1 Phi-e-rơ 2

Craving the pure milk

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.^a

The living stone and God’s own people

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.^bc

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.

Good lives among those who do not know God

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.

Free people under human authority

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.^{d 16}Act 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.

Suffering unjustly in the steps of Christ

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.^{e 22}He 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.^{f 24}He 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.