1 Peter 2:6-12

English Standard Version

⁶For it stands in Scripture:

^(A)“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
^(B)and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

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

^(E)“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”^[a]

⁸and

^(F)“A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense.”

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

⁹But you are ^(H)a chosen race, ^(I)a royal ^(J)priesthood, ^(K)a holy nation, ^(L)a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^(M)out of darkness into ^(N)his marvelous light. ¹⁰^(O)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.

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