^14 (A)Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them ^(B)a people for his name.

Greeting

1 Simeon^[a] Peter, a servant^[b] and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained ^(A)a faith of equal standing with ours ^(B)by the righteousness of our ^(C)God and Savior Jesus Christ:

⁷ And after there had been much ^(A)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, ^(B)that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear ^(C)the word of ^(D)the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, ^(E)who knows the heart, ^(F)bore witness to them, ^(G)by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁹ and ^(H)he made no distinction between us and them, ^(I)having cleansed their hearts ^(J)by faith.

⁹ But you are ^(A)a chosen race, ^(B)a royal ^(C)priesthood, ^(D)a holy nation, ^(E)a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^(F)out of darkness into ^(G)his marvelous light. ^10 (H)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.