1 Peter 2

1 Having put aside, then, all evil, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envyings, and all evil speakings,

Now that you have done with all malice, all deceitfulness, insincerity, jealous feelings, and all back-biting,

2 as newborn babies, desire the reasonable, unspoiled milk, so that you may grow up to salvation,

like newly born infants, crave pure spiritual milk, so that you may be enabled by it to grow till you attain Salvation —

3 if [it] so be [that] you tasted that the LORD [is] good,

since ‘you have found by experience that the Lord is kind.’

4 to whom coming—a living stone—having indeed been disapproved of by men, but with God—choice [and] precious,

Come to him, then, as to a living stone, rejected, indeed, by men, but in God’s eyes choice and precious;

5 and you yourselves are built up as living stones [into] a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

and, as living stones, form yourselves into a spiritual House, to be a consecrated Priesthood, for the offering of spiritual sacrifices that will be acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

6 For this reason, also, it is contained in the Writing: “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, choice, precious, and he who is believing on Him may not be put to shame”;

For there is a passage of Scripture that runs — ‘See, I am placing in Zion a choice and precious corner-stone; And he who believes in him shall have no cause for shame.’

7 to you, then, who are believing—the preciousness; but to the unbelieving, [the] stone that the builders disapproved of—this One has become the head of [the] corner,

It is to you, then, who believe in him that he is precious, but to those who do not believe he is ‘a stone which, though rejected by the builders, has now itself become the corner-stone,’

8 and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense—who are stumbling at the word, being unbelieving—to which they were also set.

and ‘a stumbling-block, and a rock which shall prove a hindrance.’ They stumble because they do not accept the Message. This was the fate destined for them.

9 But you [are] a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired, that you may show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light,

But you are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, God’s own People,’ entrusted with the proclamation of the goodness of him who called you out of Darkness into his wonderful Light.

10 who [were] once not a people, but [are] now the people of God; who had not found mercy, but now have found mercy.

Once you were ‘not a people,’ but now you are ‘God’s People’; once you ‘had not found mercy,’ but now you ‘have found mercy.’

11 Beloved, I call on [you], as strangers and sojourners, to keep from the fleshly desires that war against the soul,

Dear friends, I urge you, as pilgrims and strangers upon earth, to refrain from indulging the cravings of your earthly nature, for they make war upon the soul.

12 having your behavior right among the nations, so that whenever they speak against you as evildoers, seeing [your] good works, they may glorify God in [the] day of inspection.

Let your daily life among the Gentiles be so upright, that, whenever they malign you as evil-doers, they may learn, as they watch, from the uprightness of your conduct, to praise God ‘at the time when he shall visit them.’

13 Be subject, then, to every human creation, because of the LORD, whether to a king, as the highest,

Submit to all human institutions for the Lord’s sake, alike to the emperor as the supreme authority,

14 whether to governors, as to those sent through him, for punishment, indeed, of evildoers, and a praise of those doing good;

and to governors as the men sent by him to punish evil-doers and to commend those who do right.

15 because, so is the will of God, doing good, to put to silence the ignorance of the foolish men—

For God’s will is this — that you should silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing what is right.

16 as free, and not having freedom as the cloak of evil, but as servants of God;

Act as free men, yet not using your freedom as those do who make it a cloak for wickedness, but as Servants of God.

17 give honor to all; love the brotherhood; fear God; honor the king.

Show honour to every one, Love the Brotherhood, ‘revere God, honour the emperor.’

18 Servants, be subject in all fear to the masters, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the crooked;

Those of you who are domestic servants should always be submissive and respectful to their masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are arbitrary.

19 for this [is] grace: if anyone endures sorrows because of conscience toward God, suffering unrighteously;

For this wins God’s approval when, because conscious of God’s presence, a man who is suffering unjustly bears his troubles patiently.

20 for what renown [is it], if sinning and being battered, you endure [it]? But if, doing good and suffering [for it], you endure, this [is] grace with God,

What credit can you claim when, after doing wrong, you take your punishment for it patiently? But, on the other hand, if, after doing right, you take your sufferings patiently, that does win the approval of God.

21 for to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving to you an example, that you may follow His steps,

For it was to this that you were called! For Christ, too, suffered — on your behalf — and left you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

22 who did not commit sin, nor was guile found in His mouth,

He ‘never sinned, nor was anything deceitful ever heard from his lips.’

23 who being reviled—was not reviling again, suffering—was not threatening, and was committing Himself to Him who is judging righteously,

He was abused, but he did not answer with abuse; he suffered, but he did not threaten; he entrusted himself to him whose judgments are just.

24 who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree that having died to sins, we may live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed;

And he ‘himself carried our sins’ in his own body to the cross, so that we might die to our sins, and live for righteousness. ‘His bruising was your healing.’

25 for you were as sheep going astray, but now you turned back to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Once you were straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.