The Living Stone and a Chosen People

2 Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.^{(A) 2} Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation^(B)— ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.^[a](C)

⁴ Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and ⁵ like living stones let yourselves be built^[b] into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.^{(D) 6} For it stands in scripture:

⁷ This honor, then, is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,^[c]

⁸ and

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

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,^[d] in order that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.^(H)

¹⁹ For it is a commendable thing if, being aware of God, a person endures pain while suffering unjustly. ²⁰ If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do good and suffer for it, this is a commendable thing before God.^{(A) 21} For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.^(B)

²³ When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.^{(C) 24} He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross,^[a] so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds^[b] you have been healed.^{(D) 25} For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.^[c](E)