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1 Peter chapter 2

English Standard Version

1So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
7So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
8and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10Once 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 as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
13Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
18Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
New International Version

1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6For in Scripture it says: 'See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'
7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,'
8and, '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.
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
13Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves. 17Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
18Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.'
23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins' in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; 'by his wounds you have been healed.' 25For 'you were like sheep going astray,' but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
New American Standard Bible

1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
4And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by people, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6For this is contained in Scripture: 'BEHOLD, I AM LAYING IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNERSTONE, AND THE ONE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.' 7This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for unbelievers, 'A STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE,'
8and, '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.
9But you are A CHOSEN PEOPLE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD’S own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.
11Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. 12Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God on the day of visitation.
13Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15For such is the will of God, that by doing right you silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-servants of God. 17Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.
18Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are harsh. 19For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person endures grief when suffering unjustly. 20For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
21For you have been called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps, 22HE who committed no sin, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT found IN HIS MOUTH; 23and while being abusively insulted, He did not insult in return; while suffering, He did not threaten, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. 25For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
Christian Standard Bible

1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. 2Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, 3if you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4As you come to him, a living stone--rejected by people but chosen and honored by God-- 5you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6For it stands in Scripture:See, I lay a stone in Zion,a chosen and honored cornerstone,and the one who believes in himwill never be put to shame.
7So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving,The stone that the builders rejected --this one has become the cornerstone,
8andA stone to stumble over,and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.
9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. 12Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.
13Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority 14or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. 15For it is God's will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. 16Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God's slaves. 17Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
18Household slaves, submit to your masters with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel. 19For it brings favor if, because of a consciousness of God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly. 20For what credit is there if when you do wrong and are beaten, you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.
21For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; 23when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
New Living Translation

1So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness.
4You 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.
5And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.
6As the Scriptures say, 'I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.'
7Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, 'The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.'
8And, '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.
9But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, 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.'
11Dear friends, I warn you as 'temporary residents and foreigners' to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
13For the Lord's sake, respect all human authority--whether the king as head of state, 14or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.
15It is God's will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. 16For you are free, yet you are God's slaves, so don't use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. 17Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God, and respect the king.
18You who are slaves must accept the authority of your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you--not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. 19For God is pleased with you when you do what you know is right and patiently endure unfair treatment. 20Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.
21For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
22He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. 23He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. 24He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. 25Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.
King James Version

1Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
4To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 11Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
13Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. 15For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. 17Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. 18Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. 19For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

What does 1 Peter chapter 2 mean?

How Christians live on this side of eternity does, in fact, matter. First Peter 1 established who we are as God's people, through faith in Christ. It described why believers are called by God to lead holy lives, different from those in the world around us. God has set us aside for a different purpose. Peter now begins to get specific about what that looks like in our day-to-day reality.

He begins by telling Christians to put away some specific negative attitudes and actions. Instead, we are to grow our appetite for the pure spiritual food available in Jesus. Why does that matter? Because Jesus is the long-prophesied cornerstone, or foundation stone, in the new spiritual house which God is building. Jesus is the chosen and precious one. Those who trust in Him are also living stones in this house. They are a holy priesthood, each one, serving in the house with a responsibility to offer themselves as spiritual sacrifices.

Those who reject Christ are destined to stumble over Him, but those who trust in Him will receive honor with Him. We have been called out of the darkness that all others remain in, and into God's light. So then, it matters all the more that we lead good lives now. Not because we might lose God's mercy—we will not—but because we represent Him to the world around us. Peter insists that we must change our understanding of where "home" is. We must begin to see ourselves as foreigners in the world, preparing to leave to be with our Father.

It's not easy to live that way. In Christ, we have been forgiven for our sin, and we have been freed from sin's power to tempt us to do evil. But we still want to sin. The desire to do wrong wages war against our souls. We must engage in the battle with ourselves, now that we have the ability to win it.

One aspect of that battle with ourselves is submission to human authorities. Peter's readers at the time must have felt they had legitimate reasons to rebel against human leadership. When Peter likely wrote these words, the Roman emperor was Nero, an evil man who brutally killed Christians, among others. Many of the early Christians lived as slaves in the Roman world, some wickedly mistreated by harsh masters.

Surely being free in Christ gave Christians the right to rebel against unworthy human authority, didn't it? Peter says no. To be free in Christ means that we have a higher authority, God Himself. God's will for His people is to submit to our human authorities—not out of fear of them or because of loyalty to a man or the state—but to freely give respect and honor to all for Christ's sake.

So Peter is clear: Christians must submit to every human authority, whether the emperor, the governor, or the slave master. This does not mean "obeying" all that human authority tells us (Acts 5:29). It does mean accepting the consequences of obeying God, rather than men. Nor does Peter endorse slavery or the mistreatment of slaves and servants. Rather, he tells Christian slaves how God wants them to endure unjust suffering.

Going further, Peter says that all Christians are called to suffer for doing good. That's what Christ, our example, did for us when He suffered on the cross. He did not retaliate or threaten. He endured the pain and sadness of His suffering and took our sins on Himself, dying the death we deserved. We didn't ask Him to do it, but we would still be lost sheep if He had not. Because He did, we are under the protection and care of our shepherd and Lord.
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