1 Peter 2

1So rid yourselves of all malice and every kind of deceit, of pretending and envy and all slander. 2Like newborn babies, crave the pure milk of God’s word, so that by it you may grow up into salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is kind.

4You come to him, the living stone that people rejected as worthless but God chose and prizes. 5And you yourselves, as living stones, are being built up as a house for the Spirit, to serve as a holy priesthood and to offer, through Jesus Christ, spiritual sacrifices that God gladly accepts. 6For this is what Scripture says: “See, I am placing in Zion a stone, a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and no one who believes in him will ever be put to shame.” 7So the honor belongs to you who believe. But for those who do not believe, “The very stone the builders rejected has become the main cornerstone,” 8and “a stone they trip over, a rock that brings them down.” They trip because they refuse to obey the word, and this is the end to which they were appointed.

9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people God has claimed as his own, so that you may declare the great deeds of the one who called you out of the darkness into his amazing light. 10At one time you were no people at all; now you are God’s people. You had been shown no mercy; now God has shown you mercy.

11Dear friends, you live here as outsiders and temporary residents. So I urge you to keep away from the cravings of the flesh, for they fight against your soul. 12Let your way of life among those who do not know God be honorable. Then, though they speak against you as wrongdoers, they will see your good works for themselves and glorify God on the day he visits.

13For the Lord’s sake, place yourselves under every authority that people have set up: the emperor, who holds the highest rank, 14and the governors he sends out to punish wrongdoing and to reward good conduct with praise. 15For this is God’s will: that by doing good you muzzle the ignorance of foolish people. 16Act as free people. Your freedom is not a mask for wickedness; you are slaves who belong to God. 17Give honor to every person. Love your fellow believers. Fear God. Give honor to the emperor.

18Household slaves, place yourselves under your masters with deep reverence, not just those who are kind and gentle but also those who are crooked and harsh. 19For this finds favor: when someone, mindful of God, bears up under pain while suffering unjustly. 20For what is praiseworthy about putting up with blows when you have done wrong? But if you do good and suffer for it and you endure, this finds favor with God. 21It was for this that God called you, because Christ also suffered for you and left you a pattern to copy, so that you would walk in his footsteps. 22He never sinned, and no one ever found deceit in his mouth. 23People heaped abuse on him, yet he did not answer abuse with abuse. As he suffered, he made no threats, but went on handing himself over to the God who judges justly. 24He himself carried our sins in his own body up onto the cross, so that we would be done with sins and live for righteousness. By the bruises he bore you have been healed. 25For you used to wander like lost sheep, but now you have come back to the shepherd who watches over your souls.