1 Peter 2:4-11
New Living Translation
Living Stones for God’s House
4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.
5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.[a] Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say,
“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,[b]
chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”[c]
7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him.[d] But for those who reject him,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.”[e]
8 And,
“He is the stone that makes people stumble,
the rock that makes them fall.”[f]
They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,[g] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
10 “Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”[h]
11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.
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1 Peter 2:4-11
New International Version
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
4 As you come to him, the living Stone(A)—rejected by humans but chosen by God(B) and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built(C) into a spiritual house[a](D) to be a holy priesthood,(E) offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.(F) 6 For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,(G)
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”[b](H)
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,(I)
8 and,
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.(M)
9 But you are a chosen people,(N) a royal priesthood,(O) a holy nation,(P) God’s special possession,(Q) that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.(R) 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;(S) once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society
11 Dear friends,(T) I urge you, as foreigners and exiles,(U) to abstain from sinful desires,(V) which wage war against your soul.(W)
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 2:5 Or into a temple of the Spirit
- 1 Peter 2:6 Isaiah 28:16
- 1 Peter 2:7 Psalm 118:22
- 1 Peter 2:8 Isaiah 8:14
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