| 2:1 | HAVE done, then, with all evil and deceit, all pretence and jealousy and slander. |
| 2:2 | You are babies, newborn in God's family, and you should be crying out for unadulterated spiritual milk to make you grow up to salvation! |
| 2:3 | And so you will, if you have already tasted the goodness of the Lord. |
| 2:4 | You have come to the living Stone despised indeed by men but chosen and greatly honoured by God. |
| 2:5 | So you yourselves, as living stones, must be built tip into a spiritual House of God, in which you become a holy priesthoods able to offer those sacrifices which are acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. |
| 2:6 | Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: And he that believeth on him into shall not be put to shame. |
| 2:7 | It is to you who believeth on him that he is "precious", but to those who disobey God, it is true that: The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner. |
| 2:8 | And he is, to them, A stone of stumbling and a rock of offence. Yes, they stumble at the Word of God for in their hearts they are unwilling to obey itwhich makes stumbling a foregone conclusion. |
| 2:9 | But you are God's "chosen generation", his "royal priesthood", his "holy nation", his "peculiar people"all the old titles of God's people now belong to you. It is for you now to demonstrate the goodness of him who has called you out of darkness into his amazing light. |
| 2:10 | In the past you were not "a people" at all: now you are the people of God. In the past you had no experience of his mercy, but now it is intimately yours. |
| 2:11 | I beg you, as those whom I love, to live in this world as strangers and "temporary residents", to keep clear of the desires of your lower natures, for they are always at war with your souls. |
| 2:12 | Your conduct among the surrounding peoples in your different countries should always be good and right, so that although they may slander you as evildoers yet when troubles come, they may glorify God when they see how well you conduct yourselves. |
| 2:13 | Obey every manmade authority for the Lord's sakewhether it is the emperor, as the supreme ruler, |
| 2:14 | or the governors whom he appointed to punish evildoers and reward those who do good service. |
| 2:15 | It is the will of God that you may thus silence the illinformed criticisms of the foolish. |
| 2:16 | As free men you should never use your freedom as a screen for doing wrong, but live as servants of God. |
| 2:17 | You should have respect for everyone, you should love our brotherhood, fear God and honour the emperor. |
| 2:18 | You who are servants should submit to your masters with proper respectnot only to the good and kind, but also to the difficult. |
| 2:19 | A man does a fine thing when be endures pain, with a clear conscience towards God, though he knows he is suffering unjustly. |
| 2:20 | After all, it is no credit to you if you are patient in bearing a punishment which you have richly deserved! But if you do your duty and are punished for it and can still accept patiently, you are doing something worthwhile in God's sight. |
| 2:21 | Indeed this is your calling. For Christ suffered for you and left you a personal example: so that you might follow in his footsteps. |
| 2:22 | He was guilty of no sin nor of the slightest prevarication. |
| 2:23 | Yet when he was insulted he offered no result in return. When he suffered he made no threats of revenge. He simply committed his cause to the One who judges fairly. |
| 2:24 | And he personally bore our sins in his own body on the cross, so that we might be dead to sin and be alive to all that is good. It was the suffering that he bore which has healed you. |
| 2:25 | You had wandered away like so many sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. |
1 Peter 2 - Philips NT in Modern English
