1 Peter 2

Good News Translation

The Living Stone and the Holy Nation

2 Rid yourselves, then, of all evil; no more lying or hypocrisy or jealousy or insulting language. ²Be like newborn babies, always thirsty for the pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up and be saved. ³^(A)As the scripture says, “You have found out for yourselves how kind the Lord is.”

⁴Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable. ⁵Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶^(B)For the scripture says,

“I chose a valuable stone,
    which I am placing as the cornerstone in Zion;
    and whoever believes in him will never be disappointed.”
⁷^(C)This stone is of great value for you that believe; but for those who do not believe:
“The stone which the builders rejected as worthless
    turned out to be the most important of all.”
⁸^(D)And another scripture says,
“This is the stone that will make people stumble,
    the rock that will make them fall.”

They stumbled because they did not believe in the word; such was God's will for them.

⁹^(E)But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light. ¹⁰^(F)At one time you were not God's people, but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God's mercy, but now you have received his mercy.

Slaves of God

¹¹I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refugees in this world! Do not give in to bodily passions, which are always at war against the soul. ¹²Your conduct among the heathen should be so good that when they accuse you of being evildoers, they will have to recognize your good deeds and so praise God on the Day of his coming.

¹³For the sake of the Lord submit yourselves to every human authority: to the Emperor, who is the supreme authority, ¹⁴and to the governors, who have been appointed by him to punish the evildoers and to praise those who do good. ¹⁵For God wants you to silence the ignorant talk of foolish people by the good things you do. ¹⁶Live as free people; do not, however, use your freedom to cover up any evil, but live as God's slaves. ¹⁷Respect everyone, love other believers, honor God, and respect the Emperor.

The Example of Christ's Suffering

¹⁸You servants must submit yourselves to your masters and show them complete respect, not only to those who are kind and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. ¹⁹God will bless you for this, if you endure the pain of undeserved suffering because you are conscious of his will. ²⁰For what credit is there if you endure the beatings you deserve for having done wrong? But if you endure suffering even when you have done right, God will bless you for it. ²¹It was to this that God called you, for Christ himself suffered for you and left you an example, so that you would follow in his steps. ²²^(G)He committed no sin, and no one ever heard a lie come from his lips. ²³^(H)When he was insulted, he did not answer back with an insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but placed his hopes in God, the righteous Judge. ²⁴^(I)Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by his wounds that you have been healed. ²⁵You were like sheep that had lost their way, but now you have been brought back to follow the Shepherd and Keeper of your souls.

1 Peter 2

The Voice

2 So get rid of hatefulness and deception, of insincerity and jealousy and slander. ²Be like newborn babies, crying out for spiritual milk that will help you grow into salvation ³if you have tasted and found the Lord to be good.

⁴Come to Him—the living stone—who was rejected by people but accepted by God as chosen and precious. ⁵Like living stones, let yourselves be assembled into a spiritual house, a holy order of priests who offer up spiritual sacrifices that will be acceptable to God through Jesus the Anointed. ⁶For it says in the words of the prophet Isaiah,

See here—I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone, chosen and precious;
Whoever depends upon Him will never be disgraced.^[a]

⁷To you who believe and depend on Him, He is precious; but to you who don’t, remember the words of the psalmist:

The stone that the builders rejected
has been laid as the cornerstone—the very stone that holds together the entire foundation,^[b]

⁸and of Isaiah:

A stone that blocks their way,
a rock that trips them.^[c]

They stumble because they don’t follow the word of God, as they were destined to do.

⁹But you are a chosen people, set aside to be a royal order of priests, a holy nation, God’s own; so that you may proclaim the wondrous acts of the One who called you out of inky darkness into shimmering light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received it.

¹¹Beloved, remember you don’t belong in this world. You are resident aliens living in exile, so resist those desires of the flesh that battle against the soul. ¹²Live honorably among the outsiders so that, even when some may be inclined to call you criminals, when they see your good works, they might give glory to God when He returns in judgment.

¹³For the Lord’s sake, accept the decrees and laws of all the various human institutions, whether they come from the highest human ruler ¹⁴or agents he sends to punish those who do wrong and to reward those who do well. ¹⁵You see, it is God’s will that by doing what is right and good you should hush the gabbing ignorance of the foolish. ¹⁶Live as those who are free and not as those who use their freedom as a pretext for evil, but live as God’s servants. ¹⁷Respect everyone. Love the community of believers. Reverence God. Honor your ruler.

The word “submission” evokes concerns about sexism, racism, and dehumanization. Unfortunately there have been good reasons to draw such conclusions. The true purpose of biblical submission, however, is not to sanction any type of inequality but to honor Jesus even in the most difficult circumstances. Offering an attitude of humility toward those who are undeserving of it mirrors the unmerited favor God graciously gives to us. When submission is modeled evenly by all believers—male and female, young and old—it is no longer enslaving, but liberating.

¹⁸If you are a slave, submit yourself to the master who has authority over you, whether he is kind and gentle or harsh as he deals with you. ¹⁹For grace is clearly at work when a person accepts undeserved pain and suffering and does so because he is mindful of God. ²⁰For what credit is there in enduring punishment you deserve? But if you do what is right and yet are punished and endure it patiently, God will be pleased with you. ^21-22For you were called to this kind of life, as Isaiah said,

He did no wrong deed,
and no evil word came from His mouth.^[d]

Many believers face intense persecution, but western Christians tend not to experience anything beyond social pressure. Are we merely pursuing comfort, or are we willing to swim against culture?

The Anointed One suffered for us and left us His example so that we could follow in His steps. ²³When He was verbally abused, He didn’t return the abuse; when He suffered, He didn’t make threats to cause suffering in return; instead, He trusted that all would be put right by the One who is just when He judges. ²⁴He took on our sins in His body when He died on the cross^[e] so that we, being dead to sin, can live for righteousness. As the Scripture says, “Through His wounds, you were healed.”^[f] ²⁵For there was a time when you were like sheep that wandered from the fold, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your lives.

Footnotes

Good News Translation (GNT)

The Voice (VOICE)

1 Peter 2 Good News Translation