The First of Peter
2 Accordingly, put away all badness+ and all deceitfulness and hypocrisy and envies and all sorts of backbiting,+ 2 [and,] as newborn infants,+ form a longing for the unadulterated milk+ belonging to the word, that through it YOU may grow to salvation,+ 3 provided YOU have tasted that the Lord* is kind.+
4 Coming to him as to a living stone,+ rejected,+ it is true, by men,+ but chosen, precious, with God,+ 5 YOU yourselves also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house+ for the purpose of a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices+ acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.+ 6 For it is contained in Scripture: “Look! I am laying in Zion a stone, chosen, a foundation cornerstone, precious; and no one exercising faith in it will by any means come to disappointment.”*+
7 It is to YOU, therefore, that he is precious,* because YOU are believers; but to those not believing, “the identical stone that the builders rejected+ has become [the] head of [the] corner,”+ 8 and “a stone of stumbling and a rock-mass of offense.”+ These are stumbling because they are disobedient to the word.* To this very end they were also appointed.+ 9 But YOU are “a chosen race,* a royal priesthood, a holy nation,+ a people for special possession,+ that YOU should declare abroad the excellencies”*+ of the one that called YOU out of darkness into his wonderful light.+ 10 For YOU were once not a people, but are now God’s people;+ YOU were those who had not been shown mercy, but are now those who have been shown mercy.+
11 Beloved, I exhort YOU as aliens and temporary residents+ to keep abstaining from fleshly desires,+ which are the very ones that carry on a conflict against the soul.*+ 12 Maintain YOUR conduct fine among the nations,+ that, in the thing in which they are speaking against YOU as evildoers, they may as a result of YOUR fine works+ of which they are eyewitnesses glorify God in the day for [his] inspection.+
13 For the Lord’s* sake subject+ yourselves to every human creation:+ whether to a king+ as being superior 14 or to governors as being sent by him to inflict punishment on evildoers but to praise doers of good.+ 15 For so the will of God is, that by doing good YOU may muzzle the ignorant talk of the unreasonable* men.+ 16 Be as free people,+ and yet holding YOUR freedom, not as a blind for badness,+ but as slaves of God.+ 17 Honor [men] of all sorts,+ have love for the whole association of brothers,*+ be in fear of God,+ have honor for the king.+
18 Let house servants be in subjection+ to [their] owners with all [due] fear,+ not only to the good and reasonable, but also to those hard to please. 19 For if someone, because of conscience toward God, bears up under grievous things and suffers unjustly, this is an agreeable thing.+ 20 For what merit is there in it if, when YOU are sinning and being slapped,* YOU endure it?+ But if, when YOU are doing good and YOU suffer,+ YOU endure it, this is a thing agreeable with God.+
21 In fact, to this [course] YOU were called, because even Christ suffered for YOU,+ leaving YOU a model* for YOU to follow his steps closely.+ 22 He committed no sin,+ nor was deception found in his mouth.+ 23 When he was being reviled,+ he did not go reviling in return.+ When he was suffering,+ he did not go threatening, but kept on committing himself to the one+ who judges righteously. 24 He himself bore* our sins+ in his own body upon the stake,*+ in order that we might be done with sins+ and live to righteousness. And “by his stripes YOU were healed.”+ 25 For YOU were like sheep, going astray;+ but now YOU have returned to the shepherd+ and overseer* of YOUR souls.*