2 ¹ Then away with all malice and deceit, away with all pretence and jealousy and recrimination of every kind! 2 ² Like the new-born infants you are, you must crave for pure milk (spiritual milk, I mean), so that you may thrive upon it to your souls' health. 2 ^{3 [ Ps.34.8. ]} Surely you have tasted that the Lord is good.

2 ⁴ So come to him, our living Stone—the stone rejected by men but choice and precious in the sight of God. 2 ⁵ Come, and let yourselves be built, as living stones, into a spiritual temple; become a holy priesthood, Or: a spiritual temple for the holy work of priesthood. to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 2 ^{6 [ Is.28.16. ]} For it stands written:

'I lay in Zion a choice corner-stone of great worth.
The man who has faith in it will not be put to shame.' 2 ^{7 [ Ps.118.22. ]} The great worth of which it speaks is for you who have faith. For those who have no faith, the stone which the builders rejected has become not only the corner-stone, Or: the apex of the building. 2 ^{8 [ Is.8.14. ]} but also 'a stone to trip over, a rock to stumble against'. They stumble when they disbelieve the Word. Such was their appointed lot!

2 ^{9 [ Is.43.20. ]} But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, and a people claimed by God for his own, to proclaim the triumphs of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 2 ^{10 [ Hs.2.23. ]} You are now the people of God, who once were not his people; outside his mercy once, you have now received his mercy.


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Notes: This page displays the Revised Standard Version as flowing text. The katapi New Study Bible reference section has been incorporated into the page as follows: Links to parallel passages show below passage headings. Links to Old Testament quotations in New Testament verses show after the verse number.
Quotations of OT passages by NT authors can in most cases be viewed within their context of the OT passage as a whole, with the quoted text displayed in bold font, coloured blue.
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Please e-mail me. © Paul Ingram 2012.