you.

A Living Stone and a Holy People

2 ^(I)So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ^2 (J)Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual ^(K)milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³ if indeed you have ^(L)tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone ^(M)rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ^5 (N)you yourselves like living stones are being built up as ^(O)a spiritual house, to be ^(P)a holy priesthood, ^(Q)to offer spiritual sacrifices ^(R)acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture:

⁷ So the honor is for you who ^(U)believe, but for those who ^(V)do not believe,

⁸ and

They stumble because they disobey the word, ^(Y)as they were destined to do.

⁹ But you are ^(Z)a chosen race, ^(AA)a royal ^(AB)priesthood, ^(AC)a holy nation, ^(AD)a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^(AE)out of darkness into ^(AF)his marvelous light. ^10 (AG)Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you ^(AH)as sojourners and exiles ^(AI)to abstain from the passions of the flesh, ^(AJ)which wage war against your soul. ^12 (AK)Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, ^(AL)they may see your good deeds and glorify God on ^(AM)the day of visitation.