Chapter
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Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

1 Peter 2:8
ESV and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
NIV and, 'A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.' They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for.
NASB and, 'A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE'; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this they were also appointed.
CSB andA stone to stumble over,and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.
NLT And, 'He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.' They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
KJV And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

What does 1 Peter 2:8 mean?

In verse 8, Peter concludes a thought begun in the previous two verses. In this metaphor of building a house, Jesus is the key foundation stone or "cornerstone." God placed enormous value on Jesus and chose Him to be the cornerstone. Those who believe in Christ, then, won't ever be put to shame (1 Peter 2:6). Jesus is of precious value to us, as well, and by believing in Him we share the honor He receives from the Father.

Those who do not believe in Christ, though, experience Him as a stone in a very different way. In the previous verse, Peter echoes Jesus' own words to the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus also quoted Psalm 118:22, applying it to Himself, describing those leaders as the builders who rejected the stone that God had chosen (Matthew 21:42–26).

Now, Peter references Isaiah 8:14. Isaiah described the Lord as a rock of stumbling for Israel. Peter writes that Jesus, the cornerstone, is exactly the stumbling rock Isaiah was talking about. All who reject Jesus, who refuse to place their faith in Him, will stumble over Him. Why do they stumble over Jesus? What does it mean that they disobey the word? "The word," as Peter has been describing it so far, appears to refer to the message of the gospel. As Paul stated that message, to someone who asked, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).

To disobey the word, then, means to refuse to believe in Jesus. Those who reject Christ as the path to God will stumble over Him. He is either the way to God, or the obstacle that prevents one from reaching God (John 14:6). Peter adds that those who stumble because they disobey the word were destined to do so. He doesn't suggest they are not responsible for their disobedience. Simply put, the destiny of all who reject Christ is to "stumble" over Him.
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