1 Peter 2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Living Stone and a Holy People
2 So rid yourselves of(A) all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.(B) 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure spiritual milk,(C) so that you may grow by it for your salvation,[a] 3 since you have tasted(D) that the Lord is good.(E)[b] 4 Coming to Him, a living stone—rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God— 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God(F) through Jesus Christ. 6 For it is contained in Scripture:
Look! I lay a stone in Zion,(G)
a chosen and honored[c] cornerstone,[d](H)
and the one who believes in Him
will never be put to shame[f]
7 So honor will come to you who believe, but for the unbelieving,
8 and
They stumble because they disobey the message; they were destined(L) for this.
9 But you are a chosen race,[k](M)[l] a royal priesthood,(N)[m]
a holy nation,(O)[n] a people for His possession,(P)[o]
so that you may proclaim the praises[p](Q)[q]
of the One who called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light.(R)
10 Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
you had not received mercy,(S)
but now you have received mercy.
A Call to Good Works
11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and temporary residents(T) to abstain(U) from fleshly(V) desires that war against you.[r](W) 12 Conduct(X) yourselves honorably among the Gentiles,[s] so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do what is evil, they will, by observing your good works, glorify God on the day of visitation.[t](Y)
13 Submit(Z) to every human authority[u] because of the Lord, whether to the Emperor[v] as the supreme authority(AA) 14 or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. 15 For it is God’s will(AB) that you silence the ignorance(AC) of foolish people by doing good. 16 As God’s slaves,(AD) live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil.(AE) 17 Honor everyone. Love(AF) the brotherhood.(AG) Fear God.(AH) Honor the Emperor.[w]
Submission of Slaves to Masters
18 Household slaves, submit with all fear(AI) to your masters,(AJ) not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel.[x](AK) 19 For it brings favor[y] if, mindful of God’s will,[z][aa] someone endures grief from suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if you sin and are punished, and you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer,(AL) if you endure it, this brings favor with God.
21 For you were called to this,
because Christ also suffered(AM) for you,
leaving you an example,(AN)
so that you should follow(AO) in His steps.
22 He did not commit sin,(AP)
and no deceit(AQ) was found in His mouth;(AR)[ab]
23 when He was reviled,
He did not revile in return;
when He was suffering,
He did not threaten
but entrusted Himself to the One who judges(AS) justly.
24 He Himself bore our sins(AT)
in His body(AU) on the tree,(AV)
so that, having died to sins,(AW)
we might live for righteousness;(AX)
you have been healed by His wounds.(AY)[ac]
25 For you were like sheep going astray,(AZ)[ad]
but you have now returned
to the Shepherd(BA) and Guardian[ae] of your souls.
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 2:2 Other mss omit in your salvation
- 1 Peter 2:3 Ps 34:8
- 1 Peter 2:6 Or valuable
- 1 Peter 2:6 Lit head of the corner
- 1 Peter 2:6 Or be disappointed
- 1 Peter 2:6 Is 28:16 LXX
- 1 Peter 2:7 Ps 118:22
- 1 Peter 2:8 Or a stone causing stumbling
- 1 Peter 2:8 Or a rock to trip over
- 1 Peter 2:8 Is 8:14
- 1 Peter 2:9 Or generation, or nation
- 1 Peter 2:9 Dt 7:6; 10:15; Is 43:20 LXX
- 1 Peter 2:9 Ex 19:6; 23:22 LXX; Is 61:6
- 1 Peter 2:9 Ex 19:6; 23:22 LXX
- 1 Peter 2:9 Ex 19:5; 23:22 LXX; Dt 4:20; 7:6; Is 43:21 LXX
- 1 Peter 2:9 Or the mighty deeds
- 1 Peter 2:9 Is 42:12; 43:21
- 1 Peter 2:11 Or against the soul
- 1 Peter 2:12 Or among the nations, or among the pagans
- 1 Peter 2:12 The day when God intervenes in human history, either in grace or in judgment
- 1 Peter 2:13 Or creature
- 1 Peter 2:13 Lit king
- 1 Peter 2:17 Lit king
- 1 Peter 2:18 Or unscrupulous; lit crooked
- 1 Peter 2:19 Other mss add with God
- 1 Peter 2:19 Other mss read if, because of a good conscience
- 1 Peter 2:19 Lit if, because of conscience toward God
- 1 Peter 2:22 Is 53:9
- 1 Peter 2:24 Is 53:5
- 1 Peter 2:25 Is 53:6
- 1 Peter 2:25 Or Overseer
1 Peter 2
The Message
2 1-3 So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God.
The Stone
4-8 Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you’ll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God. The Scriptures provide precedent:
Look! I’m setting a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone in the place of honor.
Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation
will never have cause to regret it.
To you who trust him, he’s a Stone to be proud of, but to those who refuse to trust him,
The stone the workmen threw out
is now the chief foundation stone.
For the untrusting it’s
. . . a stone to trip over,
a boulder blocking the way.
They trip and fall because they refuse to obey, just as predicted.
9-10 But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
* * *
11-12 Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life in your neighborhood so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.
13-17 Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God’s emissaries for keeping order. It is God’s will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you’re a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.
The Kind of Life He Lived
18-20 You who are servants, be good servants to your masters—not just to good masters, but also to bad ones. What counts is that you put up with it for God’s sake when you’re treated badly for no good reason. There’s no particular virtue in accepting punishment that you well deserve. But if you’re treated badly for good behavior and continue in spite of it to be a good servant, that is what counts with God.
21-25 This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.
He never did one thing wrong,
Not once said anything amiss.
They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson